Society of Pancreatic Nurses

[Guest guest]

Jang,

You wrote, " I have maintained my nursing license, so I guess deep down, I

haven't been able to accept that I will never be able to function in that arena

again. "

I quit working for the same reasons you did. In my job, when split seconds

can mean life threatening decisions, it was not correct to work impaired, by

narcotics, or by pain. Many jobs do not have that type of demand. When I quit

working in my place of employment, I did not quit being a nurse. I have

maintained an active nursing license, attended nursing seminars, continued

CEU's. I

don't consider myself any less of a nurse now than when I was employed full time

in a direct patient care role. Prior to applying for disability I had a lot of

experience in different nursing career venues. Some were paid, some were

volunteer. When I fill out my nursing renewal form, it asks for hours worked,

not

hours paid.

I am establishing the Society of Pancreatic Nurses as a resource for both

nurses who care for patients with pancreatic diseases, as well as nurses with

pancreatic diseases. This will be a venue for CEU's, development of standards of

care, care plan development, grand rounds review, and more. I have written it

in under the auspices of the Pancreatitis Association International's

nonprofit certification. The need for such an organization came to light after

receiving so many inquiries from remote hospitals, doctors, and nurses who

asking for

protocols for Chronic Pancreatitis to help them care for a new patient they

had. Interestingly, they had written when the lab work did not substantiate

their patient's complaints. They wondered if there was new protocols that they

were not aware of.

Karyn E. , RN,

Exec. Director, PAI

*http://www.pancassociation.org