Apply for the APNA Memorial Scholarship by May 3
All PMH-RN APNA members who provide and coordinate patient care are invited to apply for the APNA Memorial Scholarship to be one of the select nurses to attend the APNA Annual Conference at no cost! This year, two scholarships covering registration, travel, and lodging for the APNA 36th Annual Conference in Long Beach, CA on October 19-22, are available. Click here to apply.

Register for the APNA Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute
Now in its 20th year, The APNA Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute (CPI) applies the latest in psychopharmacology and neuroscience to nursing practice so that you can give the best possible care to those you serve. New this year, you have options to attend CPI this June 9-12: in person in Reston, VA or virtual livestream from wherever works for you! Either way, you will earn up to 21 pharmacology contact hours for licensure, certification, or renewal. Register by May 16 and save $76! Click here to register today!

New APNA Position Paper Now Available!
A new position paper, Psychotherapy and the Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Role, describes how psychotherapy, whether practiced as an independent treatment intervention or in combination with medication management, is a core component of the PMH-APRN role. It also highlights the importance of pursuing psychotherapy continuing education to continue to achieve and maintain PMH-APRN expertise. Click here to read and share the position.

APNA Research Grants Open for Submissions
The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is now accepting applications for APNA Research Grants. These grants range from $1,000 to $10,000 and support new researchers’ investigations of evidence-based practice changes, quality improvement projects, or research studies. Students conducting a thesis, dissertation, or capstone project can also apply. The deadline to submit your research proposal is Tuesday, May 17. Click here to learn more and submit an application.  

Revised APNA Position Paper and Standards of Practice on Seclusion and Restraint Now Available
A pillar of psychiatric-mental health nursing is cultivating treatment environments that are safe, person-centered, and non-coercive. For more than 20 years, the APNA Position Paper and APNA Standards of Practice on the use of seclusion and restraint have articulated psychiatric-mental health nursing's goal to continually reduce, with the aspiration of altogether eliminating, this practice. A task force of experts has drawn on the best available evidence to revise and update these seminal resources, which were recently approved by the APNA Board of Directors - APNA Position on the Use of Seclusion and Restraint and APNA Standards of Practice: Seclusion and Restraint

A Council Inclusive of All Nurse Scholarship
Recently approved by the APNA Board of Directors at the request of the council, the addition of “scholarship” to the APNA Research & Scholarship Council’s name reflects a more inclusive appreciation of the nursing scholarship conducted by all APNA members. The council's vision and goals have also been updated to mirror this expanded focus. APNA members interested in scholarship or rigorous scholarly inquiry (scholarship of discovery, teaching, practice, and integration) are invited to join the APNA Research & Scholarship Council by completing this form by May 12.

The National Task Force on Quality Nurse Practitioner Education (NTF) has developed a new set of standards designed to ensure quality in graduate programs that prepare nurse practitioners (NPs). The new criteria, titled 2022 Standards for Quality Nurse Practitioner Education (6th edition), will be used by nursing colleges and universities nationwide to update curriculum and clinical experiences to better prepare graduates for contemporary NP practice. Full Story

New research points to a general mechanism that may explain how psychedelics act on the brain to alleviate depression and potentially other psychiatric conditions marked by fixed patterns of thinking, including rumination and excessive self-focus, reported MedScape. Full Story

Over the past few years, people experiencing symptoms of mental distress have started to turn to a new type of service for support: mental health chatbots. With a few clicks of a cell phone, chatbots can offer a channel through which one can receive empathic and nonjudgmental text communication at a moment’s notice, 24 hours a day. A recent Psychiatric News article looks at the potential of mental health chatbots. Full Story

New CDC analyses shine additional light on the mental health of U.S. high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a disproportionate level of threats that some students experienced. According to the new data, in 2021, more than a third (37%) of high school students reported they experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 44% reported they persistently felt sad or hopeless during the past year. Full Story

FDA has approved Igalmi, a sublingual film for acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar I or II disorder in adults. Igalmi (dexmedetomidine), which can be self-administered by patients under the supervision of a health care provider, is the first and only FDA-approved orally dissolving sublingual film for this indication, reported Healio.com. Full Story

Medicare issued its final coverage policy for Biogen Inc's Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, moving forward with an unusually strict plan limiting it to patients in clinical trials, according to a Reuters report. For drugs similar to Aduhelm, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said it would allow coverage if the medication is approved after a standard review by the Food and Drug Administration. Full Story

National Nurses United’s (NNU) new nationwide survey of more than 2,500 registered nurses reveals significant increases in staffing issues, workplace violence, and moral distress compared to NNU’s previous survey results released on Sept. 27, 2021. Hospital RNs also reported that their hospitals are still not adequately prepared for a Covid-19 surge. Full Story

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is awarding nearly $105 million in grant funding, provided by the American Rescue Plan, to 54 states and territories in advance of the transition of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline from the current 10-digit number to the 988 three-digit dialing code  in July. Strengthening our crisis care infrastructure is a core priority of President Biden’s Mental Health Strategy, which he announced at the State of the Union as part of his national Unity Agenda. Improving 988 readiness and responsiveness is a critical step to realizing this objective. Full Story

New York is the newest state to grant nurse practitioners (NPs) full practice authority, joining 24 other states and Washington, DC. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the state budget into law, that includes legislation that eliminates the requirement for NPs to have a written practice agreement with a physician and allows them to provide the full scope of services they are educated and clinically trained to provide, reported Health Leaders. Full Story

Kansas governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Substitute for House Bill 2279, expanding access to health care in Kansas by removing barriers, allowing advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to practice independently. This bipartisan victory makes Kansas the second state in 2022 and the 26th state in the nation, along with the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories, to adopt Full Practice Authority (FPA). Full Story

To expand access to virtual mental health services, US Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Thune (R-SD), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have introduced the Medicaid Ensuring Necessary Telehealth is Available Long-term (MENTAL) Health for Kids and Underserved Act. This bipartisan legislation would direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to issue guidance to states on options to increase access to behavioral health services and treatment via telehealth for children and underserved Americans. Full Story

Children as young as 8 years old should be screened for anxiety, the country's leading panel of experts on health prevention recommended for the first time. Written by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the guidance suggests children and adolescents between ages 8 and 18 be screened for anxiety. It also doubles down on a prior recommendation to screen for major depressive disorder and suicide among children ages 12 to 18, reported ABCNews.com. Full Story

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) outlined an action plan that demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to provide high-quality, affordable health care for all people, regardless of their background, and to drive health equity across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Building on the agency’s commitment to make health equity the first “pillar” of its strategic vision, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure invited health care industry leaders to make commitments to advance health equity and work with CMS to share best practices to address systemic inequities in the delivery of care. 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.