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> TB Notes Newsletter > TB
Notes 2, 2004 > TB Education and Training Network (TB ETN)
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TB Notes 2, 2004
TB Education and Training Network (TB ETN)
Member Highlight
Linette McElroy, RN, is the Manager of Nursing Programs at the
Division of TB Control at the British Columbia Centre for Disease
Control in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Linette’s casual visit one day
to CDC’s Web site lead her to the highlighted information on the
2003 TB ETN conference in Atlanta. When we asked Linette what influenced
her decision to join TB ETN, she replied, “Why not? Holy cow! I’d
have joined earlier if I’d known about it!”
Even in the short time she’s been a member, Linette feels that
TB ETN has dramatically enriched the TB care and education that
she is able to provide. Meeting and networking with others who face
the same professional challenges she faces has been invaluable to
her. The TB ETN has also opened her eyes to the amazing variety
of support resources that have already been developed, saving her
from reinventing the wheel, and most importantly, helping her to
be well-prepared to meet the needs of her community.
Linette’s job responsibilities include policy and procedure development
for community health, acute care, long-term care, and licensed community
care facilities in the Province of British Columbia, and development
and facilitation of educational programs with regard to all aspects
of TB control at both provincial and federal levels. She has recently
completed a contract with Health Canada and Correctional Service
Canada to orient corrections’ health care staff (via full-day workshops)
to new guidelines for the prevention and control of TB in Canadian
federal correctional institutions.
Linette was so impressed by TB ETN and the promise it holds for
all of us in TB prevention and control that she volunteered to serve
as a member of the Communications and Membership Subcommittee and
of the TB ETN 2004 Conference Planning Committee. Her desire is
to see TB ETN become a “household word,” so to speak, in the TB
prevention and control professions. The best way to do that is through
activities that strategically increase TB ETN membership to include
representatives from each and every country in the world. “We all
know that TB is a global problem. The solutions should also be global.
I believe that TB ETN has the potential to have exactly this kind
of impact,” Linette said.
As mentioned in Linette’s job responsibilities, her most recent
training and education programs include orientation sessions that
are full-day workshops of 25-30 participants per session. The format
of the sessions was developed in conjunction with an Adult Education
Specialist/Information Technologist and includes several dynamic
team learning activities, PowerPoint presentations, and hands-on
demonstrations, not to mention several subtle (and not-so-subtle)
invitations to join TB ETN!
Linette has also developed a full-day TB workshop for the British
Columbia Centre for Disease Control. The content of this workshop
is geared toward health professionals who give and interpret tuberculin
skin tests. The title of the workshop is “TB Basics & Tuberculin
Skin Testing.” It is facilitated by Linette or by nurses from the
TB Control Program. The course is offered in Vancouver, B.C., four
to six times per year.
In addition to Linette’s exciting career as a TB Nursing Programs
Manager/TB Educator, she is also a Mom to two wonderful boys: David,
who’s 19, and Marc, who’s 14. “When they were younger, they were
my ‘hobbies’ and interests, but now that they’re getting older,
I’ve had a chance to expand my horizons again,” Linette said. Away
from work she enjoys a variety of activities. She confesses to being
a bit of a traditionalist at heart in some respects, with such time-honored
and satisfying pursuits as baking, quilting, and canning. Her other
great love is dogs, and in particular, competition flyball dog racing.
She teaches flyball lessons for the dog sport club where she holds
a membership, much to the delight of the two border collies in her
family. “Maddie” and “Sophie” have taught her much about the value
of long walks in the park or at the beach. In Vancouver, B.C., where
they live, they are blessed with many beautiful places where they
can do exactly that!
Linette looks forward to being able to contribute to TB prevention
and control for a long time, and hopefully, in many places throughout
the world.
If you’d like to join Linette as a TB ETN member and take advantage
of all TB ETN has to offer, please send an e-mail requesting a registration
form to tbetn@cdc.gov. You can
also send a request by fax at (404) 639-8960 or by mail to
TB ETN
CEBSB, Division of TB Elimination
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd., N.E., MS E10
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
If you would like additional information about the TB Education
and Training Network, visit the website at
http://www.cdc.gov.nchstp/tb/TBETN/default.htm.
—Submitted by Regina Bess
Div of TB Elimination
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