APNA Members' Corner

APNA President's Message from Mary Moller
As I write my first article for the newsletter it has been eight weeks since our most successful annual conference ever and the holiday season is upon us.  Over 1000 psychiatric nurses from 46 states (including AK & HI), the District of Columbia, Canada, Australia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon and the UK gathered October 13-16, 2009 in the historic city of Charleston, SC. Conference attendees participated in more than 80 presentations and earned up to 29.5 continuing nursing education contact hours. Keynote speakers provided national and international perspectives on issues in psychiatric mental health nursing to onsite attendees and to an additional audience via live webcast. I am honored, privileged, and humbled to serve as your President as we close out the first decade of the 21st century and am excited to lead us into the second.  Click here to see President Moller’s complete message.

Update on Task Force for Implementation of the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation:
Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education.
The Consensus Model has been adopted by 48 nursing organizations. APNA is among those who have and embrace the goals of achieving uniformity across the country in the four elements of LACE. APNA is committed to providing a broad input from across the entire spectrum of nursing in recommending a proper path for PMHN to align with the conceptual framework of the Consensus Document. To date, 123 APNA members have expressed an interest in serving on the Task Force Steering Committee. The target is to have the steering committee appointments completed by Dec 31, 2009. All those expressing an interest will participate in the Task Force's Expert Panels and Work Groups. A partial list of Steering Committee Members include: Lora Beebe, Janice DeSocio, Judy Haber, Edna Hamera, Sharon Katz, Laura Leahy, Gail Stuart, Barbara Warren and Mary Weber.  Learn more at www.apna.org/laceTF

APNA Call for Abstracts for the 24th Annual Conference in Louisville, KY!
The call for presentation abstracts/proposals will be open January 4th - March 1st. Learn more about presentation options and the presenter information you will need for your abstract entry into the online submission system. Check out www.apna.org/AnnualConference.

2010 Nominating Committee Announced
The APNA 2010 Nominating Committee will be chaired by Barbara Warren of Ohio. Committee members are Susan Jacobson, Kathryn Johnson, Karen Ann Taylor and Roberta Waite. Mary Johnson, APNA Immediate Past President serves as ex-officio and non-voting member. The call for BOD nominations for president-elect, treasurer, member-at-large will be sent in early January. Interested members can contact APNA Executive Director at ncroce@apna.org. Go to www.apna.org/elections for more information.

APNA Responds to Member Request for Online Continuing Education
Economic pressures on continuing education funding are affecting many APNA members. Members are asking for availability for education online to reduce costs and save time in gaining continuing educations credits needed for license and certification renewal. APNA now has over 14 sessions online. Some of the sessions are free to members are others are priced at $22.50 per 1.5 contact hours. These sessions include audio and video of the presenter synchronized to the presentation slides. You gain valuable continuing education without the cost of travel and at a time convenient to your schedule (and, the CPI online sessions are great for pharmacology credits!). All you need is an internet connection and speakers on your computer. Click here to access a complete inventory of programs available: www.apna.org/Store

APNA Members Are Voicing Opinions through APNA's Website using Member Bridge
APNA website now has a feature that enables APNA members to voice opinions and communicate with each other. Please check out Member Bridge. You will find members are engaged in discussions on "Medical Issues in Mental Patients"; "Competency of Psych Nurses"; and "Suggestions for Staff Nurse Orientation." In addition to community discussions members are posting blogs to express views on subjects from health care reform to what would be your favorite PMHN bumper sticker phrase. You can learn more about how to use Member Bridge and join in the conversations. Click here to go to Member Bridge & download the introduction powerpoint from the Announcements Section.

American Psychiatric Nursing Foundation 2010 Research Grants
We are in the midst of the holiday season and 2009 is winding to a close. The APN Foundation extends its warmest wishes for a happy holiday season to you and your loved ones.

The APNF is dedicated to providing needed funding for psychiatric nursing research. In 2008, the Foundation created the APNF Research Grants program. The goal of this program is to enhance scientific contributions advancing the knowledge and practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing. Continuing with this valuable program, APNF hopes to award up to five (5) individual grants of up to $5,000 per award in 2010. Please help us reach our goal of raising $25,000 to fund research grants for your fellow APNA psychiatric nurse researchers. The Foundation is recognized as a charitable organization by the IRS under a 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your donations are tax deductible. All donors will be recognized on the APN Foundation website. For more information visit www.apna.org/Foundation.

Legislative

The Senate has voted by 60 to 40 to close debate on its healthcare bill. Now, the divided chamber appears to be heading towards a vote to pass the bill on Christmas Eve. Full Story

The National Council has created a side-by-side comparison chart of the Senate's proposal for healthcare reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the House's Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962). The chart summarizes provisions most pertinent to community behavioral health providers, including general insurance market reforms, expansion of Medicaid eligibility, and workforce and other provisions that are specifically targeted to the mental health and addiction fields. Click here to view the comparison chart (PDF file)

A joint House-Senate Fiscal Year 2010 omnibus appropriations bill, consolidating funding for numerous federal departments, contains a provision providing $900,000 in funding for an IOM study on the mental health workforce for aging and ethnic populations. Full Story

Issues & Events

Only about half of American children and teenagers who have certain mental disorders receive professional services, according to a nationally representative survey funded in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The survey also provides a comprehensive look at the prevalence of common mental disorders. Full Story

The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors has posted selected presentations from its Winter 2009 Commissioners Meeting. Click here to access them.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Funds are being used to promote the national research efforts to better understand, diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, has targeted promising areas of research in granting the awards, such as new and ongoing studies to identify additional risk factor genes associated with Alzheimer’s, improve diagnostic tools, find biomarkers, develop therapies, conduct clinical trials and explore preventive measures. More than 100 Alzheimer’s or Alzheimer’s-related research grants were awarded under the Recovery Act. Click here to view the full list of NIH grants. Full Story

The National Council recently conducted a survey of member organizations to gain new insights into the children’s services they provide. The survey identified the major issues in populations served, financing structures, and challenges in providing services. Click here to read the survey findings.

Policy

Luc R. Pelletier, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, APRN, FAAN, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital (San Diego, CA) has been appointed to the National Quality Forum (NQF) National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Patient Outcomes Mental Health Steering Committee. His appointment started in November 2009 and he attended the first steering committee in Washington, DC. The consensus project seeks to identify and endorse measures for public reporting and quality improvement that specifically address patient outcomes of healthcare. Specifically, this steering committee will identify outcomes of mental health care provided by our nation's healthcare system.