Journals, Discounts on Publications and Annual Meeting Registration, "My AGS," And Opportunities for Networking and Advocacy Work Make AGS Membership Attractive - Phyllis Atkinson, GNP

A few years after I finished graduate school -- I was one of the first to graduate from the geriatric nurse practitioner's program that Ohio State University introduced in 1993 -- I joined the American Geriatrics Society. I really liked AGS' journals - the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Annals of Long-Term Care, and Clinical Geriatrics. I was also interested in going to the meetings and networking.

I'd worked as a critical care nurse in an ICU for 14 years before becoming a geriatric nurse practitioner. After working with older patients in the ICU -- especially older patients at the end of life -- I wanted to learn more about taking care of older people, making sure they got the kind of care they needed and wanted, and advocating for them.

My first job after I got my graduate degree was working as the coordinator of a geriatric assessment program that I created. Then I worked with different nursing home practice groups that provided primary care to long-term care residents. I was responsible for the management of their chronic and their acute conditions. Since 2002, I've worked as a GNP for Evercare, a nationwide company that provides nurse practitioners to long-term care facilities. For the past two years I've worked as a manager for Evercare in Cincinnati, Ohio, overseeing 8 to 10 nurse practitioners who have caseloads of 80 to 100 patients each.

When I joined AGS, I was very interested in attending the annual meeting, doing networking and getting involved - I'd been a national board member of the National Gerontological Nursing Association and am active with local chapters of the National Conference of Geriatric Nurse Practitioners. But not long after I joined AGS my husband and I became primary caregivers to his grandmother. She lived with us the last five years of her life, and during her final two years, she required 24-hour care. I truly lived the 36-hour day. She was 84 when she passed away a year ago. Caring for her, working full-time and caring for my family - we have two children, now 25 and 23 -- totally consumed my time.

When we became primary caregivers for my husband's grandmother, everything else had to go. I couldn't go to the AGS meetings, as I'd planned. But I still got a lot out of being a member. The free journals, the discounts on publications -- including Geriatrics at Your Fingertips and Doorway Thoughts -- were a big benefit. I review all the journals I receive as a member. At work, we give copies of GAYF to all our nurse practitioners. They really like GAYF because it's easy to use and small enough to carry around in your pocket. Access to the Members-only site is also very important. There's a lot of useful information there. I particularly like the one-click access to JAGS and the Practice Management Toolkit. I also appreciate the monthly member mailings that give me updates on topics related to geriatrics, including educational programs and public policy activities.

This year, for the first year, I was able to go to the AGS Annual Scientific Meeting, in Chicago, and took advantage of the member discount on admission. It was great to go. There were opportunities to meet people in the field and network. I also got ideas from the presentations and paper and poster sessions - including ideas about caring for older people with congestive heart failure and new ideas about defining functional status.

I'm looking forward to getting more involved in AGS, including its advocacy work, in the near future.

Phyllis Atkinson, M.S., ARNP, BC, GNP, AGS Member, Clinical Services Manager for Evercare, Southwest, Ohio.