UroConnect Open Forum
Online Social and Professional Networking Resource Exclusively for SUNA Members
UroConnect Benefits
SUNA Open Forum
The SUNA Open Forum is an online discussion group designed to help you connect with your friends and colleagues within SUNA. The Open Forum is part of UroConnect. The Open Forum fosters camaraderie and support among members. We encourage you to use the Open Forum to connect, share, and communicate with your colleagues!
Note: In May 2019, all members were auto-subscribed to receive Open Forum communications in the form of a daily digest. Members will receive ONE email a day that includes the day’s discussions. These emails will NOT include any promotional materials, conference registration reminders, etc. The Open Forum daily digests are a summary of discussions that your colleagues are having in the Open Forum - only peer-generated content. However, if you would like to opt out of receiving a daily email digest, follow these steps:
- Go to SUNA Open Forum (you’ll be prompted to log in if you are not already).
- Click on “Settings” and select “No email” under “Email Notifications.”
SUNA Open Forum Code of Conduct
To ensure the best possible experience for all members, SUNA has established basic guidelines for participation in UroConnect and the SUNA Open Forum.
Urologic Nursing, the official journal of the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA), presents the latest advances in urologic nursing practice. Written by and for urologic nurses and associates, Urologic Nursing features clinical articles covering a variety of urologic issues and clinical procedures. Patient education techniques, research findings, ethical issues, and current trends in this expanding clinical nursing specialty also are included. Published six times a year.
Position Statements & Endorsements
SUNA's Position on Key Topics
SUNA Position Statements
SUNA Endorsements
- American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) Position Statement: Role of the RN in Ambulatory Care (2016)
- American Association for Homecare White Paper: Keeping Patients at Home with Improved Outcomes Through the Use of Quality Incontinence Products and HME Providers (2020)
- Competencies for the Nurse Practitioner Working with Adult Urology Patients (2015)
- Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA) Consensus Statement on Proficiencies for the APRN Gerontological Specialist (2015)
- Guidelines for Sexual Health Care for Prostate Cancer Patients (2022)
- United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc. Ostomy and Continent Diversion Patient Bill of Rights (2021)
Patient Resources
Helping You Help Your Patients
Patient Education Links
Patient Education Videos
Patient Education Personal Story Articles
The SUNA Foundation
Funding Urologic Scholarships, Educational Programs, and Nursing Research
Our Mission
Trustees
The SUNA Foundation accepts contributions from SUNA members, corporations, and other individuals. These donations benefit the following research grants, educational scholarships, and programs, which are available to SUNA members and chapters. Click on the links below for additional information, including eligiblity criteria and applications. Applications may be submitted to the SUNA Foundation via email (suna@ajj.com) or fax (856-589-7463).
Annual Giving
Your Annual Gift will help enhance the urologic nursing specialty. You may opt to donate each year when renewing your membership.
Memorial Gift
A Memorial Gift honors and remembers a loved one, friend, colleague, or patient. An example is contributing to the Ardeth Hale Memorial Leadership Award.
Planned Giving
Prepare for your future with a Planned Gift. Your gift will help improve care and ensure the future of urologic nursing practice. Planned Giving options include life insurance arrangements, bequests, trusts, and more.
Charitable Gifts
The SUNA Foundation also welcomes other charitable gifts including appreciated securities and stocks. Examples include contributing to the Chapter Enhancement Scholarships, Past Presidents Registration Scholarship. and research awards.
Corporate Gifts
SUNA Corporate Members and other organizations are invited to support urologic nursing by making a Corporate Gift. All contributions are tax deductible.
The SUNA Foundation welcomes contributions from SUNA members, corporations, and other individuals.
Donations are tax deductible. You will receive a receipt by mail for your records. The SUNA Foundation qualifies as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Thank you for your support!
Thank you to the following individuals and organizations who made donations in support of the SUNA Foundation during the 2023 uroLogic Conference. These generous donations support grants, scholarships, and programs that assist SUNA members and chapters in pursuing excellence in urologic nursing practice, patient care, and research.
Jessica Anaya, NP Sheila Andreone, RN Shanna Atnip, MSN, WHNP-BC Marianne Borch, BSN, RN, CURN Debbie Buback, MSN, RN, NP Tammy Clamann, BSN, RN, LEND Hillary Durstein, MSN, APRN-C Beth Ebner, BSN, RN, CURN Sallyanne Fisher, MSN, FNP-BC Fran Foley, RN, MHA, CURN Amanda Jo Frary, APRN Emily Fritz, NP Julian Gallegos, PhD, RN Jaquita Gardner, APRN, CNS Kelly Gollar, MSN, APRN, CUNP Barbara Harley, FNP |
Debbie Hensley, RN, BSN, CURN Margaret Amy Hull, DNP, WHNP-BC, FAUNA Jennifer Johnas, APRN, CNS, MS Valerie Jones Christy Krieg, MSN, FPN, CUNP Michelle Jean Lajiness, DNP, APRN-BC, FAUNA Maylea Lamborn, RN, CURN Susan Baum Lipsy, ANP-BC, CUNP, FAUNA Cynthia LaShawn McGlothlin, MSN, WHNP Carrie Mize Jo-Ann Moore, DNP, APRN, APN-C, CUNP Christa Mustapha, APN Barbara Lee Nalley, CRNP Tiffany Naselli, RN, CURN Sylvia Dung Nguyen, NP |
Kathy Nguyen, NP Jennifer Lee Nygaard, RN Lisa Pair, DNP, WHNP-BC, FAUNA Gina Powley, MSN, APN-BC, FAUNA Joel Rosen, MA Victor Senese, BSN, RN, CURN Katelynn Shepherdson, RN Andrea Strong, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, RN-RC, CURN Jillian Sulley, MBA, CEM Kristine Ann Tan, RN, CURN Treva Thomason, CURN, BCIA-PMDB Franklin Tondjo, NP Valre Welch, MSN, RN, CPNP, FAUNA Samantha Windatt, FNP Samantha Zinnel, BSN, RN |
The SUNA Foundation welcomes contributions from SUNA members, corporations, and other individuals.
Go to SUNA Foundation Donation Form
Donations are tax deductible. You will receive a receipt by mail for your records. The SUNA Foundation qualifies as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Thank you for your support!
Purchase Your Copy of the SUNA Foundation Cookbook
The SUNA Foundation Cookbook contains 215 mouth-watering recipes – everything you need from appetizers to desserts. The cookbooks make wonderful gifts for family and friends as well as chapter door prizes or a special recognition for a chapter member. The cookbook is available for sale in the SUNA Online Store for $8 each (includes shipping).
Cherish Celebrations and Memories with the SUNA Foundation
Cherish celebrations of personal milestones, special family events, or even chapter accomplishments with a donation to the SUNA Foundation. You also can donate a memorial gift honoring a loved one, friend, colleague, or patient. Your generous donations help SUNA members achieve scholarships for pursuing education to further the growth of urologic patient care and support urologic nursing research.
Urology nurses care for patients across the lifespan, providing guidance and treatment for a variety of urologic diseases and concerns. Recognizing the need to advance urologic nursing practice and create a continuum of knowledge, the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates (SUNA) formed the SUNA Foundation.
Committed to propelling urologic nursing care, the Foundation offers many opportunities for SUNA members by funding urologic nursing research, scholarships, and educational programs.
Gifts from donors help urologic nurses and associates research their ideas, further their nursing education, and seek specialized training. Patients ultimately benefit from their expanded knowledge and expertise.
Advanced Practice
Look to SUNA for the latest in advanced practice guidelines, findings, and evidence-based research for the urologic nursing community
Recognizing that nurse practitioners and physician assistants play a key role in team-based delivery of care, the American Urological Association has developed a Consensus Statement on Advanced Practice Providers. The Consensus Statement examines advanced practice provider integration from a regulatory and practice management approach. The Consensus Statement was developed by a workgroup featuring a diverse set of urologic providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Susanne Quallich, ANP-BC, NP-C CUNP, FAANP, represented SUNA on the workgroup.
The following resources were first published in the March/April 2021 issue of Urologic Nursing. Click on the title to download the resource.
Clinical Practice Procedures
- Urinary Catheterization of the Adult Female
- Urinary Catheterization of the Adult Male
- Insertion of an Indwelling Urethral Catheter in the Adult Female
- Insertion of an Indwelling Urethral Catheter in the Adult Male
Teaching Tools
- Intermittent Self-Catheterization Patient Education Checklist
- Methods and Types of Urinary Catheters Used for Indwelling or Intermittent Catheterization
View the Digital Edition of the March/April 2021 Issue of Urologic Nursing
The following resource was first published in the July/August 2022 issue of Urologic Nursing.
Clinical Practice
Look to SUNA for the latest in clinical practice guidelines, findings, and evidence-based research for the urologic nursing community
This clinical consensus statement (CCS) on vaginal pessary use and management for POP reflects statements drafted by content experts from the American Urogynecologic Society and Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates. The purpose of this CCS is to identify areas of expert consensus and non-consensus regarding pessary fitting, follow-up, and management of pessary complications to improve the safety and quality of care where evidence is currently limited.
SUNA Suprapubic Catheter Task Force has developed a White Paper on Management of Patients after Suprapubic Catheter Insertion. This white paper provides recommendations based on expert opinion and the scarce evidence relative to suprapubic catheter care after the initial post-insertion change. Special thank you to the following task force members: Susanne A. Quallich, PhD, ANP-BC, NP-C, CUNP, FAUNA, FAANP; Todd Thompson, MSN, RN; Jodi Jameson, MLIS, AHIP; Katie Wall, MSN, FNP-C; Michelle J. Lajiness, DNP, FNP-BC, FAUNA; Gina Powley, MSN, ANP-BC, FAUNA; Anthony R. Lutz, MSN, NP-C, CUNP; and Jean Hemphill, PhD, MSN, FNP-BC.
SUNA joined the American Association for Homecare; United Spinal Association; Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society; and Wound Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board to develop a white paper to educate payers and state Medicaid programs on the types of intermittent catheter products and services needed to successfully manage an individual’s urinary retention needs in a home-based setting to improve patient experience, health outcomes, and reduce overall cost. Entitled The Critical Need to Provide Intermittent Catheter Urological Supplies Specific to Patient Need to Improve Health Outcomes, the white paper addresses the variables going into managing each person’s urinary retention needs, the role of the home medical equipment provider, the risks of improper management, the challenges of limited HCPCs codes for a variety of products, and the value of managing urinary needs with sustainable reimbursement.
The following resources were first published in the March/April 2021 issue of Urologic Nursing. Click on the title to download the resource.
Clinical Practice Procedures
- Urinary Catheterization of the Adult Female
- Urinary Catheterization of the Adult Male
- Insertion of an Indwelling Urethral Catheter in the Adult Female
- Insertion of an Indwelling Urethral Catheter in the Adult Male
Teaching Tools
SUNA collaborated with the American Urological Association on the development of three white papers on optimizing outcomes for patients before, during, and following urologic surgery:
- Optimizing Outcomes in Urological Surgery: Pre-Operative Care for the Patient Undergoing Urologic Surgery or Procedure
- Optimizing Outcomes in Urologic Surgery: Intraoperative Considerations
- Optimizing Outcomes in Urologic Surgery: Postoperative
Thank you to the following SUNA members who served as workgroup members or peer reviewers: Frances Foley, MHA, RN, CURN; Gwendolyn Hooper, PhD, APRN, CUNP; Michelle Lajiness, NP; Christopher Tucci, MS, RN, BC, CURN; Charlene Vollmer, BSN, RN-BC; and Glenda Wilkinson, BS, RN, CURN, CRLS, MLSO.
The Prostate Cancer Patient Guide is a comprehensive resource on diagnosis, treatment, side effects, and risk factors for patients and families with a history of prostate cancer. Developed by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the guide is designed for any man newly diagnosed with or in treatment for prostate cancer, and for family members seeking information about prostate cancer patient navigation as well as their own short- and long-term risks factors for prostate cancer.
The Flexible Cystoscopy: Training & Assessment Guideline and Flexible Cystoscopy: Performance Criteria, Training & Assessment Logbook have become the universal training package in using a flexible cystoscope. Created by our British colleagues, the British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN) and the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS), these free evidence-based guidelines are available for download on the BAUS website.
Recognizing that nurse practitioners and physician assistants play a key role in team-based delivery of care, the American Urological Association has developed a Consensus Statement on Advanced Practice Providers. The Consensus Statement examines advanced practice provider integration from a regulatory and practice management approach. The Consensus Statement was developed by a workgroup featuring a diverse set of urologic providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Susanne Quallich, ANP-BC, NP-C CUNP, FAANP, represented SUNA on the workgroup.
The American Urological Association (AUA) has developed a White Paper on Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections: Definitions and Significance in the Urologic Patient. A white paper workgroup organized by the Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Committee and led by Dr. Timothy Averch drafted the paper, which was approved by the AUA Board of Directors in October 2014. Diane K. Newman, DNP, FAAN, BCB-PMD, represented SUNA on the workgroup.
The workgroup noted that while health care in general has increased its focus on catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) prevention and the inappropriate use of catheters, much of this attention does not apply to urologic patients. Therefore, the white paper delves in to this particular area and also provides pertinent definitions pertaining to CAUTIs.
Fundamentals of Urology Course
Comprehensive Course Offering 4.0 Contact Hours
- Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
- Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome
- Management of Incontinence - Behavioral
- Practical Tips for Implementing Toileting in Older Adults: Body Worn Absorptive Products
- New Technologies for Containing Urine
- External Urine Collection Suction Devices
- Managing Chronic Indwelling Urinary Catheters
- Nursing Guide to Intermittent Catheterization
- Ins and Outs of Bladder Irrigation
- Bladder Management following Indwelling Urinary Catheter Removal
Course Pricing
SUNA members receive $25 off the standard price for the course:
- SUNA Members: $125
- Standard: $150
Access Course in SUNA Online Library
Supported through educational grants from Hollister and ConvaTec