CHNA: energy nursing in Canada
Dear friends of CHNA,
You haven’t heard from us in a while. This is definitely not because nothing has been happening. There is lots going on behind the scenes so it is time to share some of that with you.
New Board members
Pat Mackinnon RN, DNM, LAC, Naet Practitioner from Prince Edward Island has just moved into our CHNA Secretary position. We are happy to have the Maritimes now represented on our Executive. Welcome, Pat.
Catherine Ralphs, who has been BC Rep, is now Membership Chair.
Kim Watson, who has been strongly linked with CTNIG and is moving into the role of Chair of CTNIG (Complementary Therapies Nurses’ Interest Group of RNAO), is now taking on the Ontario Rep Position for CHNA also.
We are happy to point out that our nation’s professional organization for holistic (energy) nurses is now represented nation-wide on our Board.
The Web Site features
Over the next year we are planning for two new changes on the web site. We are looking for ways to enable online credit card payment for those who wish to pay that way. We were hoping to have that available for membership payments this fall but unfortunately we have some work to do before we are able to set that up. We will let you know when we are ready to move forward with it.
Also, our members tell us that they would like to be able to have some way of connecting with like-minded people and we are listening to you. We would like that also. Through our Web Master, we are exploring ways to offer this opportunity to our members. We want you to feel comfortable sharing information as well as confident that the people with whom you connect are actually members. This feature will only be available to members.
Membership Sign up and Renewal
Speaking of membership. This is a reminder that it is that time of year again. Members, your renewal will be requested with the newsletter that will be sent out soon. Many of those receiving this email are not yet members. I invite you to consider JOINING. Your membership is a mutually beneficial relationship. You will become part of an organization of professional nurses who are, like you, interested in energy nursing. Your commitment to this professional nursing organization inspires those of us providing leadership to continue the volunteer work we do with CHNA because we know people like you are being served by it.
The Blogs:
If you haven’t been reading the blogs, it is time to go to the site and check them out. I especially recommend THE BOOK REVIEW written my Daryl Fenty.
In Closing
Summer is coming to a close as we move into September. We at CHNA wish you an inspiring and stimulating Fall as you take advantage of new opportunities and experience new beginnings.
Blessings,
Marie Knapp
Enhance your Leadership Ability with Energy Nursing
Dear CHNA members and friends,
Happy Spring! As we look ahead to the growth of life all around us, we can reflect on the inner workings of nature. In my part of the country, the trees are still bare although there has been some early budding. But you can look at a forest, seeing only stillness and a little coldness but know for sure that there is busyness going on within. The trees’ energy is operating in unseen ways, giving it vitality and guiding its process to reaching its potential.
And so we see the same things happening within CHNA. The quieter we are, the more you can be sure that there is a lot of busyness happening within. There is new growth happening.
Susan Morris has been an inspiring President and has a group of people coming together through meditation and imagery to bring more awareness to the CHNA path. You see, being on the executive for CHNA allows you to use what you know about energy and energy shifting in a leadership role. In fact, working in this leadership capacity is as much energy nursing as is the hands on approach you take with clients.
With this in mind, I would ask you to strongly consider how you might use your holistic energy work in a position on the CHNA Board. We have the following positions open: Secretary, Membership Chair and President Elect. You would be working with an inspiring group of people who are ready to find new ways to create an organization that truly meets the needs of its members. You would find that you can talk about energy and how we relate energetically with each other in leadership with a group of people who would know what you are talking about. What an inspiring way for you to enhance your leadership ability.
As Chair of the Nomination Committee, I would be interested in hearing from you and would be willing to discuss possibilities with you.
Warmly,
Marie Knapp
Past President
Nomination Committee
Happy Spring
I extend to you an invitation to go to the web site www.chna.ca and read the blog inputs that you may not have read as well as the Events page. This will be of particular interest to the people from Alberta but I invite those from other provinces to consider how you might offer something similar to people in your area.
And now an important message from our President:
Dear Members and Friends of CHNA:
The 2010 Olympics are fast becoming just a wonderful set of memories, and the renewal of spring is just around the corner. I am enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face, as I am sure most of you are too.
Last night I watched episode two of the ONE OCEAN series on Nature of things. The result is that I want to share what I believe is an analogy between nature and the work we do when using energy based modalities with our clients.
During the program I was struck by comments by Bill Ballantine a retired Marine Biologist and Activist from New Zealand. Bill has successfully promoted the establishment of marine reserves in New Zealand and other places. But what I believe I heard him say is that when a decision is made to set aside a reserve area we really do not know what the outcome of that decision will be. A decision is made to set aside an appropriate sized space, ensure that no fishing, extraction, construction, or discharges are allowed in that area, and then everyone one must wait and see what happens. No “management” is required!
In the same way, when we use energy based modalities with our clients, we do not know what the result will be. We ask that our client set an intention for the session; then as practitioners we provide the best environment we can for the client and we ask that the work we do with the client will be for that client’s highest good and wholeness. However, we do not “know” what will happen, nor can we try and “make” something occur.
It struck me as very interesting that in these marine reserves, just as in the work we do, and within this organization itself, we can only do our best to promote the most advantageous environment and then wait and see what happens. The process will manage itself.
So, that is my personal lesson from nature and you may use it, or not, as you choose. If you did not see the Nature of Things and are interested in learning more, go to: http://oneocean.cbc.ca/series/episodes
Okay, I also have a couple of quick things to direct to members.
First, our Annual General Meeting will occur by teleconference on Tuesday June 22 at 7 PM EDT. I would ask that members make a space for this meeting in their calendars. Details were in the February Newsletter. At this meeting, the election of officers will occur. There are several positions coming available as current members complete their terms of office. If you have an interest in sitting on our CHNA Board please contact Susan Morris at sbmorrisis@shaw.ca and I will provide your name to the nomination committee.
Next, the Heritage of Service award will be presented at that AGM, and we are accepting nominations for that Award. In order to be nominated, an individual must be a current member of CHNA and must have provided exceptional volunteer service to the organization. Think of someone who has gone above and beyond the normal call of duty. Please send nominations to me at sbmorris@shaw.ca by April 30, 2010. Include the nominee’s full name and the reason why you believe she/he should receive the award. The executive committee will review the nominations and make the final selection.
That is it for me – thanks for listening.
In Light
Susan Morris
President CHNA
The Executive and Board of the
Canadian Holistic Nurses Association
wish you and your loved ones
a happy and meaningful holiday season
with
many blessings in the New Year.
RNS attending TTNO conference in Toronto this weekend
I will be at the Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario Conference this weekend and presenting about Intentionality on Saturday morning (11:15 to 12:30). If you are there and interested in talking to me about CHNA, I would love to meet you after my session just outside the room. Or if this is not feasible, please stop me when you see me. I would love to meet you.
Marie Knapp marieknapp@rogers.com
Past President
PS If you haven’t registered, you can still register by phone by calling the TTNO office at 416-231-6824. (VISA or MasterCard). If you get the answering machine, please leave a message and they’ll call back. (People may also register at the door – but arrive early.) If you need more details you may go to www.therapeutictouchontario.org and look under Events.Expect another email soon with follow-ups from our CHNA meeting and from the TTNO conference.
CHNA Email Update Sept 2009
Dear Members and Friends of CHNA,
Happy September! Did you enjoy your summer? Most places in the country experienced a different kind of summer this year. Climate change reality is upon us it seems.
Did you get a chance to relax and replenish? Some people do that by taking time outdoors in quiet places enjoying nature by doing things like gardening, and trimming while others prefer to be more strenuously active biking, kayaking, hiking. It doesn’t matter what you do; it is the mindfulness and attitude you bring to it that is refreshing and helps build your resilience for the year ahead. At CHNA we wish you a year that is soulful, caring and fulfilling.
This is the time of year for joining or renewing memberships. By now you must have seen the membership recruitment plan we have in effect. You can reduce your 2010 membership by as much as $30 simply by attracting new members to CHNA now. As a new member, when you fill in your membership form, notice there is a place where you can fill in the name of the person who introduced you to becoming a member of CHNA. The membership Chair will send the recruiting person a coupon for $10 off the 2010-11 membership.
So why join CHNA? Well … joining any group brings benefits in a variety of ways. What is most important at this stage of holistic nursing in Canada is that this aspect of nursing gains recognition in all provinces and territories and that we move closer to having its acceptance in mainstream medical/nursing care. While this can be achieved in a variety of ways, having a strong membership in a national professional organization focused on holistic nursing is certainly essential in putting that image forward. So your membership – as well as the membership of those you recruit – is going to help that cause.
With our new web site up and running, we are always looking for ways to make it more informative for those practicing holistic energy nursing in Canada. We are looking for ways that the membership can contribute and can get support from others. Members are invited to send Marie Knapp marieknapp@rogers.com information for the blog. This means you, as a member, can post reviews and experiences for others to read. It also means you can pose questions and ask others to respond. We are open to trying new ways of supporting interaction between nurses who might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet, share, discuss and above all, connect.
The Specialization Program is certainly a positive aspect of becoming a member. You may not even realize that such a program exists so we invite you to browse through the site and check out the program. If you have questions, just ask. It may be exactly what you are looking for now, or it could be something you are looking toward in the future. The Specialization Committee members are always engaged in keeping on top of the newest research in the field and pulling that into the program.
If you haven’t already done so, renew your membership today. If you are not already a member, now is the time to join. It couldn’t be better. The price is exceptionally reasonable and the benefits are very positive.
Vacant Positions on the Board. True most members are not interested in taking a leadership role when joining an organization, however some nurses are very committed to leadership and helping make the organization be the best it can be. The existing executive is strong and committed, caring and supportive of new people and very open to helping new people learn the roles to be played.
Currently our new President has moved into the role from Membership Chair, leaving that position vacant. While Susan has agreed to continue doing the membership role until December, she needs help. Give some serious thought to working with Susan through the fall session to get a real handle on the role of Membership Chair with the goal of taking on the full role in mid December (most membership will be processed by then). This is an opportunity to work with Susan, and learn how it is done before taking on the role itself. If you are interested, please email Susan. sbmorrisis@shaw.ca
Enjoy the beauty of your day,
Marie Knapp
Past President
Web Site Coordinator
July 2009 News from CHNA
Dear Members and Friends of CHNA,
While the weather in many parts of the country leaves us unsure of the season, we do hope you are enjoying summer, such as it is.
At the moment, this email is being sent out to those who sign up on the web site as well as individually to our members. In the fall, we will do all our mailing through the web site only. We ask all our members to please submit your name and email address on the web site so that you will be regularly informed of CHNA activities. We would love your help in recruiting more people to our site so please forward this email to your nurse colleagues who are interested in holistic energy nursing.
There are several things we would like to draw to your attention. In order to help your reading and sorting of information, I am using bolded headings to title each different topic.
New President
I would like to introduce you to our new president Susan Morris. Susan has been the Membership Chair and member of the Specialization Committee so you can be sure she is well informed of the activities of CHNA and very ready willing and able to run with it. As past president, I am delighted to know we have someone like Susan taking on the role. It has been a pleasure working with her in the past and I am sure will continue to be so as we both take on new roles.
Web Site Coordinator
Yes, this is my new role. I accepted this role for one year. If you are interested in working with me on my committee, you will learn how we wish to use the site, help gather information to put on the site and eventually learn to use word press and input information on the blog and other posts on the site. Please let me know if this interests you and we can talk about it. marieknapp@rogers.com
Items on the blog
If you scroll down the home page of the web site chna.ca you will see a section called blog. As we enter each new topic, it is itemized on that dark green rectangle. There are important pieces of information there. I hope you will check the site often and see our updates. There is important information and interesting messages on the blog now so have a look. www.chna.ca/category/blog
Add to the blog
Now that you have read them, you may wish to contribute too. Members are invited to write brief reviews of books, articles, web sites, conferences and workshops. This is an excellent way for people to keep abreast of what is going on. Please send to marieknapp@rogers.com
Member recruitment
Be sure to read the blog related to member recruitment. If you get 3 new RN members signed up you could save $30 on your 2010 renewal. This is a great opportunity to share the web site with your fellow nurses who are interested in energy nursing.
Membership Renewal
Speaking of membership, you will be receiving your Newsletter at the end of August and with it will go a reminder to renew. We are excited with developments at CHNA and hope you will be part of all that is happening, sharing your knowledge and expertise and helping us grow.
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is seeking input on the CNA and CNA/CASN position statements listed below.
CNA asked if we would send this message to our members for your input..
The deadline to complete the survey is August 21, 2009 at 4 p.m EST.
“Your perspectives and advice will ensure CNA’s position statements reflect current themes and priorities regarding important issues. We ask that you provide feedback to the statements that are of interest and relevant to your practice? Your contribution to the revision of these position statements is very much appreciated.
Each survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Please click on the link under each title listed below to access each survey. »
- Promoting Culturally Competent Care
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=u_2f7RhIpoKrYF0jY1jtn_2fEA_3d_3d
- Evidence-Based Decision-Making and Nursing Practice
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=40w0O7sRjybx11f41fZC0w_3d_3d
- Flexible Delivery of Nursing Education Programs
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vondezgeq_2fBAfgz7f_2fYTjw_3d_3d
- Educational Preparation for Entry to Practice
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2pZ8It5SfkJEQJ3wMh9RPA_3d_3d
- Promoting Continuing Competence for Registered Nurses
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1okorOSuQGB3wz3ApMbnaw_3d_3d
- Doctoral Preparation in Nursing
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PKklLoUXyxnLcVXNlmgQQg_3d_3d
Elizabeth Morin
Administrative Assistant, Nursing Policy
The Canadian Nurses Association/L’Association des infirmières et des infirmiers du Canada
Events:
This is a page on the site you won’t want to miss. The Specialization courses are listed there as well as other very interesting conferences. Go to www.chna.ca/events and check these out.
We would love to have some feedback about the web site and about these emails. Send me a message and tell me what you like about it and some suggestions for improvements or additions. marieknapp@rogers.com .
I look forward to hearing from you,
Marie Knapp RN EdD
Web Site Chair
May 2009 News from CHNA
Hello members and friends of CHNA,
Welcome to those who have recently signed up for the email updates.
First of all I would like to invite you all to review the web site as there have been some recent new posts. Especially important is the June AGM and the submission of articles for the next newsletter. Go to chna.ca
I would also like to talk with you briefly about how CHNA differs from some other organizations.
Some of you are members of a professional organization related to the particular modality that you practice. For example you may be pursuing Therapeutic Touch or Healing Touch or Reiki. You likely attended some of the course training and may be on your way to becoming expert in that modality. At CHNA we fully support this and encourage this kind of development.
You see CHNA is not about any specific complementary therapy but rather it is about how you incorporate any of them into a nursing practice. For example, when you study the CHNA Specialization program, you learn to develop your work with energy as it fits within a nursing framework. You will work with the client and together decide which of the modalities best suits the situation. In other words, a person does not come to you for Therapeutic Touch or Healing Touch or Reiki or meditation. Rather they come to you for a healing session and together you decide which type of work will be best. It could also be working with colour, or sound/music, or guided imagery or EFT or a variety of other techniques that you have learned in a variety of ways.
CHNA is about how to incorporate energy work into nursing.
If you have not already done so, please go to the Standards of Practice for Holistic Nurses on the web site. Read them over. I think you will be impressed.
Many Ontario Registered Nurses interested in Holistic Nursing are members of the Complementary Therapies Nurse Interest Group (CTNIG) of RNAO. This is an excellent organization. I am also a member of CTNIG and have found it valuable in learning more about different modalities that I had not previously encountered. It serves that purpose well. As you can see, CTNIG and CHNA have different purposes. It makes sense for Ontario RNs to be members of both CTNIG and CHNA.
Why be a CHNA member?
Well there are numerous reasons in terms of your own personal development of holistic nursing. And there is another very important reason. You see, it is through a growing membership that we are able to show the Canadian Nurses Association and the leaders in the provinces and territories that , yes, in fact there is a growing acceptance and interest in holistic nursing (energy nursing) in Canada. This is how we have a stronger voice and gain more acceptance in a wider variety of locations and practice areas.
With that in mind, we hope that members will pay attention to the renewal notices you receive in August. Those who are interested in energy nursing and who are not members, please consider joining us now.
Thank you for connecting with us. If members would like to send information for publishing on the blog, please submit to me at marieknapp@rogers.com, for editing and possible publication.
Marie Knapp
CHNA President.
March 09 News from CHNA
Dear CHNA colleagues,
You are receiving this message because you submitted your email address on our web site. This is a new feature we are offering and this is the first email being sent out. Welcome and thank you for subscribing.
If you are not yet a member, welcome!
We are pleased to have you on our list and hope that you find the emails informative and interesting. We would also be happy to have you join CHNA and become more involved in supporting Holistic Nursing and taking advantage of the learning opportunities we offer. You may wish to browse through the web site at www.chna.ca
If you are a member
We apologize for any duplication in messages. Because this is a brand new feature, members will receive emails from us occasionally for the remainder of this membership year. When you renew, in the coming year, we will invite all members to sign in to receive updates about every two months. We hope both members and non-members enjoy this new feature. We welcome your feedback. Please send any comments or suggestions to marieknapp@rogers.com .
The Blog
We expect our blog site to grow with a variety of content. There are two interesting book reviews on the web site blog now. If you haven’t already read the book reviews, I recommend it. Also there is general information there regarding things happening at CHNA. There are a variety of ways you can become involved in CHNA in either big ways or small ways. Have a look and see what interests you.
Do you have some information you would like to share on our blog? Perhaps you have attended a conference you found very inspiring, or heard a speaker, or read a book, or watched a DVD. Members are invited to send their contribution to the blog through me at marieknapp@rogers.com. Your submission will be reviewed and may be edited and posted. We look forward to hearing from you.
Specialization in Holistic Nursing
The Specialization Committee has been working exceptionally hard this year on our project related to getting official certification for our Specialization Program from CNA. This would mean that Holistic Nursing would become a recognized specialty and Holistic Nurses who complete the program and write the exam could become Holistic Nurse Specialists. We anticipate a lengthy process in achieving this end, however the possibility of its achievement is very encouraging to those of us who practice or want to practice holistic nursing. Recently the committee surveyed holistic nurses and we expect to see the results posted in a future edition of the Canadian Nurse. Go to our web site at www.chna.ca to learn more about the Specialization Program.
Future Emails
As this email feature matures, we will be able to create a regular format for these emails. Please be patient with us as we develop. Your comments are much appreciated.
Please feel free to forward this message to other holistic nurses who may be interested in receiving news from CHNA.
Marie Knapp
CHNA President
Updates Now Available by Email
Both CHNA members as well as prospective CHNA members can now receive periodic site updates via email. If you would like to receive future updates please sign up on the home page of the site
