In This Issue

RNFA Mexican Riviera Cruise

Surgical Crossword Puzzle

Graduate in the Spotlight

RNFA Tips

RNFA Mexican Riviera Cruise!

including the SutureStar™ Workshop
Oct. 12-19, 2008
7-night Royal Caribbean CRUISE
 * Los Angeles *
Cabo San Lucas * Mazatlan * Puerto Vallarta *
only 9 students!

Imagine getting the best vacation of your life AND your formal RNFA training for one low tuition!
Don't let this boat
pass you by!

Click the picture above for more info, or call  1-800-922-7747, press 1.

Need Answers Now?
Call Emily!

Whether you have questions about RNFA training, credentialing, reimbursements, state issues, or just want to "talk shop"  between cases, pick up the phone and call Emily on the NIFA HOT LINE! She'll answer your question or  immediately direct you to the right person for an answer now!

Call 1-800-92ASSIST, press 1.

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From the Editor

It's summer - kick back!

Print out this issue, pour yourself a nice, decaffeinated iced tea (OK, or something stiffer), settle into a cool spot, and learn while you relax with the surgical crossword puzzle below, created by NIFA staff. (Answers are online.)

If your idea of relaxing means not even wielding a pencil, there's something for you, too - click the link at the bottom of NIFA Grad Linda Farmer's profile to read her story about becoming an RNFA.

Enjoy!

Julie Lancaster, Editor

Surgical Brain Teaser

# 61008A

Across
1.     This triangle helps identify the cystic artery.
6.     Which duct contains the spiral valves of Heister?
10.   If you anticipate well, you will be a ________ with your surgeon.
11.   If the patient has a lot of adhesions, some surgeons may _______ to do an open procedure.
12.    Bile passes into the duodenum when the Sphincter of _______ is relaxed.
13.    The right hepatic ___________ supplies the liver with oxygenated blood.
15.    With this procedure, stones can be extracted from the Common Bile Duct postoperatively.
17.    You might find _____ stones in the gallbladder with cholecystitis.
18.    Where is bile produced?
21.    The opposite of off.
22.    A cap.
24.    Additional.
25.    The Common Hepatic and Splenic arteries are branches off of this trunk.
27.    A synonym for training (the shortened form).
29.    Winter covering.
32.    ___ jelly.
33.    Ampulla of _____________.
34.    Emergency Room.
35.    A suffix meaning a process or a resulting condition.
36.    The entrance and exit point of the liver - ________ hepatis.

Down
1.    Surgical term for removing the gallbladder (the shortened form).
2.    Retractors ________ in visualization of the operative site.
3.    Limited.
4.    Toward.
5.    Located in the neck and cystic duct. Prevents bile from being inadvertently drained from the gallbladder.
7.    Between birthdays.
8.    Two-handed _______.
9.    This bile duct goes into the duodenum.
14.    You have three feet. You are a ____.
16.    Common Bile Duct Exploration.
17.    This structure is a landmark that helps identify the cyst artery. The cystic duct ______.
19.    Veteran's Administration.
20.    Continuing __.
23.    If you talk about surgery at the dinner table, small children will say it's  ________!
26.    EKG ___________.
28.    This is a conduit for bile.
29.    Don't skip one of these in surgery. A ____.
30.    Zero with an 'N'.
31.    Operating room.

Answers available at our website.

Graduate in the Spotlight

Name: Linda Farmer
Credentials: RNFA (NIFA '07), CNOR, CWS
City & State: Meridian, MS
Current Job: I'm employed in the private practice of a General/Peripheral Vascular Surgeon. Besides reconstructive peripheral vascular surgery, practice interests include wound management, breast cancer, and diabetes foot management. I'm also a Certified Wound Specialist affiliated with the American Academy of Wound Management and a co-founder/facilitator of a local breast cancer support group.
Next Steps:  Entering a formal RN to MSN program for Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in September.
Quote:   The area in which I live/work is considered a part of the rural health system, even though we have three hospitals and over 500 beds within a two-block area. First assistants are few and far between around here, but I'm trying very hard to promote the perioperative concept, including how advantageous it can be to have a formally trained RNFA in collaborative practice with a physician.

Click here to read Linda's story, "The Missing Piece." 

RNFA Tips

There is a new legal "bump in the road" (and for many a giant road block) that every nurse should now consider before enrolling in an RNFA program. Read about Training Agreements.