President’s Video Message: We are stronger together
In this special video message for Nurses Month & Mental Health Awareness Month, APNA President Zim Okoli shares why he believes PMH nurses are a strong and formidable group. Celebrate your unique PMH nursing role

Member News
Ten APNA members made the news this month! Find out why

Happy Nurses Month & Mental Health Awareness Month!
This month is your celebration! Free CE on integrating mindful self-compassion and more are here to  thank you for all you do!

Xing out the X-waiver: Updates for nurses who prescribe buprenorphine
In this Q&A, APNA Addictions Council Chair shares insights into what this change means for practitioners, including information about a new resource for fentanyl treatment. Get Laura’s Perspective

An Inside Look at the APNA Annual Conference Program
Attendees can look forward to increasing their competency around areas such as diversity, cultural humility, marginalized populations, pregnancy/perinatal issues, substance use disorders, simulation, increased student engagement, and resilience for patients, students, and staff,” says APNA Scholarly Review Committee Chair Patricia Mulvaney-Roth. Registration opens this week, but first, get insights into this year’s APNA Annual Conference Program.

The Extraordinary Work of JAPNA Editor-in-Chief Geraldine Pearson
“My years as the editor of JAPNA have been one of the most fascinating, enjoying, and fulfilling professional activities of my nursing career,” says Pearson. Learn about her accomplishments and the search for a new Editor-in-Chief.

Meet Your APNA Candidates
Who will get your vote in this year’s national elections? Your candidates for APNA President-Elect, Secretary, Member-at-Large, and Nominating Committee have shared information about themselves to inform your vote.

Now Available: New & Updated APNA Position Papers
These new and updated position papers are here to educate stakeholders and address issues important to the profession:

• NEW Integrated Care
• NEW Global Strategic Priorities for Nursing
• UPDATED Whole Health Begins with Mental Health
• UPDATED Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing’s Role in Tobacco Treatment
• UPDATED LACE Recommendations

New Recommendations for Nurse Staffing
A multi-organization task force led by the American Nurses Association and American Association of Critical Care Nurses has created a new document which details nurse staffing imperatives, recommendations, and actions. Get an overview

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched FindSupport.gov, a new user-friendly website, designed for the general public, to help people identify available resources, explore unbiased information about various treatment options, and learn how to reach out to get the support they need for issues related to mental health, drugs, or alcohol. Full Story

The Joint Commission has released a new public education campaign, Speak Up™ For Your Mental Health, to help consumers understand the signs and symptoms of mental illness, as well as how they can receive help and advocate for their care. Full Story

Nearly one-third of nurses say they are likely to leave their career because of the COVID-19 pandemic, up 7 percentage points since 2021, according to Dallas-based health care staffing company AMN Healthcare’s 2023 survey of registered nurses. Nurse career satisfaction dropped to 71% in this year’s survey after hovering between 80% and 85% over the previous decade, reported The Dallas Morning News. Full Story

Music therapy improves negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as lack of motivation, reclusiveness, and isolation, a new review of the literature suggests. Although the study had conflicting results regarding the effects of music therapy on positive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thoughts, it consistently shows that music therapy improves negative symptoms, reported MedScape. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Brixadi (buprenorphine) extended-release injection for subcutaneous use (under the skin) to treat moderate to severe opioid use disorder (OUD). Brixadi is available in two formulations, a weekly injection that can be used in patients who have started treatment with a single dose of a transmucosal buprenorphine product or who are already being treated with buprenorphine, and a monthly version for patients already being treated with buprenorphine. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opvee, the first nalmefene hydrochloride nasal spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older. This is the first FDA approval of nalmefene hydrochloride nasal spray for health care and community use. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced more than $200 million in new funding for states, territories, and tribes to build local capacity for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and related crisis services. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is offering health care workers free cybersecurity training. Resources include a new platform, Knowledge on Demand, as well as an updated Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices 2023 Edition and a Hospital Cyber Resiliency Initiative Landscape Analysis. Full Story

Depression rates among U.S. adults have reached the highest levels ever recorded since the national public opinion firm Gallup started tracking the mental illness in 2015, reported MedScape. In a survey, 29% of adults said they had been diagnosed with depression during their lifetime, and 18% said they currently have depression or are being treated for it. Those rates are up from the baseline 2015 rates of 20% of people ever having depression and 11% of people with a current diagnosis. Full Story

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing the supplemental approval of Rexulti (brexpiprazole) oral tablets for the treatment of agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. This is the first FDA-approved treatment option for this indication. Full Story

On May 9, 2023, ahead of the expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued the “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” - a temporary rule that extends telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 PHE. The temporary rule extends the full set of telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 PHE for six months—through November 11, 2023. For any practitioner-patient telemedicine relationships that have been or will be established up to November 11, 2023, the full set of telemedicine flexibilities regarding prescription of controlled medications established during the COVID-19 PHE will be extended for one-year—through November 11, 2024. Full Story

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, alongside U.S. Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Grace Napolitano, reintroduced the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act. The legislation was originally introduced in 2020 following a report from the Congressional Black Caucus’s Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health chaired by Rep. Watson Coleman. The report outlined the state of Black youth mental health and detailed policy recommendations for consideration by Congress. Full Story

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new report Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. While social media may offer some benefits, there are ample indicators that social media can also pose a risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. Social media use by young people is nearly universal, with up to 95% of young people ages 13-17 reporting using a social media platform and more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly.” Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), awarded 13 grants to communities to create new and enhance existing mobile crisis response teams. The teams will respond to mental health and substance use crises in high-need areas, in coordination with local law enforcement. 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.