APNA 36th Annual Conference - Register by Sept. 12 to save $100!
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. Learn More and Register

First Look: Improving Unit Safety and the Nurse-Patient Relationship in Telepsychiatry
APNA Annual Conference presenters Danielle Michalak and Karen G. Pounds share sneak peeks of their presentations this October in Long Beach – and their excitement about participating in person! Keep Reading

Emergency Preparedness: Active Shooter Situations
Risk analyst Georgia Reiner, MS, CPHRM, with Nursing Services Organization, reports on safety measures for nurses. Keep Reading

2022 APNA Election Results
Your votes have been tallied and the results of this year's APNA elections are here! Please welcome the new members of the APNA Board of Directors and 2023 Nominating Committee. Their terms begin during the APNA 36th Annual Conference at the Annual Meeting & Town Hall on October 22, 2022. Read More

Announcing the 2022 APNA Research Grants Recipients
The APNA Board of Directors is pleased to announce the recipients of this year's APNA Research Grants. Alicia Holod, BSN, RN, will receive funding for her work examining the relationship between polyvictimization and negative psychological symptoms in college students. Valerie Seney, PhD, MA, LMHC, PMHNP-BC, will receive funding to support her research on the impact of stigmatization on individuals with substance use disorder and a reluctance to seek healthcare. Learn More

First APNA Report on PMH Nursing Workforce Now Available
This report, the first of a series of publications on the PMH Nursing Workforce, summarizes data collected through the APNA Workforce Survey. This survey was the first of its kind to gather comprehensive data on PMH-RNs and PMH-APRNs across the U.S. Created by the APNA Workforce Task Force and approved by the APNA Board of Directors, this initial report provides insights into respondents' demographics, education, employment characteristics, and earnings. Access the Report

Free Psychopharm Contact Hours on Management of Schizophrenia & Bipolar Disorder
Explore new and emerging therapies in the management of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder during this 30-minute interactive activity, jointly provided by APNA and the PeerView Institute for Medical Education. Earn 0.5 Contact Hours in Pharmacology. Register Now

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) launched a nationwide SMS/text message support option for the NAMI HelpLine, adding a communications medium that is overwhelmingly preferred by young people — a population experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis. Help-seekers can now text “HELPLINE” to 62640 between 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday, to connect with the NAMI HelpLine. The free, peer-support service provides information, resource referrals and support to people living with a mental health condition, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers and the public. Full Story

The ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights Advisory Board is currently accepting public comment on the proposed position statement The Nurses’ Role and Responsibility in Unveiling and Dismantling Racism in Nursing. Comments must be submitted by 5pm Eastern on September 13. Submit Your Comments

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was an effective tool for measuring general and specific psychiatric symptoms across the diagnostic spectrum, based on data from 600 psychiatric inpatients, reported MedScape. The BPRS was developed to assess changes in psychopathology across a range of severe psychiatric disorders, but its potential to assess symptoms in nonpsychotic disorders has not been explored, the researchers said. Full Story

Patients hospitalized for depression who received electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) had a nearly 50% reduced risk of suicide death over the following year versus comparable patients who did not receive ECT. The findings came from a detailed analysis of over 67,000 hospital records from patients seen in psychiatric inpatient units across Ontario, Canada. The analysis, published in Lancet Psychiatry, also found that patients who received ECT were less likely to die from other causes within one year after discharge. Full Story

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Auvelity (dextromethorphan HBr-buproprion HCl) extended-release tablets for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). Auvelity consists of dextromethorphan, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, and bupropion, a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor that serves to increase the bioavailability of dextromethorphan by competitively inhibiting cytochrome P450 2D6. The exact mechanism of action of Auvelity in the treatment of MDD is unclear, reported MPR.com. Full Story

The absence of self-harm does not preclude a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD), in new findings that may have potential implications for changes to diagnostic criteria for the disorder, reported MedScape. Investigators compared characteristics of almost 400 psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with BPD. About half of the participants met the suicidality/self-injury diagnostic criterion for the disorder while the other half did not. Results showed no differences between the two groups in degree of impairment in occupational or social functioning, comorbid psychiatric disorders, history of childhood trauma, or severity of depression, anxiety, or anger. Full Story

The Alzheimer's Association announced that the Alzheimer's Network for Treatment and Diagnostics (ALZ-NET) is now live. ALZ-NET is the first network developed specifically for new FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments, collecting real-world evidence on drug effectiveness and side effects over a long period of time. Full Story

The National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing has released its six foundational reports exploring how racism appears in the profession. APNA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee Associate Chair Erica Joseph, PhD, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, NP-C says of the reports: “These reports explore our profession within the context of racism in our country. Through the lenses of history of racism, contemporary context, education, policy, practice, and research, the reports show areas in which each of us can learn the impact on nurses and patients and work towards creating a more equitable, inclusive, and diverse nursing profession.” Erica contributed to Report #5, Racism in Nursing Practice, which examines racism as a preventable harm and offers suggestions for creating an inclusive and civil culture. Access the reports

A recent article in Medical Life Sciences News looks at the principles of recovery-oriented mental health practice. Keep Reading

U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined 12 of their Senate colleagues in reintroducing the Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act, legislation that would strengthen oversight and enforcement of federal parity laws. Full Story

New York governor Kathy Hochul announced $4 million in federal funding to support underrepresented students entering or enrolled in mental health degree programs at State University of New York or City University of New York campuses. Through a partnership with the New York State Office of Mental Health, SUNY and CUNY will each be provided $2 million to support tuition assistance, paid internships, and direct stipends for minority and multilingual students. Full Story

On July 27, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2023. This fact sheet discusses the major provisions of the final rule, including a permanent 5% cap policy to smooth the impact of year-to-year changes in IPF payments related to decreases in the IPF wage index. Full Story

Payers are offering providers and consumers a broad range of services and supports related to mental healthcare and are taking steps to increase access to mental healthcare, according to a survey conducted by AHIP. The in-network behavioral healthcare provider population has grown by 48% in the past three years, payers indicated. Specifically, the applied behavioral analysis specialist field has expanded substantially (135%). Psychiatric nurse providers also saw strong growth in three years, increasing by 87%, reported HealthPayerIntelligence.com. 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.