382 MILES – ISSUE NO. 399

Two weekends ago, I was part of something amazing! What I should really say is that I along with over 100 people who attended the 1st South Texas Association of Sterile Processing Services Educational Conference were part of something Amazing! Richard Schule, Peggy Spitzer, Rose Seavey, Bob Mars and I were honored to speak at this event held on January 21st at the University Hospital in San Antonio. What I saw was new leadership in this area that inspired others to attend this meeting. Maybe it was from the synergy created by having the annual IAHCSMM meeting here last year or it might even be that a dynamic person named "Hank" moved to this area and with the help of others (Randy, David and Kristal) wanted to form a chapter and bring education to this area of Texas. They said "let's do it", and boy they did. These four people were/are ready to lead and the energy everybody felt at the meeting was, "Yes, this was great! When is the next meeting?" I was told they were still getting calls as late as Friday from people asking to attend. In fact, 3 people drove 382 miles one way to attend this one day meeting. WOW! We as Sterile Processing Professionals are experiencing a unique time; our profession is starting to mature. We have chapters such as New Jersey having their annual meeting for the 60th year, and Michigan's group celebrating their 40th at this year's annual meeting. Along with these milestones, we have new chapters like the one in San Antonino just starting. The thirst for knowledge, education, training, and understanding the who, what, where and why we do what we do is growing more and more each day. This was proven at the meeting with questions being asked by attendees during presentations and in people volunteering to share their experiences to help answer questions. Networking is key at meetings like this. The networking I saw at this meeting was just fabulous among the attendees, which attested to this thirst for knowledge. To help you find something to quench this thirst for knowledge, I have put together a page with many of the flyers that I receive about various upcoming meetings. These include an excellent 4-day meeting for Sterile Processing Managers (some call it a boot camp), information on the New Jersey and Michigan meetings, along with others I have received. Click here to check them out, print them off and share them with staff members. If you want to post your meeting flyer, just drop me an email and I will get it posted. One last piece of advice: all of these groups need volunteers. Please join one and help spread your knowledge with others because some say, "Knowledge is Power" but I feel "The real power comes when we share your knowledge with others".