Elevate your practice at CPI and earn up to 21.25 pharmacology contact hours
Join your fellow nurses at the APNA 22nd Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute, either in person in Rockville, MD, or via virtual livestream this June. Register now to attend the ultimate source in nurse-focused psychopharmacology education and get the lowest rates of the year. Secure my spot

Go the distance with an abstract for the APNA 38th Annual Conference - deadline March 4
Ready to make your mark? Want to foster skills in your fellow nurses? Have information PMH nurses need to know? See a gap in practice? Share it as an abstract for presentation at psychiatric-mental health nursing’s largest conference in the U.S. I have an idea!

Future nurses: Unlock your potential with the APNA Board of Directors Student Scholarship!
Nursing students gain valuable exposure to the psychiatric-mental health nursing profession and kickstart leadership development through this unique scholarship program which includes complimentary registration and travel/lodging to attend the upcoming APNA Annual Conference and one year of membership in the APNA. I’m ready to apply!

Get involved with APNA: Answer the Call for Nominations
Grow professionally, strengthen your leadership skills, and make lasting connections: Nominate yourself to the APNA Board of Directors or 2025 Nominating Committee! Nurses of all levels and areas of practice are needed. As a board member, you could guide initiatives such as the APNA Board of Directors Scholarship, which has benefited hundreds of students. On the nominating committee, you could help ensure members will have the choice of exceptional candidates reflecting a diversity of backgrounds, geography, practice areas, and more in next year’s elections. Yes, I want to make an impact

Several COVID-era flexibilities relied upon by opioid treatment programs will become permanent later this year, reported FierceHealthcare.com. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) new final rule allows some opioid treatment program (OTP) providers to prescribe medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) like buprenorphine via telehealth without an initial in-person exam. It also allows them to dispense unsupervised, take-home doses of methadone to relatively stable patients. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is announcing notices of funding opportunities for two grant programs aimed at expanding substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services among pregnant and postpartum women and through adult and family treatment drug courts. The grant opportunities total about $28 million and are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to beat the overdose epidemic and tackle the mental health crisis. Full Story

A shortage of registered nurses in the first two years of the pandemic was probably temporary, according to a new report published in JAMA Health Forum. That’s because the workforce rebounded in 2022 and 2023, the authors said. Even still, a lot of RNs aren’t going back to hospitals and are moving into other settings including nursing homes and long-term care communities, reported McKnight's Long-Term Care News. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), approved a proposal from New Mexico for community-based mobile crisis intervention teams to provide Medicaid crisis services. The announcement is the latest in HHS’ ongoing efforts to support President Biden’s whole-of-government strategy to transform mental health services for all Americans. Full Story

Lifestyle psychiatry can play an important role in helping patients establish healthy behaviors and habits that both help prevent and treat mental illness. A Psychiatric News special report explores how lifestyle psychiatry emphasizes behaviors supporting mental health. Full Story

Researchers say they have developed a blood test for schizophrenia, reported HealthDay.com. The new test, which is expected to be available later this year from MindX Sciences, identifies markers in the blood that objectively measure a person's risk for schizophrenia, allowing doctors to tailor treatments to their individual biology. Full Story

The U.S. military’s shortage of mental health workers and an increase in demand for care has forced troops to seek help off base and sometimes wait a month for appointments, according to a new government report. The Government Accountability Office found 43% of authorized behavioral health care jobs in the military’s Defense Health Agency were vacant as of January 2023, reported Stars and Stripes. Full Story

Bipartisan bills recently introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, if passed as written and signed into law, would fund public health initiatives related to Alzheimer’s disease to the tune of $33 million each year over the next five years. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act of 2024. Representatives Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) introduced a companion bill in the House. The bills would reauthorize the original 2018 act. Full Story

Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Jen Kiggans (VA-03), Susan Wild (PA-07), and Buddy Carter (GA-01) with Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals. Full Story

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced State University of New York campuses are investing nearly $10 million in annual state funding to increase mental health services and support for students, faculty, and staff. This investment will expand services at 28 campuses, support more than 200,000 students, and build on its Statewide Tele-Psychiatry Network (STPN) and new tele-counseling option for community colleges. Full Story

Governors continue to prioritize strengthening states’ and territories’ healthcare workforces. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (the NGA Center) has supported states and territories on their governors’ healthcare workforce priorities through the Next Generation of the Healthcare Workforce Knowledge Exchange Network since 2022. During year two of the project, 22 states and territories participated in a variety of activities including four convenings, limited access resources, and targeted technical assistance. Full Story

Under the new leadership of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) met in February to discuss how the federal government can provide more support for innovative state and local efforts to meet the needs of people experiencing both homelessness and mental health or substance use disorders. 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 as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.