APNA Call for Abstracts Deadline Monday 3/1
As fellow nurses, your peers trust your perspective and want to hear from you at the APNA Annual Conference: Submit an abstract now! Share your innovation, best practice, or analysis with your community. Learn more & submit an abstract

APNA Elections: Call for Nominations
Grow as a leader, make lasting connections, and help shape the future of psychiatric-mental health nursing with the 2021 APNA Call for Nominations! Nominate yourself for one (or more) of the open positions on the APNA Board of Directors or 2022 Nominating Committee. To get started, indicate your interest by emailing Lisa Nguyen inform@apna.org by April 7th. You will then receive instructions on submitting your nomination for consideration. Your nomination will be reviewed by the 2021 APNA Nominating Committee, who sets the slate of candidates for this year's elections. Learn more

APNA Board of Directors Student Scholarship
To support aspiring nurses on their path to a career in psychiatric-mental health nursing, the APNA Board of Directors Student Scholarship will provide up to 30 pre-licensure/undergraduate and graduate nursing students with registration to attend the APNA 35th Annual Conference, 1-year complimentary membership in APNA and exposure to a nationwide network of experienced PMH nurses. Deadline to apply is Apr. 6. Learn more and apply

Stand Up & Be Counted for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing
Help show the world who psychiatric-mental health nurses are! Participate in a groundbreaking workforce survey and earn a $20 credit towards content of your choosing in the APNA eLearning Center. Take the RN Survey  |  Take the APRN Survey

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released grants to 134 clinics enabling them to implement comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment by becoming Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs). The grants are funded from the $4.5 billion allocated to SAMHSA as part of the COVID-19 relief package passed in December.  With the addition of this grant funding, there are now 340 CCBHCs across the country – nearly a 50% increase from just days ago. Full Story

The Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET), a broad research initiative aimed at determining how to provide best treatment for individuals experiencing symptoms of early psychosis, continues to expand its reach by increasing access to resources for researchers, providers, and families. Among other efforts, the initiative is growing its network of research hubs and launched a new web portal. EPINET is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Full Story

Researchers have developed a computerized adaptive screener to identify youth at risk for attempting suicide. The screener, called the computerized adaptive screen for suicidal youth (CASSY), consists of 11 questions on average and correctly identified 82.4% of youth who went on to attempt suicide in the three months following screening. The results suggest this screener could serve as an easy-to-use way for providers to detect youth suicide risk in emergency department settings. Full Story

SAMHSA has published a series of Advisories based on existing Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPs) and Technical Assistance Publications (TAPS) which summarize updated guidance and recommendations on topics in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment field. The advisories are directed to programs serving clients who are unemployed, underemployed, or struggling in workplace settings. Full Story

Mental illness in young individuals is associated with a strikingly high risk of subsequent physical illness, disability, and premature mortality, results of a large longitudinal study show, reported MedScape. Investigators analyzed 30 years of hospital data on more than 2.3 million individuals and found that those diagnosed with a mental disorder were more than twice as likely to develop a subsequent physical disease at a young age, and almost four times as likely to die at a younger age compared with their counterparts without psychiatric illness. Full Story

A new study suggests that differences in the expression of gene transcripts – readouts copied from DNA that help maintain and build our cells – may hold the key to understanding how mental disorders with shared genetic risk factors result in different patterns of onset, symptoms, course of illness, and treatment responses. Findings from the study, conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, appear in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced warning letters to 10 companies for illegally selling dietary supplements that claim to cure, treat, mitigate, or prevent depression and other mental health disorders, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The warning letters were issued to: Enlifta LLC; Lifted Naturals; Mountain Peak Nutritionals; SANA Group LLC.; Wholesome Wellness; Dr. Garber’s Natural Solutions; ProHealth Inc.; Blossom Nature LLC; FDC Nutrition Inc.; and Silver Star Brands, Inc. Full Story

A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives has reintroduced the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2021, a bill aimed at expanding access to telehealth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, reported HealthcareITNews.com. Full Story

Lawmakers have re-introduced a bill that would allow healthcare providers to use telehealth to treat anyone in the any state throughout the coronavirus pandemic, reported mHealthIntelligence.com. The Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, filed in both the House and Senate, aims to allow providers to bypass state and federal licensing requirements during the COVID-19 public health emergency and improve access to care for consumers. Full Story

The American Psychiatric Association called on state public health authorities to include people with serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD) to the equivalent of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Phase 1-C of their prioritization schedules. The recommendation coincides with APA’s recently released guidance document, The Role of the Psychiatrist in the Equitable Distribution of the COVID-19 Vaccine. Phase 1-C, as defined by the CDC includes people who are 65-74 years old, essential workers, and anyone between ages 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions. Full Story

Click here to see letters APNA has signed on to as a part of its participation in coalitions that further policy for nursing and mental health.

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.