TRENDS IN NURSING IS FOCUS OF APRIL 25 CONFERENCE IN CAPE

CAPE GIRARDEAU - Two nationally recognized nurse specialists will keynote "Trends in Medical-Surgical Nursing," a conference scheduled to held April 25.

The conference will be held in the Harrison Room at Southeast Missouri Hospital from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. It is designed to provide medical-surgical and critical care nurses and nursing students with technologically current information in the areas of cardiovascular surgery, neurology and diabetes management.

The event will carry 7.8 contact hours through the Missouri Nurses Association.

Speakers will be Kathy Kater, cardiothoracic nurse specialist with the Barnes Hospital Department of Surgery at the Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis; and Libby Hughes, diabetes clinical nurse specialist at Barnes.

Kater will address several issues, including new trends in heart surgery, neurologic assessment and stimulation of a damaged brain.

Kater is a nationally recognized lecturer in her field, having given numerous cardiology, cardiac surgery, neurology, and immunology-related presentations. She has presented research findings at three international conventions, including one in Moscow.

Hughes will concentrate on the structuring of a diabetes treatment plan and the outlook for future improvements in the research and treatment of diabetes. As Barnes diabetic nurse specialist, Hughes' responsibilities include patient, family and staff education, as well as research and consultation.

She is a certified diabetes educator. Among her more recent research activities is a study on "Clinical Nurse Specialists' Impact on Barnes Hospital Goals." Currently, she is working on research involving eating behavior and dietary restraint of diabetic patients.

The conference's registration fees are $40 for nurses and $20 for students. To register, or to obtain additional information, contact Southeast's Nursing Education Department at 651-5547.