PEF’s nurses get a dose of professional wellness

TOUCHY FEELY — Denyse Hillsby and Vicki Schultz practice the stress reduction technique.
— Photos by Richard Dillard
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STRESS RELIEVERS — (L-R) Gale Baptiste and Ilan Duguid, Emergency Room RNs at Downstate Medical Center, practice a relaxation technique.
LEGAL TALK — Debbie Egel highlights current legal issues for nurses at the conference.
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Sixty nurses from various state agencies from Buffalo to Long Island experienced learning, networking and professional wellness in December. According to attendees of the PEF nurses conference in Queens, it was one of the best on the books.

Vicki Schultz, a nurse administrator 2 at the Long Island Developmental Disabilities Services Office, hailed the “Legal Issues in Nursing” workshop.

“The information we received was amazing,” Schultz said. “The presenter, Debbie Egel, a PEF nurse and attorney, highlighted so many important and current issues nurses face in terms of legalities in nursing and health care.

“We learned about supervising unlicensed personnel, the importance of proper documentation, and things to be aware of when providing nursing care,” Schultz said.

“We were reminded to keep those things in the forefront, because, unfortunately, we live in a very litigious society. We don’t want to get ourselves in trouble while providing patient care. We are all very altruistic and want to take care of the patients.”

To take care of patients and clients, nurses need to achieve optimum health, according to PEF Region 12 Coordinator Dee Dodson, chair of PEF’s statewide nurse’s committee.

“Our theme for the conference focused on nurses taking care of themselves legally, physically and mentally,” Dodson said.

Other workshops included “Stress Management for Health Professionals” presented by Kathy Harding, a nurse and director of Self Care Wellness.

“You Are What You Eat” was presented by Ron Odato, a certified personal trainer and director of The Birchcreek Health and Weight Loss Retreat.

“Odato talked about the importance of eating healthy foods, such as grains, fresh fruits and vegetables,” Schultz said. “He gave us good ideas on how to take care of ourselves, so we can take better care of the patients.”

“With all the challenges nurses face, the conference was an opportunity for them to network, gather the latest information on things occurring in their field, and to take care of themselves as health professionals,” said PEF Region 11 Coordinator Jemma Marie-Hanson, a member of the nurses’ committee.

“All of the speakers were very good and the nurses liked the variety of topics at the workshops. When nurses are busy and stressed, that’s when they need to take care of themselves. The conference brought to light different ways to ensure professional wellness,” Hanson said.

“The conference was a brilliant idea,” said Gale Baptiste, a nurse at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn and PEF Division 198 assistant council leader.

“We all needed and appreciated the wellness session,” Baptiste said. “The workshop on legal issues was very educational. It would be wonderful to have that workshop repeated in local areas, as the need for specific legal knowledge is something that would benefit all our members.