Past Meetings
July and August, 2014
SINFA will break for the summer, with no meetings until September. We are looking for volunteers to take the phone line over the summer months.
June Social 2014
Members got together for an outdoor picnic at the Lawn bowling club and tried our hand at Lawn Bowling. Thanks to member Aneil for arranging everything. It was fun! view the photos
May 13, 2014: This will be a show and tell/ Q & A.
Bring along your entire kit, or just your favourite tool. Bring your best bargain, or a list of your favourite suppliers. Bring tips and tricks or a story to tell about your work as a footcare nurse. For the new members, come armed with ANY question you have about footcare and/or the business side of being a footcare nurse.
This is an opportunity to network and get to know other nurses, and an opportunity to meet the standards of practice with teaching, mentoring, and collaborating.
April 8, 2014: SINFA's annual visit with Podiatrist Dr Hiedi Postowski
Dr Hiedi Postowski came for her annual talk. Her powerpoint presentation showed pictures of before and after treatment of different foot and nail issues, and there was much discussion around padding and offloading pressure to various areas of the foot. She welcomed our questions throughout the presentation. Thank You Dr Hiedi!
March 2014 - Registered Massage Therapist - Lymphatic Drainage
Carol Armstrong, BA RMT is a Dr Vodder trained specialist in lymphatic drainage. Her treatments focus on gentle massage to stimulate and promote lymphatic drainage followed by compression in the form of wrapping the affected area. There are many RMT's in Victoria, but only a handful with this specialty. Many footcare clients would benefit from this adjunct therapy. Carol asks for a referral from a physician to ensure that the treatment is appropriate for the client and their co-morbidities. Many extended health plans cover massage therapy when a doctor prescribes the therapy.
February 2014: Beanstream
Provides a service for businesses who want to provide the option of credit card payments for their clients. This is achieved using a smart phone and a reader device ( readers are available from Beanstream for $50). The Reader is plugged into the phone through the audio jack. Using your phone connection (WiFi is not secure), the credit card is swiped, and the client signs on the touch screen of the smart phone. There is a per transaction fee for the service. Contact Beanstream for more information.
January 2014: Fleur Brouwers, Certified Pedorthist
Works with Dr Fisher's team at Queen Alexandra. She is able to go mobile to people's homes ( phone; 250-858-0604 or email: ) Fleur fielded many questions from our members:
For example: Question: What is the difference between an orthotist and a pedorthist? Answer: Fleur says that the orthotist has extensive training on making braces whereas she does not. Both can do shoe modifications and shoe fitting, fitting of braces, and making of orthotics. A pedorthist cannot prescribe but can fill a prescription for a certain type of shoe. She usually requests a prescription for first time clients. She can accept prescriptions from GP’s, physiotherapists, and podiatrists, but if the prescription will be part of a claim for reimbursement, the client should check with the insurance company to see who they require as their acceptable prescriber.
December 2013: Meeting Social
Well attended event at the lawn bowling club in Saanich.
November 2013: AGM and elections
Alaine's 2 year term as chair has come to an end. Meghan accepted the nomination and was voted into the Chair position, leaving the treasurer/membership role vacant. Aneil was nominated and voted in as treasurer/membership. Amber resigned as director at Large, and Sue was voted in to fill the position.
October 22, 2013: Project Connect
A number of SINFA members participated in Project Connect - an event put together by the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. This Free information and Service fair is held at Our Place and is aimed at those experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty. Participants receive lunch and a variety of free services including footcare.
October 8, 2013: Medical Liaisons from Front Runners and New Balance
These highly educated and knowledgeable guests brought multiple styles of footwear to represent different types of universal shoe construction and their purpose for the wearer. They gave us some history of the running shoe and discussed how the "runner" has evolved in the past 40 years. This technology has been incorporated into the "walking shoe". We learned some new lacing techniques to aid in achieving an ideal fit. They encourage people with feet that are a difficult fit to come and see them.
September 10, 2013: CAFCN Conference
Tonights meeting was a review of the CAFCN Conference that was attended by a number of SINFA members in May. The "BIG" topic of discussion to come out of the conference was "point of use" sterility. Point of use sterility is required by many Health Authorities when a nurse is providing footcare in their facilities.
After much discussion, it was concluded that neither the BC Best Practice Guidelines nor the CSA Standards (Federal) indicate that point of use sterility is required. Each nurse is encouraged to become familiar with these standards and apply them to their own practice.
June Social
Members got together for an outdoor picnic at the Lawn bowling club and tried our hand at Lawn Bowling. Thanks to member Aneil for arranging everything. It was fun! view the photos
May 14, 2013: My Voice - Advance Care Planning Guide
Guest speaker: Dawn D, an RN from VIHA's Advance Care Planning Project. Dawn spoke to us about the importance of making plans for our future care in the event that we cannot speak for ourselves. Representation in health care matters is different from power of attorney. A Guide is available from the provincial government.
Apr 9, 2013: Advance Care Planning
We will be learning about "My Voice". The Advance Care Planning (ACP) program and booklet that replaced the "Let me Decide" program. The program and booklet help guide people in making their wishes known as they move toward the end of life. Our guest is a Nurse involved with both ACP and the Renal Program End of Life Project. This brief introduction can be followed by attendance at one of the 2 hour sessions planned in the region. See the brochure.
Mar 12, 2013: Shoppers Home Health Care Advisor
Our guest speaker this month is one of the Assistive Technology Advisors from Shoppers Home Health Care. This expert on Compression stockings will offer our group "COMPRESSION 101".
Feb 12, 2013: Sinfa's annual visit from the podiatrist, Dr Postowski.
Many members had questions ready for Dr Heidi. We were shown some products that can be used to help offload pressure areas on the feet and ways to alter or combine them to meet the needs of our clients. Ingrown nails and how to best cut different configurations was discussed at length. Risk and benefit of laser fungal treatment was discussed. Dr Heidi shared some fungus history. Who knew that trichophyton rubrum (the most common source of fungal skin and nail infections) came to North America after the 1st world war? “Trench foot” made its way here with our returning soldiers. Many Thanks to Dr Heidi for sharing a wealth of information.
Jan 8, 2013 Speaker: Occupational Therapist from the Mary Pack Arthritis Centre on Richmond Road.
This very informative speaker addressed multiple mechanical issues that affect many of our clients. Topics included use of orthotics, heel lifts, buddy straps, and metatarsal cookies. Quality footwear was discussed at length, including the structure of shoes - rocker soles, lace-up vs velcro, supportive upper construction, elevation of the heels, and various brands that offer supportive insoles, deep toe boxes, and a variety of other benefits. Handouts included tips for both fitting shoes and choosing shoe features, and a list of various shoe stores.
May 8, 2012 Speaker: Physiotherapist
Our guest speaker will be talking about common injuries in the workplace and our role in prevention through altering biomechanics and incorporation of a strength training regimen.
April 10, 2012 - Promoting Your Footcare Business
Unfortunately, at the last minute, our guest speaker was unable to attend the meeting. Our Education coordinators got together and shared some wonderful ideas for promoting your footcare business. They brought samples of business cards, magnets, information sheets, and note pads. There was some great discussion about tools. In particular, sharpening nippers - one member is even doing her own by hand! What a great sharing session!
March 13, 2012 Speaker: Police officer: Safety
A veteran female member of the Victoria Police Force spoke to the group about safety issues when out making client calls. We received advice for choosing a parking spot, the posture and attitude to exhibit when entering a building or elevator (keep at least one hand free!), and things we can do when someone is aggressive or a pet is aggressive. We were advised what to do if we feel like we are being followed (drive to the police station!!). Everyone present received a whistle that also acts as a flasher.
March 6, 2012 Speaker: Insurance Broker
A representative of Aon Reed Stenhouse spoke to members of the risk/benefit and the cost of maintaining private insurance in addition to the insurance provided by our colleges (CRNBC & CLPNBC). See the brochure and application for RNs and the link to an insurance program for LPNs. For more information, see the meeting minutes distributed to members via e-mail.
March 6, 2012 Seniors Expo - Pearkes Arena
Members manned a table at this expo and conducted a draw for complimentary footcare treatments. There were 133 entries and 9 treatments were given away. Approximately 250 people came by the table and chatted with our members about nursing footcare.
February 14, 2012 Business meeting
The new executive brought up many items for consideration/discussion. For more information, see the meeting minutes distributed to members via e-mail.
February 3, 2012 Visit to Queen Alexandra
The Doctor from the Foot and Leg Ulcer Clinic (FLUC) spoke with us about what their role is, and asked what we do. He stressed that the FLUC is not just for treatment of people with existing ulcers - they see patients who are at RISK of developing ulcers. We can help to direct our "AT RISK" clients to their family physicians for a referral to Central Intake in order to be seen at the FLUC. We were given a bit of history of the FLUC and the QA clinic and where they are going in the future. One of the clinic's pedorthists showed examples of how the clinic can customize footwear and create orthoses for all kinds of conditions.
January 10, 2012 Speaker: Lawyers: documentation
Lawyers from Carfra & Lawton spoke to the group. This meeting reminded members of the importance of documentation in protecting yourself when in private practice. Many examples of lawsuits were given to demonstrate how having a routine that you always follow can help protect you. When charting, a nurse must decide whether to document by exception or inclusion then be consistent. Chart your own observations and actions as well as any interactions with important "others". Be consistent with standards of practice and what any other footcare nurse would do. Do your own "incident report" or "Aide Memoir". For more information, see the minutes distributed to members via e-mail.
To become a member of the SINFA group please call 250-413-3128 or .