Keesler to celebrate nurse/technician week Published May 1, 2013 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Keesler Medical Center is scheduled to celebrate National Nurse/Technician Week on May 3-9 with a variety of activities. Project officer Capt. Iesiah Harris, 81st Surgical Operations Squadron, said this year's program kick-off event incorporates a Hollywood theme and will be held 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 3 in the medical center's Don Wylie Auditorium. Nurses and medical technicians are encouraged to dress like a celebrity or favorite actor or actress. Col. Dorothy Hogg, Air Force Materiel Command deputy command surgeon and major general select, will be the guest speaker at 3:25 p.m. She will be the new assistant Air Force surgeon general for medical force development and assistant surgeon general for nursing services later this summer. A social program and costume judging is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., followed at 3 with the reading of the observance proclamation and a Hollywood game. Other activities are planned throughout the afternoon and events are scheduled during the week. A "Day of Pampering" will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 6-8:30 p.m. May 6 on the third floor of the Back Bay Tower with waterless manicures, massages and hair styling provided by Virginia College students. Spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis. During the May 7 "Nurses/Techs Leading the Way" session, speed mentoring will be conducted from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. in the Don Wylie Auditorium. In addition, an ice cream social will be held in the auditorium and sundaes will be delivered to nurses and techs caring for patients from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m. The "Nursing Is an Art and a Science" virtual dementia tour will be from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. May 8 in Room 2B118 (in the former same-day surgery area). An evidence-based practice presentation and research project - "The Cookie Caper" - will be conducted from 1-3 p.m. throughout the medical center to, as Harris explained, "reveal the fun aspects of the research process." Evidence-based practice and process improvement project displays and various vendors will be available in the auditorium. Nurses and techs will choose the best poster. The day's activities will conclude with a nursing history session provided by the Air Force Society of Nurses. Keesler's observance ends May 9 with a "Nurses/Techs Deserve a Break" luau-themed sports day from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Crotwell Track and pavilion. The event includes announcement of the poster contest winner, volleyball, horseshoes, kick ball and board games. Prior to the day's activities, there will a 7 a.m. 5-kilometer fun run.