TraumaCon 2023, in beautiful Colorado, was an amazing event for many reasons. The Society of Trauma Nurses (STN) annual conference welcomed a record-breaking number of attendees, totaling just over 600 health care providers from across the globe. The week began on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, with in-person committee meetings, followed by preconference sessions addressing topics of geriatric trauma from an international perspective, trauma performance improvement, and pediatric trauma. The official conference kickoff began with the grand opening of the Exhibit Hall and Welcome Reception later that evening. With an overwhelming response from vendors, exhibits filled the ballroom, allowing attendees the opportunity to network, get reacquainted with old friends, and make new ones. For those with the competitive edge and desire to win big prizes, vendors filled the “Hit the Slopes” gamecards with stickers for participants to turn in for the raffle later in the week.

Ms. Amy Krichten, STN's 2022–2023 President, led the STN Annual Member Meeting bright and early on Thursday morning, day one of the conference. Ms. Krichten reported on our organization's strategic plan. Tools from Foresight Works (Rhea, 2021), established by the American Society of Association Executives Foundation, assisted the STN board with strategic plan revisions. The plan incorporates the concept of foresight, a future-focused vision, and consideration of drivers of change. With our mission statement to promote optimal and equitable trauma care for all people and our vision to be a premier global nursing organization across the trauma continuum, our five strategic pillars were discussed. The pillars of advocacy; knowledge; research and quality; leadership; and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) form the structure from which to build our goals and objectives. Highlighted initiatives included STN's Position Statement on Gun Violence, our alignment with TCAA related to advocacy in support of integrating military and civilian partnerships, and the Mission Zero Act. Research efforts included the development of six on-demand modules related to the research process and partnering with the Center for National Trauma Research.

To add to STN's library of trauma course offerings is the newly completed Pediatric Trauma Across the Care Continuum course. This 1-day course focuses on the care of the pediatric patient beyond resuscitation. With the completion of course development, STN is committed to its promulgation nationwide.

Seeking endorsement for the Trauma Program Manager (TPM) Position Statement, President Krichten described how this evidence-based position statement provides the synopsis of the role of the TPM and the qualifications and competencies necessary for success in that role. To review this important document, go to: https://www.traumanurses.org/_resources/documents/research/STN-Postition-Statement-Qualifications-Competencies-TPM-Role.pdf.

STN announced a “Call for Action” for all members and partnering organizations to consider endorsing this important position statement that, whenever possible, the role of the TPM should be assumed by an RN with specific qualifications and competencies. Please contact Stephanie Czuhajewski at [email protected] if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration of this important request.

Dr. Joseph Sakran presented the keynote address, “How Healthcare Professionals Drive Social Change!” The focus of his address was on the importance of civic engagement, the power of storytelling, the need to think beyond the bedside, and the need for authentic leadership. I appreciate Dr. Sakran's willingness to share his story with us and how it motivated him to become a surgeon, a researcher, and an advocate for firearm injury prevention. In recognition of his peers and colleagues from STN, Penn Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, and John Hopkins, I appreciated his comment that the nurses are “really the glue that holds us all together.”

From concurrent to plenary sessions, the 2-day conference agenda kept attendees engaged as various key, trauma-related topics were presented. In addition to amazing presentations, poster presenters shared their work during the poster viewing/judging session on Thursday evening. Congratulations to all presenters for sharing your hard work and expertise with our STN colleagues!

During my presidential address, Volunteering: Fueling Your Fire, I hoped to share my story of how the people in my life helped shape who I am and why I do what I do today. Reflecting back on my childhood, I watched my parents navigate through my father's chronic illness, keeping our family's well-being at the forefront of all that they did. With a strong sense of community, my family was supported by those in our community, and for that, I am forever grateful. I learned the value of giving back and the importance of volunteering! Generations of my family members have dedicated their lives to the volunteer fire service as firefighters and auxiliaries. I am grateful for my extended family, my husband, David, and son, Collin, as we, together, serve our community with other brave men and women every day.

With firefighting at my core, choosing the profession of trauma nursing seemed to be a natural course for me. My profession has led me to embrace the care of the trauma patient in the prehospital setting and beyond. Gaining expertise in emergency and critical care trauma nursing has been my life's profession.

I spoke about the person who introduced me to STN back in 2000. Elizabeth “Betsy” Seislove invited me to my first STN conference in Las Vegas. As coworkers in a Level I trauma center, we worked together at the bedside and, later, in various roles with the trauma program. Betsy encouraged me to look beyond our institution and discover the many opportunities that STN could offer. From that first conference so many years ago, I was hooked. Betsy, a true leader in the world of trauma nursing and the 2011 STN President, was my inspiration. Choosing STN as my professional home opened my eyes to the importance of lifelong education, advocacy, collaboration with other trauma providers and organizations, and understanding global perspectives in trauma care.

What “lights your fire” as a trauma nurse? Do you have an interest in education, performance improvement, trauma program management, advocacy, research, DEI, or publication? Maybe you are new to this organization, or maybe not so new. Perhaps, TraumaCon 2023 was your first conference, or maybe you have attended in past years. Maybe you have thought about volunteering but are unsure how to get started. Whatever the case, please think about it! Reach out to me, reach out to other STN members, our board, or the Agentis staff for help! Ignite your profession; get involved!

I leave you with this thought. For our year ahead together, I challenge each of you to “Be Someone's Betsy.” Just think about this year ahead and TraumaCon 2024 in Orlando, FL. Think about your colleagues in your own organization. Invite them along to our conference next year. Tell them about STN and the many reasons to consider this organization as their professional home. Discuss the many benefits of being a member, from the educational opportunities to the Journal of Trauma Nursing (JTN). Inspire them to get involved, perhaps volunteer to help on a project or a committee, or write an article. The possibilities are endless.

Open their eyes, and inspire them! They will be forever grateful as I am for Betsy!