Pre- and Post-Conference Fun

Posted on by
1

Vicki Conn, editor of the Western Journal of Nursing Research, sent me a message yesterday asking about networking/connecting with others for pre/post-conference sightseeing and fun. Vicki tells me this is her first trip to Maine and she is very excited to see our beautiful state. She wrote:

I would be interested in suggestions for sightseeing for anyone planning to stay some extra days in Maine. That would help with planning the number of days at the conference hotel.

I think this is a great question. I would love to help people connect but I am not sure of the best way to do so–which is why I started here with the blog. People can ask questions in the comments and I will try to pull them together with answers and more information on our sightseeing page.  Right now all the activities that are listed are within walking distance of the hotel but certainly, if people want to go a little further afield, I can provide suggestions. A couple of thoughts that come to mind:

  • People traveling alone to the conference–interest in connecting with others for sightseeing before or after?
  • Anyone planning on renting a car–or open to the idea of renting a car–for traveling beyond Portland?

portland10One fun idea, for anyone arriving on Sunday–the Portland Sea Dogs will be playing a home game against the Trenton Thunder, starting at 1 pm. The Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox–and the Thunder feeds the Yankees, so this is an intense rivalry. You’d pay a whole lot more to see the Sox vs. the Yankees at Fenway Park than you will in Portland! The Sea Dogs play at Hadlock Field, a nice, small intimate venue that really let’s you see the game. It is about 1.5 miles from the Regency–30 minute walk or a quick taxi ride.  I’m not even a baseball fan and I try to get to at least one Sea Dogs game every summer.

tk43bi2T

Hadlock Field, with the Maine Monster in left field.

Whether or not you are a baseball fan, please share thoughts in the comments. What do you want to know and what are you thinking of for pre/post conference fun? I’ll figure out a way to make networking happen!

Leslie

Planning Committee: Peggy Chinn, Margaret Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, Jean Proehl

Six more weeks for abstract submission and early bird registration!

Posted on by
Reply

The end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 is only six weeks away – always an intensely packed time frame.  So we want to get a bit ahead of the distractions of the holidays to remind you about our INANE 2014 end-of-year deadlines.

submit-abstract-news1First, are abstract submissions, due by January 1, 2014.  We already have several submissions, so if you want to have your idea considered for the program, head on over to the “Abstract submission” page and fill out the online form! Please take a minute to do so so you can share your editing innovations with your INANE colleagues next summer.

And, in the next six weeks, until the end of this year, you too can be an early bird registrant for the conference.  This means that you can register for only $395, compared to the mid-range price of $495 (from January 1 – April 30) and the full price of $595 (after April 30).

This saving is impressive if you only look at the numbers, but consider all that INANE 2014 registration offers!

  • Attendance at all Keynote, Breakout, and Poster Sessions.
  • Access to all password protected online resources for the conference: PDFs, presentations, evaluation forms, and more.
  • Access to the Guidebook mobile app–all participants will have the full conference program, info on speakers, and more in the palm of their hand.
  • Discover Portland Tour and Opening Reception (8/4/2014).
  • Continental breakfast, plated lunch, and breaks on Tuesday (8/5/2014).
  • Hot plated breakfast and breaks on Wednesday (8/6/2014).
  • Name badge and LL Bean tote bag embroidered with INANE 2014 logo.

The planning committee has a dynamite lineup for the plenary sessions.  The first plenary session features Jeffrey Beall, who writes the essential blog that many of us follow, Scholarly Open Access. Our own Carolyn Yucha (editor Biological Research for Nursing) joins Jeffrey with a unique nursing perspective on the rise of predatory publishing initiatives aimed at nurses.

The other major plenary session features Charles Graeber, author of “The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder” and Diana Mason, former Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Nursing and founder of the Center for Health Media Policy.  Diana served as a consultant in the preparation of “The Good Nurse,” and they will be discussing the process of writing and publishing this book, as well as implications and challenges that writers and journal editors face for responsible reporting on healthcare.

We on the planning team are very excited about this conference, and we know that this will be an outstanding conference!  You won’t want to miss this one, so consider taking advantage of the early bird registration now, and consider submitting your abstract for the program!

Peggy

Planning Committee: Leslie Nicoll (chair), Peggy Chinn, Margaret Comerford Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, Jean Proehl

November 1 update: Save Your Receipt!

Posted on by
Reply

Happy November Everyone,

First thing I need to say is, where did October go? Jeesh, that was a month that just flew by! Which reminds me that we are counting down to the deadline for conference abstracts and early bird registration. More about that in a minute because right now I want to say:

Save Your Receipt!

When you register for INANE, you will receive two email documents: 1) a confirmation of your registration, listing everything you have signed up for; and 2) an itemized receipt. I have recently learned that I can reproduce item 1 but I cannot reproduce item 2. Since the receipt includes monies paid, that is likely the necessary document that you will need for reimbursement, so I encourage you to print out the receipt and save the email.

clock-tickingThe accounting of all funds received is being carefully tracked and I can easily provide documentation of your total registration (and any amounts refunded)–I just can’t easily re-create the itemized receipt that is sent at the time of registration. So I just ask that everyone hold on to the email until after the conference. Thanks!

So, as noted above–there are just 2 months, or 8.5 weeks, or 60 days, or 1440 hours (choose your preferred metric) until December 31st–the deadline for early bird registration and submitting an abstract for a breakout or poster session. While 1440 hours might seem like ages, realize that time flies when you are having fun and before you know it, we’ll all be singing Auld Lang Syne. Since I don’t think anyone here wants to interrupt their New Year’s festivities to sit down and write an abstract for INANE, why don’t you do it now and cross that item off your to do list? Remember, a project doesn’t have to be complete to submit an abstract–if you have something underway that you think would be of interest to INANE attendees, write it up and send it in. Our goal is diversity and variety. We particularly encourage our international colleagues to participate!

One thing I want to bring to everyone’s attention: when you are submitting your abstract, we are asking that you include the abstract title, author(s)’ names, 250 word abstract, and references (if included) in the document that is uploaded as part of your submission. Please identify with an asterisk the author(s) who will be attending INANE. Remember, at least one person must be attending the conference to present a poster or breakout session. Click here to read the full instructions and upload an abstract.

For our monthly “by the numbers” summary:

  • 19 people have taken advantage of early bird registration;
  • 26 hotel rooms have been reserved;
  • 16 donors have contributed to the Suzanne Smith Development Fund, with a total of $1650 raised;
  • 6 abstracts have been submitted for breakouts or posters;
  • 4 entries for the Suzanne Smith Developing Editors Awards have been received;
  • 3 sponsors have pledged at the Platinum, Silver, and Corporate levels; and
  • For the website, we have had visitors from 28 countries with 4704 page views.

That’s it for now. I am working on an exciting innovation for our paperless conference but as details are not finalized, I must keep it under wraps for the moment. Maybe in a month or so I’ll have more to share. Meanwhile, I encourage everyone to 1) submit an abstract; 2) take advantage of early bird registration; and 3) SAVE YOUR RECEIPT! 🙂

Leslie

for the planning committee: Peggy Chinn, Margaret Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall and, Jean Proehl

Seen in the Boston Globe…

Posted on by
Reply

Our opening speaker at INANE 2014 is going to be Jessica Nicoll, Director of the Smith College Museum of Art. There’s a fun article in yesterday’s Boston Globe on “Museum Directors Play Favorites,” and includes a selection from Jessica:

20

Pennsylvania Excavation, 1907, George Wesley Bellows

What one work in our collection do I return to repeatedly? You will often find me — alone or with guests — in our third floor galleries studying this early 20th-century American masterwork.

This is an image of profound change, rich in detail and in ambiguity. It depicts a canyon created in the middle of Manhattan by the excavation for Pennsylvania Station, a project that transformed New York City by connecting it to a national transportation network.

The painting was as revolutionary as the event it portrays, helping to establish Bellows’s reputation as a brash young artist advancing a gritty new kind of realism. When it was first exhibited, it was described in the press as a “great gaping wound in the dirty earth.” Bellows’s representation of the city, with its central void and implication of lives displaced, invites reflection on the costs of progress.

If I remember correctly, Smith acquired this painting under Jessica’s leadership. It belonged to a Smith alum and hung in the dining room of her New York City apartment for many, many years. It now has, as Jessica notes, a place of pride in the Smith collection.

To read the whole article, click here.

Linking past, present and future: the Suzanne Smith Mentoring Editors Awards

Posted on by
Reply

It is not yet a month since we learned of the unexpected death of Suzanne Smith, whose influence and presence in INANE has been vital for many years.  Suzanne was a member of our planning committee for the 2014 INANE conference and was involved in establishing a fund to support new and emerging nursing journal editors. We announced this fund on September 15th.  We announced her death on September 20th.

Suzanne

Suzanne Smith, 2011

Within hours of learning of her death, the 2014 conference planning group decided to name the fund in her honor, and our decision has been affirmed many times over by those who have  paid tribute to Suzanne on our blog. Over and over people have responded to our INANE blog paying tribute to Suzanne’s death, recounting their specific encounters with Suzanne and her significant influence in their career as a mentor when they were seeking to publish their work in nursing journals.

The Suzanne Smith Development Fund is growing, but we have not yet met our goal, which is to support four new or aspiring editors to attend the 2014 conference. If every INANE member contributed just $10, we would more than reach our goal!  But we hope that many  will contribute more, in the interest of establishing a lasting fund that we can draw on for years to come.

Suzanne’s death has reminded us of the importance of building a foundation for the future of nursing journals.  INANE is a significant element in that foundation, and this fund stands to assure the sustainability of our mission, which is to “promote best practices in publishing and high standards in the publishing of nursing journals, books, and Web-based literature.”

So head on over to our Suzanne Smith Development Fund page, and add your contribution to this important fund.  Your donation today, made in memory, or in honor of a significant person honors your past, and stands as a symbol of your support for the future excellence of nursing journals!

One other note: today, October 15th, marks the halfway point for two significant deadlines: we are halfway through the five month Call for Abstracts and also halfway through Early Bird Registration–both end on December 31, 2013. There are still 10 weeks before the end of the year, but we all know how things ramp up in November and December, with end-of-the-year deadlines and activities. If you are planning to attend INANE, take a minute to register. Likewise, if you are planning on submitting an abstract, don’t procrastinate and let the time get away. Remember, presentations and posters from members like you will make this conference a success. Don’t delay–register today!

Peggy

Planning Committee: Leslie Nicoll (Chair), Peggy Chinn, Margaret Comerford Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, and Jean Proehl

October 1st update (one day late!)

Posted on by
2

Good morning INANE colleagues and friends!

Funtown imagesLast night I dreamt that our venue for INANE 2014 had transformed into a theme park. I was more than a little concerned that everyone’s attention was being distracted from the scientific sessions to the roller coaster! Fortunately, I don’t think the Regency is going to morph into Funtown USA in the next 10 months–but if anyone wants directions for a family outing, I am happy to help. 🙂

I am sure I am not alone when I say that I am still reeling from the news of Suzanne Smith’s death. I felt the loss quite keenly the other day when I thought, “I’ll just ask Suzanne about that,” and realized I couldn’t. However, I am proud of the way INANE has been able to respond quickly and respectfully to our collective loss. Her family is honored by the Suzanne Smith Mentoring Editors Awards and Development Fund. We all believe this is an initiative that will continue into the future and will keep Suzanne’s legacy alive in INANE and the nursing community at large.

To date, we have received $875 for the Development Fund. Donors are recognized on every page of this website. If you would like to donate, click here. Payments are processed through Stripe; your credit card information is secure and safe. We have also received three applications for Mentoring Editors Awards. The deadline for applications is February 1st so there is plenty of time to apply, but nominations and applications are accepted at any time. If you are thinking of applying, or nominating a colleague, take advantage of the moment. No time like the present as my grandmother always said!

In the past month, we’ve also received two abstracts for poster/breakout sessions. Again, the deadline is December 31st but the call is open now. Projects do not need to be complete when you submit an abstract–they just need to be finished for your presentation next summer. More details can be found in this post at our Nursing Editors blog.

In other numbers, we have 16 early bird conference registrations, 22 hotel rooms reserved, and 21 people signed up for the cruise and lobster bake. Note that the cruise and lobster bake has an absolute maximum of 100 people–this is due to the size of the boat which is limited to 100 passengers. There is no flexibility on this: Coast Guard Regulations! This event will be a highlight so if you don’t want to be disappointed, don’t delay in submitting your registration.

That’s it for this moment–more updates in two weeks. If anyone has questions, send them to me through the Feedback Form and I’ll respond post haste.

Leslie

Planning Committee: Leslie Nicoll, Peggy Chinn, Margaret Comerford Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, and Jean Proehl.

Life is Short and Precious

Posted on by
1

…and sometimes things change in a heartbeat. That is certainly the way I felt this morning when I learned of the unexpected death of my good friend, colleague, and mentor, Suzanne P. Smith. She was at her home in Florida and looking forward to heading to her condo in Washington DC in a few weeks, where she would spend time visiting her children and grandchildren.

Suzanne was on the planning committee for INANE 2014. She had a wealth of knowledge to share, as Suzanne has been participating in INANE from the very beginning. When I would bring up new ideas, she was often cautious and made me explain myself very clearly why I thought this would be a good initiative for INANE. For next year’s conference, there were innovations that never made it past the brainstorm stage. But others did–one of these was the Developing Editors Grant Fund, which we have renamed the Suzanne Smith Mentoring Editors Awards in her honor.

Anyone who knew Suzanne, even a little, knows that mentorship was a core value and part of her spirit. She loved supporting others, helping them to learn, and sharing in their success. Mentorship was certainly key in our relationship even after we had moved on and became good friends. When I have editing questions or need advice, I have a sort list of people I turn to. Suzanne has always been on that list.

I can’t really believe I won’t see Suzanne at INANE next summer. She was so excited about the conference, the venue, the speakers, and the additional events, especially the Freeport shopping! I know that the opening reception is going to be tough, not having Suzanne next to me to share a glass of wine. However, I know she will be with us in spirit and we can all remember and honor her memory through the Mentoring Editors Awards named in her honor.

You can learn more about the awards here and if you choose, make a donation at this link. Thank you in advance for your generous contribution. Please, too, let those you think might be candidates to receive awards know about this opportunity. The application form is here.

The nursing profession has lost a good friend and special leader. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and all of us in the editor community.

Leslie

INANE 2014 Developing Editors Grant Fund

Posted on by
Reply

This is a new initiative for the INANE conference – a grant fund to support folks who are new to nursing journal editing, or interested in becoming editors.  We (members of the planning committee) recognize how important INANE is for those who are just coming in to this role, and what better way to promote their participation in our group than to help writer-Woman-300them attend our conference?!

This fund will only support new editors and folks who have an emerging interest in editing and publishing, such as peer reviewers, editorial board members, and authors. The grants will cover the conference registration cost for up to four people.

Everyone can contribute to the fund, and the number of grants that we can award will depend on your donations. We hope to raise $2000 to cover the cost of four conference registrations. Funds raised in excess of $2000 (if people are generous) will be passed on the Carolyn Yucha and the planning committee for INANE 2015, so that they may continue this program. Please visit the “Developing Editors Grant Fund” page today to make your contribution!

Encourage anyone you know who is new to this role, or interested in becoming a nursing journal editor to apply – here is the application is on our web site.

You might be wondering why we are doing all of this so far in advance of the conference!  Here are a few reasons!

  • We, members of the planning committee, are doing this all on our own!  This has been done before, but typically either an academic institution or a publisher has provided back-up for this effort, providing, among other things, the advance funding necessary to reserve the venue.  Getting started early helps us cover the early expenses involved in getting the conference underway – special thanks to Leslie’s business, Maine Desk, which has provided financial support with deposits for the venue and special events.
  • We are “experimenting” with a number of new features many of which involved advance planning – the Editors Development Fund being one of them. Here are few other new things we are doing:
    • We have developed this unique and comprehensive web site.
    • This will be a “paperless” conference – stay tuned to this blog to learn more along the way.
    • We are planning ways for attendees to participate and interact in ways like never before.  All of these features have involved long-term advance planning, and some are limited to a certain number … so visit our “Events” and “Program” pages to find out more, and sign up early.
  • Perhaps the prime reason we are doing this so early is that we are just plain excited about this conference and could not wait to unveil the details for everyone!  We have had great fun putting it together, and the folks we have invited as featured speakers have all been wonderful to work with – and are excited about connecting with our group as well.

We hope you can join us!  Visit the “Registration” page today to begin your journey to Portland, Maine in 2014. If you do this before the end of the year you can take advantage of the “Early Bird” registration fee.  If you are not able to be there – never fear … we are lining up several “reporters” who will blog, post on Facebook, and Tweet every day!

Peggy

Planning Committee: Leslie Nicoll (chair), Peggy Chinn, Margaret Comerford Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, Jean Proehl, Suzanne Smith

Welcome to the INANE 2014 Blog!

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome to the blog for INANE 2014! This will be the place to come for updates and news pertaining to the INANE conference to be held in Portland, Maine, August 4-6, 2014. Our plan is to update the blog twice per month, on the 1st and the 15th, with more frequent updates if needed.

This website went live one month ago, on August 1st. Since then:

  • Eight people have registered for the conference;
  • Fourteen people have reserved their hotel rooms;
  • Two corporate sponsors have pledged support at the Platinum and Silver levels;
  • Two donations have been received for the Developing Editors Grant Fund;
  • One nomination has been received for the Developing Editors Grant Award.

At the website, we have had 299 visitors from 13 countries with over 1000 page views!

The Planning Committee from the conference that was held in Cork shared the conference evaluations and I am happy to say that many of the comments from attendees have already been addressed. One person noted that she missed the posters. I know there was a space issue at the hotel in Cork; I am happy to report that the posters will be back for INANE 2014. There were several comments requesting more variety and interactive activities–again, we have scheduled nine breakout sessions and have specifically asked presenters to include audience participation in their sessions. The call for abstracts for both posters and breakout sessions is open now and will continue through December 31, 2013. Information on the call can be found here; the online submission form is here. Please give serious thought to submitting an abstract and sharing your editing innovations with your colleagues.

Chas Summers and Lisa Marshall

Chas Summers of the Regency and Lisa Marshall discussing the merits of a deck room on the fourth floor of the hotel.

Lisa Marshall, who is on the planning committee, and I are both local. We’ve had a couple of visits to the hotel to see the accommodations and meeting rooms. All of the rooms at the Regency have been renovated in the past year and I think everyone will find their room to be extremely comfortable. I also think that it is safe to say that no one will be disturbed by inebriated, shouting individuals outside their window!

YUM!

YUM! A dessert that exceeded my expectations.

In the interest of “research” I had lunch at the Regency earlier this week and it was excellent. I had a fancy salad and my companion had a lobster club sandwich, which she reported was delicious. But the thing that really knocked my socks off was the dessert–called “The Bar” it was a deconstructed Almond Joy, with toasted coconut ice cream, almonds, crispy sizzled orange liqueur rice, and two squares of chocolate nougat. Yum! It was so good I had to take a picture and now I can share it here with all of you. 🙂 All desserts are made in-house by their dedicated pastry chef. Who knows what imaginative ideas she will have by next summer!

One other evaluation comment suggested the idea of virtual attendance. Cost prohibits us from having a live feed or webinar; however, the comment was the spark that gave me the idea to start this blog. In the coming months, I hope to recruit a few “reporters” who will act as live bloggers from the conference. With four or five people posting, we should be able to have coverage of all the sessions complete with pictures. If anyone is interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact me–use the Feedback page which can be found here.

This blog is linked to our Facebook page, so for those who follow us through FB, posts to this blog will automatically appear there. (Posts from our other blog, nursingeditors.com also are linked to FB.) You might want to follow this blog: click the button in the lower right corner of your screen that says “Follow.” This way, every time a new post is added to the blog, you will receive a copy directly in your e-mail–a quick and easy way to stay abreast of INANE 2014 news and developments.

Thanks for reading, everyone. On behalf of the Planning Committee, I am looking forward to the countdown to INANE 2014 and welcoming everyone to Portland, Maine, next summer.

Leslie

Planning Committee: Leslie Nicoll (chair), Peggy Chinn, Margaret Comerford Freda, Shawn Kennedy, Lisa Marshall, Jean Proehl, Suzanne Smith