APNA Annual Awards Call for Nominations
APNA Annual Awards recognize APNA members who demonstrate excellence in psychiatric-mental health nursing practice, education, research, leadership, community efforts, and more. Awards recipients will be recognized in person at the APNA 27th Annual Conference, on the APNA website and in the newsletter, and in a special APNA Awards press release. Ensure that your PMH nursing colleagues are recognized for their efforts. Click here for more info on how to nominate a colleague.

PMHCNSs & PMHNP Programs - An Update
PMH-CNSs are important and critical contributors to PMH-APRN educational programs. This has been recognized and documented in the recently released report of The National Task Force (NTF) on Quality Nurse Practitioner (NP) Education and  in revised the NP Program Evaluation Criteria.

APNA representative Susie Adams, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, in partnership with the ISPN representative (Victoria Soltis-Jarrett PhD, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC), articulated the comparable role and expertise of PMHCNSs as PMHNPs in educating PMHNP graduate students and successfully advocated that PMHCNSs be recognized to serve in leadership roles for PMHNP Programs.

Please review this document -

• Page 4; Criterion I.B; second bullet (page 10 of pdf)
  This section recognizes that PMH CNSs can lead a PMH NP educational program.
• Page 9; Criterion III.F, "PMH-CNS returning..." (page 15 of pdf)
  Specifically applies to CNSs who wish to return for more education and flexibility in clinical hours.

APNA's position is that CNSs are not required to take any additional education.

CPI: Register Today!
Registration is now open for the APNA 11th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute. Held in Reston, Virginia, June 20th-23rd, CPI will provide attendees with continuing education on psychopharmacologic practice across the lifespan and the opportunity to earn up to 23 contact hours. One highlight will be the keynotes, to be delivered by Thomas Insel, MD, Director of NIMH, and David Mineta, Deputy Director of Demand Reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. More Info

Access APNA 26th Annual Conference Sessions Online
Did you know that 78 sessions from the APNA Annual Conference this past November are available online? If you missed the conference or want to access a session you did not attend on-site, check out the 2012 Annual Conference Archives section in the APNA eLearning Center. 2012 Annual Conference Archives

Zeroing in on a pressing need in health care - nurses with specialized training in mental health issues, particularly focused on veterans - The Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence announced what is believed to be the single largest philanthropic commitment, nearly $25 million, specifically for nursing faculty and clinical leader training. The Jonas Center is directing close to $14 million and has secured pledges of another $10.5 million in leveraged funds to prepare 1,000 nurse faculty and clinical leaders nationwide by 2018. The grants support nurses pursuing PhDs and DNPs, the terminal degrees in the field. Full Story

In 11 states, nursing groups are pushing legislation that would permit nurses with a master’s degree or higher to order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe medications and administer treatments without physician oversight, reported The Washington Post. Similar legislation is likely to be introduced soon in three other states. Full Story

Providing generic drug coverage instead of no drug coverage during the Medicare Part D coverage gap saves money and improves health outcomes in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, a new study suggests. The Medicare Part D coverage gap "has a greater impact on patients with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," study investigator Yuting Zhang, PhD, told Medscape Medical News. Full Story (Free registration required)

The 2013 NURSE Corps Scholarship Program (formerly known as the Nursing Scholarship Program) application cycle is now open. The deadline to apply is May 2, at 7:30 pm, ET. To learn more about program eligibility and requirements, click here.

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), convened a bipartisan forum "After Newtown: A National Conversation on Violence and Severe Mental Illness." Members heard from leading experts in the mental health community as well as parents of children who suffer and have suffered from mental illness. A video of the forum can be viewed by clicking here.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has signed Senate Bill 271, which expands the types of licensed practitioners authorized to certify that a person, as a result of a mental disorder, presents a likelihood of serious harm to themselves or others. Such a certification can lead to emergency mental health evaluations in order to assist the at-risk individual and can only be made by licensed physicians and clinical psychologists under current law. SB 271 will also allow social workers, licensed professional clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, certified nurse practitioners, and clinical nurses who are qualified to work with mental health disorders to make such certifications. Full Story (PDF file)

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA.) and Congressman Leonard Lance (D-NJ) introduced the Excellence in Mental Health Act on March 19, 2013. This legislation would support the nation’s community mental health and addictions system by establishing national standards and oversight for Federally Qualified Community Behavioral Health Centers (FQBHCs). The legislation has already been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), along with 10 bipartisan cosponsors, on February 8. Full Story

The National Quality Forum (NQF) Board of Directors has endorsed five neurological measures related to imaging and care for dementia and epilepsy. Full Story

As the debate around using nurse practitioners to stem the predicted physician shortage continues to heat up, a new policy brief from the National Institute for Health Care Reform points to barriers that are preventing the fullest use of NPs. The report found that state scope of practice laws and payment policies are two of the biggest challenges to expanding care provided by nurse practitioners, reported Healthcare Finance News. Full Story

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is Accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.