ITNS E-Update
November 15, 2009

Learn Best Practices in San Antonio

The ITNS Winter Workshop takes place in San Antonio, Texas this year and registrations are coming in to ITNS headquarters every week. Join us to discuss Quality Issues and Best Practices  in Transplant Nursing February 12-13, 2010 at the Omni La Mansion Del Rio.

ITNS Transplant IQ Series (First Shipment Sent)

If you ordered the Transplant IQ Series you can expect to have a shipment any day now. Pharmacology, Professional Issues, Test-taking, Living Donation, Organ Allocation and Psychosocial issues will all be available in the first shipment.  As  the other DVDs are received they will be shipped as they arrive.

Don't forget, ITNS is now accepting online payment for the Transplant IQ Series, which was developed to allow the Clinical Transplant Certification Review Course (CTCRC) to become more accessible to the highest number of nurses in the least costly manner. While individuals can purchase the DVDs as a set or by specific topic, hospitals and transplant centers will find the ITNS Transplant IQ Series to be a tremendous resource for training large numbers of nurses at a low rate per person. Individual viewers will receive CEU and CEPTC credits by taking the IQ post-test included in the supplemental materials with each disc and paying a small fee.

All 16 topic areas covered in the CTCRC are provided by the ITNS Transplant IQ Series. These DVDs will be an excellent resource for studying for your CCTC or CCTN examination.  Each DVD ranges from 30-120 minutes and features a speaker who is an expert in that field. The DVDs are interactive and studio-produced for the exclusive purpose of delivering information to participants in any setting. The IQ Series was developed for all transplant professionals including case managers, social workers, medical, nursing and pharmaceutical students and pharmaceutical representatives. An individual may purchase it for a Nursing Unit, a Medical Library and any hospital seeking the training necessary to obtain Magnet Status.

While the DVDs carry the FBI copyright and cannot be duplicated, multiple nurses can benefit from watching and reviewing these DVDs in a group setting, as many times as necessary.  Hospitals or transplant centers may complement the DVD subject matter by providing their own transplant educators to moderate organized viewing of the topics, thus allowing for questions and interaction.

Our goal is to educate and promote nursing certification for as many transplant nurses and coordinators as we can reach.  Through the ITNS Transplant IQ Series DVD set, we can do just that, in a very cost-effective manner. Cost is $350 for ITNS members and $500 for non-members. There is a $10 per disc credit fee for CEs and CEPTCs for any individual who watches the DVD, completes the IQ post-test for that subject, and mails their test and check for $10 to ITNS. The Transplant IQ Series is made possible through a grant from Astellas Pharma US.

Additional Grant Available - Deadline December 1, 2009

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, in cooperation with ITNS, is offering one $2,500 Nursing Research Grant.

Grant Guidelines

• The deadline for applications is December 1, 2009
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must be submitted with the application
• Grants are available to ITNS members only

How to Apply
If you have any questions concerning ITNS research grants, please contact the ITNS Research Director Cindy Russell at 573-884-9541 or RussellC@missouri.edu

Needed: BRIGHT Study Program Director

The BRIGHT Study is now taking applications for a Program Director. For the job description and application contact information, downloadn Bright Study (PDF)

New ITNS / Pediatric Partnership

ITNS is pleased to announce its new partnership with the International Pediatric Transplant Association.  Members of both organizations can benefit from this collaboration through educational programming and educational materials for both transplant nurses and transplant patients.  An announcement of their bi-annual meeting is below. 

6th Congress of the International Pediatric Transplant Association
June 25-28, 2011
Le Centre Sheraton
Montreal, Canada

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