2022 APNA Board of Directors Student Scholars Announced
Join us as we congratulate the 2022 APNA Board of Directors Student Scholars! These 30 nursing students have been awarded a scholarship to attend the APNA 36th Annual Conference this October 19-22 in Long Beach, CA, as well as a one-year complimentary APNA membership. Read More

Announcing the Nurses Receiving 2022 APNA Annual Awards
Each recipient will be honored at the APNA 36th Annual Conference in Long Beach, CA, October 19-22, and in online communications throughout the year. Profiles of each of these outstanding nurses will be shared soon. See the Recipients

Register Now: APNA 36th Annual Conference
Join your PMH nurse colleagues in sunny Long Beach, CA, or through virtual livestream October 19-22 for the APNA 36th Annual Conference. Set the schedule that best suits you by attending sessions live October 19-22 or accessing them on demand 2-3 months post-conference. Save $100 if you register by September 12. Click to learn more or register.

Precepting & Mentorship: Updated Guidance
The APNA Board of Directors has updated its guidance on Precepting & Mentorship. Drawing on new criteria from stakeholders, it further clarifies the roles of those involved in determining the qualifications of and securing preceptors and mentors. Click here to view the updated guidance.

APNA Elections: The Polls are Open
APNA Elections are an opportunity for members to have a voice in shaping our future Board of Directors. Open positions include: President-Elect, Member-at-Large (2 members), and the 2023 Nominating Committee (3 members). You can cast your vote through July 25, 2022, and results will be announced the following month. Candidate information and position descriptions can be found here. (Paper copies are available upon request by calling APNA at 855-863-2762.)

Access Your NEW Scope & Standards eBook
With your APNA membership, you get exclusive access to the NEW digital Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 3rd edition. Updated by PMH nurse thought leaders to guide you in providing safe, effective, and competent care in today's environments and beyond, it is a must-have for every PMH-RN and PMH-APRN! Click here to access the eBook.

A staggering 43% of U.S. adults who say they needed substance use or mental health care in the past 12 months did not receive that care, and numerous barriers to access stand between them and needed treatment, according to a new national survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Full Story

Family interventions are effective tools to prevent relapse in patients with schizophrenia, according to a meta-analysis in The Lancet Psychiatry. What’s more, the analysis found that the simplest approach—basic family psychoeducation (classes where families are taught about schizophrenia and treatment options)—was associated with the lowest relapse rates. Full Story

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), issued guidance on how covered health care providers and health plans can use remote communication technologies to provide audio-only telehealth services. Full Story

In support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Overdose Prevention Strategy, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the availability of $10 million in substance misuse grant funding through the HRSA Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. This funding will help rural communities establish new treatment access points to connect individuals to medication to treat opioid use. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) includes medications, ideally combined with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a “whole-patient” approach to the treatment of substance misuse. Full Story

In the preliminary report of 2021, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) identified 141,529 (unweighted) drug-related emergency department (ED) visits from 52 participating hospitals. The top five drugs involved in drug-related ED estimates in 2021 were alcohol, followed by opioids, methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine. Click here to download the full report.

The National Academies' Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders will host a free public workshop on July 11, 2022 from 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM ET. The workshop will focus on early intervention for psychosis, current data on the epidemiology and outcomes for people at high risk for psychosis and for those who have experienced a first episode of psychosis, and will consider ways to improve the care for these individuals. APNA Immediate Past President Matt Tierney serves as APNA representative for this forum. Click here to learn more or register.

NAMI has launched a new health equity and mental health video series - Courageous Conversations: Cultivating Cultural Humility and Managing Biases with Families Facing Serious Mental Illnesses and Serious Emotional Disturbances. Click here to watch the videos.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently issued a technical brief, “Evaluation of Mental Health Mobile Applications” to aid providers, patients, payers and others. The document provides a framework to assist stakeholders in technology evaluation for recovery and to help in appraising and selecting mental health mobile apps based on factors like risk/safety, technical functionality and mental health features. Full Story

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and possible mTBI are associated with greater risk for poor behavioral and mental health outcomes in adolescents, according to a new study. The study supports previous findings of the association between mTBI and deterioration in mental health: Children with mTBI or possible mTBI had 16% and 7% greater risk, respectively, of experiencing behavioral and emotional problems compared with those without TBI, reported MedScape. Full Story

ANA is hosting a free webinar Criminal Charges Against Nurses: What You Should Know and What You Can Do. During the webinar, presented by Edie Brous, JD, RN, a nationally acclaimed nurse attorney, nurse advocate and speaker, will address concerns that mistakes can result in prosecution and possible imprisonment and evaluate the RaDonda Vaught case within the context of other cases in which health care professionals have been criminally charged. Click here for more info and to register.

Although most psychiatric-mental health clinicians have encountered patients who don't improve with treatment, novel research sheds some light on one possible explanation for this phenomenon, reported MedScape. Investigators found that among patients who were "stuck" many believed that they didn't deserve to get better and were significantly less likely to adhere to, or complete, a treatment program. Full Story

As part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 10-year strategy to reduce Veteran suicide, VA invites innovators across the country to participate in Mission Daybreak — a $20 million challenge designed to help VA develop new suicide prevention strategies for Veterans. Those interested are encouraged to submit their detailed concept papers via  missiondaybreak.net to VA no later than July 8, 2022. Full Story

President Biden signed S. 2938, the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which enhances certain restrictions and penalties on firearms purchases; promotes evidence-based best practices for school safety; authorizes grants to expand access to mental health services; and appropriates emergency funding for mental health resources and school safety measures. Full Story

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming passed bipartisan legislation to support communities to combat the mental health and substance use crisis affecting the U.S., according to a UPI report. The legislation will establish a Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide technical assistance to improve access to crisis care. It also reauthorizes several programs to address mental health needs, prevent suicide and support substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery support, as well as programs to improve the integration of paediatric primary care providers with behavioral health providers, among other measures. Full Story

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a sweeping mental health bill aimed in part at addressing a shortage of health care workers that experts say was only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new law removes roadblocks that make it difficult for retired mental health professionals to return to the field; incentivizes employers to hire people recovering from mental health or substance use disorders; and paves the way for increasing workforce diversity through state grants and contracts for community providers. It also allows certified psychiatric-mental health nurses, not just physicians, to conduct psychiatric visits, reported The Chicago Tribune. Full Story

In a recent White House Fact Sheet, the Biden-Harris administration highlights a strategy to address the national mental health crisis. Click here to read the Fact Sheet.

Providing peer or community health workers to help psychiatric patients with complete psychiatric advance directives (PAD) to govern care in advance of a mental health crisis is associated with a significant reduction in compulsory hospital admissions, new research shows. Results of a randomized trial showed the peer worker PAD group had a 42% reduction in compulsory admission over the following 12 months. This study group also had lower symptom scores, greater rates of recovery, and increased empowerment compared vs patients assigned to usual care, reported MedScape. 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.