President's Message: Continuing Education for Tri-Disciplinary Nurses
At our most recent face to face APNA Board of Directors meeting, Member-at-Large Sara Jones mentioned that as psychiatric-mental health nurses, we are tri-disciplinary. We merge the disciplines of psychiatry and mental health with nursing. We are contextual experts who connect the biological, psychological, and social aspects of health to promote whole health. (Read More)

Nurses in Action: A Quick Tip for Motivational Interviewing
Content expert Carol Essenmacher, DNP, NCTTP, explains the "spirit of motivational interviewing" to build rapport and support patient engagement.  See an example of how Carol embraces the spirit of motivational interviewing.

Member News
Jess Calohan named Director of Frontier Nursing University Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program; Sandy Cayler discusses Iowa’s shortage of psychiatric-mental health professionals; Simone Durand mentors students to increase access to mental health care for children; Kay Foland details South Dakota State University’s new postgraduate certificate in psychiatric-mental health; Gregory Forrester receives scholarship from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Chelsea Landolin discusses UCSF’s Dyad project which seeks to address the shortage of providers and increase interprofessional education (IPE); Laura Lawson Webb named VP and CNO of Sheppard Pratt Health System; Mona Shattell to serve as inaugural Associate Dean for Faculty Development at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Learn More

Register Now for the APNA 17th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute
Invigorate your practice with 21 CE pharmacology contact hours at the APNA 17th Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute. Each day, get the science you need with a program planned for nurses, by nurses while you recharge with your psychiatric-mental health nursing community. New Location! Join your community in Louisville, Kentucky on June 6-9. Register Now and Save $76

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses to Impact Future Health Care Landscape
How to position the psychiatric-mental health workforce for the future – this was the question representatives from APNA councils, chapters and task forces were asked to consider as they came together with APNA leadership at the 2019 APNA Health Policy Summit and Strategic Discussion on Workforce, February 20-21, 2019, in Falls Church, VA. (Read More)

Offer Nursing Students a Career Pathway with the APNA Board of Directors Student Scholarship
Help shape the future of psychiatric-mental health nursing with the APNA Board of Directors Student Scholarship! Apply yourself or encourage students to apply by April 8. Up to 30 undergraduate/pre-licensure students and graduate students will receive 1 year of complimentary APNA membership, registration, travel, and lodging expenses to the APNA 33rd Annual Conference in New Orleans, and invaluable foundational exposure to nursing experts across the spectrum of care. (Learn More and Apply)

Featured Resource: Nursing History Videos
Did you know that you can access videos now of psychiatric-mental health nursing icons like Hildegard Peplau and Grayce Sills on the APNA website? Connect with the history of psychiatric-mental health nursing with a collection of videos from the APNA Foundation. (View)

Resource Roundup

• APNA Advocacy: Letter to CMS expressing concern over the proposed changes to the proposed rule, Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses (CMS-4180-P); Letter to Chairman Alexander in response to request to address affordability in the U.S. Health Care system
• Medication Updates: FDA approves Spravato (esketamine) for treatment-resistant depression
• Mental Health Parity Resources: See how Medicaid helps low income individuals with access to care in your state with a guide from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

New Members: 611 New Members since January!

Despite a strong belief among seniors and primary care physicians that brief cognitive assessments are important, only half of seniors are being assessed for thinking and memory issues, and much fewer receive routine assessments according to findings from the Alzheimer's Association 2019 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report. Full Story

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have developed a new blood test to more accurately diagnose military veterans and other people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. The biological test may also potentially provide more precise treatments and prevention for the disorder, reported PsychCentral. Full Story

More than 29% of youth between ages 10 and 12 who visited emergency rooms for either physical or psychiatric treatment screened positive for suicide risk, according to a study published in Hospital Pediatrics. And among the preteens who visited the emergency room only for psychiatric problems, 54% showed a suicide risk, and more than 17% in that group had attempted suicide in the past. Full Story

A recent article in The Verge features several researchers who are training Artificial Intelligence (AI) to diagnose mental illness. Full Story

The rate of Americans who died from dementia has more than doubled from 30.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2000 to 66.7 in 2017, according to a report released by the National Center for Health Statistics, reported CNN. Full Story

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open,  showed positive outcomes for Veterans struggling with multiple mental health conditions. The randomized implementation trial, which included 5,596 Veterans receiving care in a VA outpatient mental health clinic, showed that effective teamwork and a patient’s active involvement in their care can reduce hospitalization rates for Veterans with mental health conditions. Full Story

Illinois officials are planning a groundbreaking ceremony for a 200-bed hospital to treat prison inmates with mental illness. The $150 million center will be 180,000 square feet (16,700 square meters) and serve both men and women. It will employ more than 400 people including physicians, nurse practitioners, psychologists and correctional treatment officers, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Spravato (esketamine) nasal spray, in conjunction with an oral antidepressant, for the treatment of depression in adults who have tried other antidepressant medicines but have not benefited from them (treatment-resistant depression). Because of the risk of serious adverse outcomes resulting from sedation and dissociation caused by Spravato administration, and the potential for abuse and misuse of the drug, it is only available through a restricted distribution system, under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). Full Story

Legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Mar. 13 to help reduce veteran suicides and improve mental health outcomes by implementing changes at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to increase access to mental health care, expand diagnostic research and authorize new programs to combat veteran suicides. The Commander John Scott Hannon VA Mental Health Improvement Act of 2019 was introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS).  Full Story

The Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act was reintroduced on Mar. 14 and would expand the original bill introduced in 2014. The bill would expand a program that provides federal funding to clinics for mental health and addiction treatment services. Full Story

In Florida, the House Health Quality Subcommittee voted 10-3 to support a bill (HB 821) that would give advanced practice registered nurses — and physician assistants — the ability to work independently of doctors, reported the Sun Sentinel. Full Story

Children as young as 12 may be allowed to seek mental health care without their parents’ consent if a bill pending this year in the Colorado state Legislature is approved, reported the Pine River Times. The proposed law, HB 19 1120, is intended to expand access to mental health care as younger children in the state have started to die by suicide. Currently, children 15 and older can seek mental health care without parental consent. Full Story

A survey of 1,002 health care professionals from more than 200 organizations found that relatively few of them feel ready to address the needs of patients with potential substance abuse and mental health problems, reported Occupational Health & Safety. More than 60% of the nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, and mental health professionals reported they did not feel adequately prepared to engage in motivational conversations with their patients to promote behavior change, according to a whitepaper co-authored by Glenn Albright, Ph.D., co-founder and director of research at Kognito, and Deborah S. Finnell, DNS, CARN-AP, FAAN, a faculty consultant at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Full Story

A telehealth-enhanced referral process significantly improved initial access to mental-health care for children referred from primary care in a study conducted in the Los Angeles area, reported MedScape. To improve the mental-health referral process, researchers partnered with six federal qualified health centers and two local community mental health centers. Their enhanced referral system included a telehealth care coordinator, a video orientation to the community mental health center and a live videoconference screening visit with the center. Full Story

Wisconsin governor Tony Evers' budget would add $22 million each year to help schools pay for social workers, psychologists, counselors and nurses to assist students facing mental health challenges, reported the Post Crescent. If passed into law, the proposals would constitute a significant expansion in state support for youth mental health. Full Story

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