Convention Pulse 2013

Welcome!

Nine decades after six nursing students at Indiana University Training School for Nurses got together in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, to form an honor society for nurses that they called Sigma Theta Tau—the Greek letters stand for the Greek words “storgé,” “tharsos” and “time,” meaning love, courage and honor—members of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) are again gathering in Indianapolis. This time, more than 2,000 members from around the world are here to celebrate—during five days of education, recognition, and networking—an honor society that serves more than 130,000 active members and the nursing profession at large in more than 85 countries.

Another member arrives for the 42nd Biennial Convention!

As always at these biennial gatherings, the excitement is palpable. In the lobby, dining venues, and elevator areas of the accommodations-rich JW Marriott Indianapolis—the JW Indy, as it’s also known—members greet and hug friends and colleagues they may not have seen since the 41st Biennial Convention in Grapevine, Texas. (It quickly becomes clear: Come to one convention, and you won’t want to miss the next.) Many of this year’s attendees, however, are coming for the first time, some of them to present, orally or with posters.

But this convention is exciting for another reason, because, when it concludes on Wednesday, the honor society’s first president from outside North America—from South Africa—will be installed in office, further emphasizing the “International” part of the honor society’s name. And Reflections on Nursing Leadership, RNL, your online magazine, will be bringing you some of the highlights—we can’t begin to cover them all—in this blog, “Convention Pulse 2013.”

Deborah Center

Even before the convention began, it began—today—in a preconvention workshop titled “Creating a culture of civility: Awareness to action.” The workshop was facilitated by Deborah L. Center, MSN, RN, CNS, an independent coach and consultant, and project director, Home Health Care Nursing Initiative, Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, who addressed a topic of increasing concern to nurses—how to work together effectively, showing courtesy, respect, responsibility, and a dozen other important attributes that not only make work places more enjoyable, but contribute to improving health care.

We can’t wait to get started, either, and we hope the highlights we've selected will either remind you of a great convention or inspire you to attend the next one—or both. Welcome to Indianapolis, and the 42nd Biennial Convention of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

—James Mattson, editor, Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL)