President's Message: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses: Revolutionizing Access to Person-Centered Care
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses are dynamic leaders who make ongoing innovative improvements in care at multiple levels in order to meet the needs of diverse populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, preserving and expanding access to this person-centered care is even more vital. Hear more from Matt Tierney in his inaugural President's Message

Member News
Angela Amar elected to AAN Board of Directors; Shelly Hutchinson publishes children’s book about COVID-19 and quarantine; Braden Kameg pens blog on impact of COVID-19 pandemic on role of APRN; Nora Kennelly quoted on Rush University’s Magnet designation; Alicia Kielas receives grant to complete PMH-NP certification; Beverly Malone designated Living Legend by AAN; Jessica Marangio helps implement respite room for nurses; Kristin McColly receives PMHNP Student Leadership Award; Jim Tudhope awarded $1.5 million grant; Jessica Walker receives Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Alumni Award; Ellen Blair, Linda Grabbe, Sara Jones, Ursula Kelly, Laura Leahy, Pamela Lusk, Judy Rice, Victoria Soltis-Jarrett inducted as Fellows of AAN. Learn More

Nurses in Action: Tobacco Treatment Nursing Competencies Task Force
With the emergence of novel tobacco use devices, psychiatric-mental health nurses needed new tools to enhance interventions for tobacco use disorders. The Tobacco Treatment Nursing Competencies Task Force was convened and, led by chair Carol Essenmacher, PMHCNS-BC, DNP, NCTTP, developed the APNA Nursing Competencies For Treating Tobacco Use Disorders. These new nurse competencies can be adapted by all nurses and help increase access to care for those who experience tobacco dependence. View the Competencies

Stand Up & Be Counted for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing
Help show the world who psychiatric-mental health nurses are! Participate in a groundbreaking workforce survey and earn a $20 credit towards content of your choosing in the APNA eLearning Center. Take the RN Survey  |  Take the APRN Survey

Tackling Substance Use Disorders with a Special Issue of JAPNA
Help expand the knowledge base and evolve treatments for individuals with substance use disorders: submit a manuscript for consideration as a part of a special issue of the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association! Guest editors and content experts Laura G Leahy and Susan Caverly, Chair and Co-Chair of the APNA Addictions Council, are accepting articles that speak to the role of psychiatric-mental health nurses in providing care to this underserved and vulnerable population. Learn more and submit your manuscript by April 1, 2021!

Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge: Apply by 1/15 for Up to $100,000 in Grant Funding
APNA has partnered with Johnson & Johnson to encourage psychiatric-mental health nurse-led ideas including education protocols, treatment or prevention approaches, and more. The deadline to apply for up to $100,000 in grant funding, access to the JLABS ecosystem, and mentoring opportunities is January 15, 2021.  Learn More

Express Gratitude During the Holidays with #thankapsychnurse
Share comfort and joy this holiday season with #thankapsychnurse! Give a shout out to a psychiatric-mental health nurse colleague who has inspired or supported you using the hashtag #thankapsychnurse on social media to show them how much they mean to you during the season of gratitude. And be sure you're following APNA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more inspirational stories of psychiatric-mental health nursing!

Year of the Nurse: Chance Nicholson
During the Year of the Nurse, each newsletter will highlight a psychiatric-mental health nursing leader! Here is what Chance Nicholson, PhD, MS, PMHNP-BC, one of the presenters of Cultivating Our Best Selves in Response to COVID-19: The Community Resiliency Model, has to share: "Follow your passion...Always look for new challenges and take on roles that you would never think were expected of PMH nurses. The more you are out there and the more you can do, the more relevant you become: not only to your organization but to our field as well."

APNA 34th Annual Conference: Together While Apart
With the COVID-19 pandemic in full effect, the APNA Annual Conference went virtual for the first time ever! Over a thousand nurses came together online on October 2 through 5. Read a few highlights from the event.

Featured Resource: ANA Nurse Suicide Prevention & Resilience Resource Site
Nurses are at higher risk of suicide than the general population. To support nurse mental health and suicide prevention, the American Nurses Association has launched a new collection of resources. Learn ways to build resilience, assist in an active crisis, support suicide survivors, and more with resources compiled by nurse experts including APNA Immediate Past President Tari Dilks, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FAANP.  Learn More

Coming Soon: APNA's New Website
A new APNA website is coming your way in early 2021! The new site was designed with your needs and ease of use in mind and features a new member portal for accessing members-only content, changing your settings, and updating your profile information. Be on the lookout for the update soon!

Resource Roundup

• Opioid Use Disorder Resources: SAMHSA's list of state opioid treatment authorities; SAMHSA publication offers updates on opioid use among Hispanic/Latino population with strategies for outreach and treatment
• Substance Use Screening Tools & Assessment: New SBIRT pocket card helps you share information and build awareness with nurses across disciplines.
• Well-Being Initiative: Guide to Sleeping Better & Restoring Energy
• Medication Updates: FDA updates labeling requirements for opioid pain medicines and opioid use disorder medicines
• Position Papers: Updated! Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing’s Role in Tobacco Treatment
• APNA Advocacy: View recent letters that APNA has signed onto as a part of participation in coalitions to further policy for nursing and mental health.

New Members: 1,416 New Members since July!

New research from NYU Langone Health may improve our ability to identify early signs of dementia and cognitive decline from a patient’s brain scans. Researchers developed a new algorithm that is able to identify two different types of bright spots in brain scans more consistently than alternative approaches. This information could be used to distinguish between brain scans from healthy patients, patients with cognitive decline and patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease more accurately than other methods, reported Physics World. Full Story

One in five COVID-19 patients are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety or depression within 3 months of testing positive for the virus, new research suggests. In 14 to 90 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19, 5.8% of patients received a first recorded diagnosis of psychiatric illness. Among patients with health problems other than COVID, 2.5% to 3.4% of patients received a psychiatric diagnosis, the authors report. The risk was greatest for anxiety disorders, depression, and insomnia, reported MedScape. Full Story

More than 350 leaders and organizations across the U.S. have joined forces to call on President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris to establish a new Office on Children and Youth in the executive branch. Through executive order, the president could create a White House Office on Children and Youth. The intent is to improve the health, well-being, and education of America’s young, advance equity, eliminate disparities, and ensure that federal policies prioritize their unique needs. Full Story

UnitedHealth Group partnered with two California universities to help address a projected shortage of mental health providers within the state, reported San Francisco News. Alongside the University of San Francisco and the University of California, UnitedHealth launched a four-year- $4 million partnership to create new learning opportunities for child and adolescent psychiatry clinicians. Additionally, the partnership will offer support for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows and psychiatric-mental health advanced practice registered nurses. Full Story

Prescription opioid use increases the risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety and stress-related disorders (ASRD), new genetic evidence shows. The findings also suggest MDD is a potential causal risk factor for increased prescription opioid use. Taken together, the results "support recommendations that caution is needed with prescribing opioids in settings of mood disorders in favor of nonopioid alternatives, with screening for MDD prior to initiating opioid treatment, reported MedScape. Full Story

On Nov. 6, FDA permitted marketing of a new device intended for the temporary reduction of sleep disturbance related to nightmares in adults 22 years or older who suffer from nightmare disorder or have nightmares from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The device provides gentle vibration through touch based on an analysis of heart rate and motion during sleep. Full Story

The U.S. Senate on Nov. 16 approved the bipartisan Crisis Stabilization and Community Reentry Act of 2020, reported the Ripon Advance. The measure, S. 3312, introduced in February by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), would authorize grants to allow law enforcement to partner with mental health providers on treatment and crisis stabilization services for incarcerated individuals and promote community-based care upon reentry. Full Story

To highlight the importance of the ACA for people with mental health conditions, NAMI released What the Affordable Care Act Has Meant for People with Mental Health Conditions — And What Could be Lost, an issue brief on the impact of the ACA on our community. Full Story

Michigan state lawmakers are weighing a number of bills to increase access to mental health care. Pending bills in the state would require Medicaid to reimburse care providers treating alcohol use disorder, allow for temporary crisis units to treat patients, and enter Michigan into a multi-state consortium allowing psychologists to treat patients who are out of state via telehealth, reported MiBiz.org. Full Story

The National Quality Forum (NQF) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) Center for Health Innovation have partnered to release Redesigning Care: A How-To Guide for Hospitals and Health Systems Seeking to Implement, Strengthen and Sustain Telebehavioral Health. The guide supports both hospital and health system efforts in delivering innovative, high-quality telebehavioral health services to patients and communities across the nation. 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 with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.