FEATURES OF APNA MEMBERSHIP

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1 FEATURES OF APNA MEMBERSHIP I am part of a powerful collective of professional nurses. Together we have a tremendous impact. Through APNA, our more than 11,000 members are connected with a dynamic community of psychiatric-mental health nurses, resources and programs, and opportunities to advance the profession. Continuing Education & Professional Growth Enhance your PMH nursing knowledge with more than 100 online CE sessions, ebooks, and more - use your member bonus points to access this content in the APNA elearning Center at little to no cost. Learn the latest innovations and best practices or share your expertise as a presenter at the APNA Annual Conference. Receive cutting-edge psychopharmacology CNE at the Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute or online with over 25 sessions available for pharmacology credits. Expand your local connections by participating in your chapter regional events and educational opportunities. Apply for grants, awards and scholarships from the APNA. Manage your resumes, search job postings, and access career advice with APNA CareerLine. Networking & Information Access Connect with your colleagues and benefit from your collective expert knowledge through Member Bridge, APNA s members-only online community. Post in the All-Purpose Discussion Forum for the latest hot topics, tips, and advice from your colleagues. Find a mentor or mentee through Mentor Match, an online tool that connects mentors and mentees. Access current PMH nursing research with a free subscription to the bi-monthly Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (JAPNA). Enrich your practice with the APNA Resource Center: position papers, guides, kits, and tools specific to topic areas within PMH nursing, as well as medication updates, graduate programs listing, and more. Become a part of a collegial community and make an impact on your field by joining APNA s volunteer committees or expert councils. Stay up-to-date on through our monthly enewsletter, APNA News: The Psychiatric Nursing Voice. Lend your support to APNA s alliances with key stakeholders in order to promote mental health and nursing. Enjoy emembership in the American Nurses Association - access a network of nurses from across disciplines, ANA online publications, programs and continuing education, and more. Track important legislation in your state with the APNA State Legislative Tracking Tool and the PMH-APRN Scope of Practice Map. Discounts Save $200 on regular registration fees for the APNA Annual Conference and the Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute. Download full-text articles from JAPNA at no cost (a savings of $39 per article). Receive exclusive free CE and reduced rates on APNA continuing education programs and bonus points to use in the APNA elearning Center Earn contact hours for free! Save on certification, exams and review materials from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) with deals exclusively for APNA members. Enjoy discounted prices (up to 50% off!) on select publications as a part of APNA s Publications Discounts Program. Join Today! Fill out the application on the back of this sheet or go online to

2 APNA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Contact Information Completed applications should be mailed with payment to: APNA P.O. Box Baltimore, MD FIRST NAME LAST NAME CREDENTIALS (BSN. RN, MSN, PMHCNS, etc.) TITLE / ORGANIZATION ADDRESS Circle One: HOME / WORK CITY STATE ZIP CODE HOME PHONE / CELL BUSINESS PHONE ADDRESS (required) HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT APNA? VOLUNTARY APNA CONTRIBUTION* $ APNA occasionally makes available its member addresses (excluding telephone and ) to trusted partners who provide products or services we feel will be of value to our members. Please check here if you do not wish to be included in these mailings. *Contributions or gifts to the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) may be deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes. However, dues payments to APNA are deductible for most members under section 162 of the IRS code as an ordinary and necessary business expense. Membership Type Regular Member 1 Year...$135 2 Years...$260 3 Years...$385 Monthly Payment Plan..$12.50/month (Include Recurring Payment Authorization Form) Method of Payment Visa American Express MasterCard Check/Money Order Discover AMOUNT CHARGED Student Member... $25 ( verification of full time status required) Retired Member... $75 CARD NUMBER EXPIRATION DATE [MONTH/YEAR] BILLING ZIP CODE International Member... $135 Affiliate Member (Non-R.N.)...$135 CARDHOLDER PRINTED NAME [AS IT APPEARS ON YOUR CARD] CARDHOLDER SIGNATURE Join online at Questions? Visit or call APNA (2762)

3 What APNA Members are saying: "I feel that since I have joined APNA (within the last two years) and have become BC, I have become more involved in my practice and have been able to share more information with my co-workers. Even though I have been in the psych field since 1984, there have been many changes and APNA has kept me abreast of these. I thank you for your important work!" "As a new member I have found validation from reading the open forum [Member Bridge] and attending the national conference. Mental Health is frequently overlooked by our healthcare peers and lawmakers alike. Collectively, we have a stronger voice, and a better chance at enacting a positive change for those we care for." "I love the national conferences and online elearning!" "The information you provide is valuable to those of us who do not have the time or energy to gain this information individually. I believe APNA is probably the most informative nursing organization and really keeps in touch with its' members." "At times psych nursing can be a lonely experience, however APNA has provided me with a support system to turn to when the challenges are overwhelming. Once again thank you and I look forward to continuing my membership." "Keep up the great job! The 25th Annual Conference was fantastic; the Recovery Committee is on the cutting edge, Medicare reform-input is wonderful!" "I have found your resources to be of great asset, such as reading the research articles that are published in JAPNA are educational and informative. I use them to guide my nursing practice. The research articles that APNA is providing I feel are fundamental to the Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing field as it is providing us with the evidence to form our policies and procedures and/or our protocols for treatment. It is influencing the psychiatric field by providing the research to influence change in staffing ratios on inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The opportunity to collaborate with other psychiatric nurses throughout the United States is bringing a unity to the psychiatric nursing field, and we will one day be able to develop protocols for specific diagnosis or develop specific evidenced treatment modalities that are used consistently across the nation." "As individuals we are neither positioned nor capable of wielding the influence that the association can provide. We look to you to be our voice in all things related to psychiatric nursing practice."

4 apna-29th-annual-conference-ad_layout 1 10/12/16 1:48 PM Page 1 31 APNA st Annual Conference October 18-21, 2017 Phoenix Convention Center Phoenix, Arizona Conference

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6 Guidance for your practice at your fingertips...included in your APNA membership! Visit to learn more.

7 As an APNA member, you now have online access to Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice ebook Fairview Park Drive, Suite 625 Falls Church, VA APNA (2762) With this ebook format, you can access the publication anywhere you can connect to the internet! Plus, it's easy to get to the content you need when you need it - read the ebook page by page, search the text by keyword, bookmark sections, or add your own notes. Visit to learn more.

8 Psych Nurse Today elearning.apna.org Your CE Source For Emergency Departments Women s Health Neuroscience Child & Adolescent Genetics Administration MilitaryDSM-5 Cultural Issues Older Integrated Care Adults Seclusion & Restraint Chronic Pain Schizophrenia Recovery Pharmacology Inpatient UnitsDepression Substance Use LETTERS TO THE EDITOR What people are saying about CE in the APNA elearning Center: Very relevant, and engaging, would have been happy to listen longer and hear further information. I plan to print this article and distribute it to my colleagues and try to initiate a protocol to identify possible cases and promote early treatment. This information has expanded my knowledge which allows me to be a more beneficial member of our treatment team. Spectacularly comprehensive refresher... thank you for making it available as a CEU offering. As a result of this training I now understand how better to deal with patients and their families. Psych Nurse Today APNA Learning Center 3141 Fairview Park Drive Suite 625 Falls Church, VA Hot Off the Press! Current Affordable Online Continuing Nursing Education elearning.apna.org elearning EDITION Psych Nurse TODAY EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT: APNA elearning Center Continuing education (CE) to keep your psychiatric-mental health nursing practice up to date, on your schedule presentations 250+ contact hours elearning.apna.org

9 Breaking News Earn contact hours for recertification and keep up with current best practices The APNA elearning Center provides clinically relevant, practical continuing education for psychiatric-mental health nurses. Experts practicing in the real-world keep you in the know with insight into top psychiatric-mental health nursing developments and trends. Use membership bonus points to save on CE Bonus points are a feature of APNA membership that you can use to purchase content in the APNA elearning Center. You earn bonus points each time you join or renew your membership, register for a conference, and/or peer review content for our Education Department. The site applies these bonus points to your orders, subtracting the cost from your cart total. TOP STORIES Trending Content at elearning.apna.org FREE ebook Issue 1: Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Epidemiology Using a Recovery Paradigm (1.5 Contact Hours) FREE PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY PODCAST PANDAS, PANs: Autism Spectrum Update (1.5 Contact Hours) Psych Nurse Today Psych Nurse Today Psych Nurse Today FREE WEBINAR Seclusion and Restraint: Keys to Assessing and Mitigating Risks (1.0 Contact Hours) FREE CONFERENCE PODCAST Trauma and Healing: Findings and Insights from Three Nurse Scientists (1.25 Contact Hours) Visit for a complete listing of free continuing education available in the APNA elearning Center. Ask APNA Now taking questions on CE, psych nursing, and more Dear APNA, I am graduating with a degree in nursing next semester and I am trying to choose a specialty. I think I want to be a psychiatric-mental health nurse, but I want to be sure I am ready before I enter the field. How can I make sure I have a good foundation of knowledge and find out if psych nursing is right for me? Newbie Nurse Dear Newbie, The APNA Transitions in Practice (ATP) certificate program is designed to help you feel more confident in your practice. As a new nurse, ATP can give you a good basic understanding of best practices and evidence-based approaches, in addition to 15 contact hours. The course is self-paced, so you can take your time as you get acclimated to the psych nursing life! APNA Dear APNA, Being a psychiatric-mental health nurse is the most fulfilling thing I ve ever done, but sometimes I find it hard to keep up in a field that is quickly changing. How do I stay abreast of developments to keep my practice innovative? Skill Seeking in Psych Nursing Dear Seeking, You re in luck! The APNA elearning Center offers continuing education focusing on: Current therapeutic modalities Emerging treatment approaches New research Evidence-based clinical strategies And more APNA The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center s Commission on Accreditation. The Latest BUZZ New CE Options Added Regularly SEARCH LEARN TRACK CE Your CE, your way: Webinars Podcasts ebooks Explore archives from past conferences Search by Keyword Browse by Topic Log in to your APNA account for: Member Discounts Exclusive Free Content Earn CE & Get Your Certificate Instantly After completing your educational activity, take an evaluation and enter a code to generate your Continuing Education Certificate for each session/presentation. Download and print CE Certificates at any time like when you re up for recertification! Your Online CE Nerve Center Visit My elearning to track your online continuing education: See all of your APNA elearning Center activities. Track all of the contact hours you have earned in the APNA elearning Center. View and print your APNA elearning Center CE Certificates. elearning.apna.org

10 Energizing RNs with Knowledge, Tools, & Best Practices to Create a Solid Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Foundation The APNA Transitions in Practice Certificate Program (ATP) is an online curriculum that will improve the retention, job satisfaction, and basic psychiatric-mental health nursing knowledge of RNs. This continuing education is intended especially for new RN graduates and RNs transitioning to inpatient psychiatric practice settings. It consists of four self-paced modules (15 hours of content) covering foundational aspects of psychiatricmental health nursing practice and presented by recognized experts in the field. Focusing on the most up-to-date best practices and evidence-based nursing knowledge, it will optimize success in nursing practice and improve healthcare outcomes for persons with mental health disorders. Program Objectives 1. Introduce evidence-based strategies for providing safe and effective nursing care for people with psychiatric-mental health disorders. 2. Provide education that promotes the acquisition of foundational evidence-based knowledge related to psychiatric-mental health nursing through case study analysis and post-test questions. 3. Provide evidence-based tools and strategies to facilitate nurses developing a person centered plan of care for people with mental health disorders.

11 WhytheA TPCertificateProgram? THE NEED There is a need for best practices training to ensure consistent quality of care and reduce the turnover rates of new nurses. 1 25% >40% 1.05 million of new nurses leave a position within their first year of clinical practice 1 of new nurses report making medication errors 1 RN positions needed by Institutions with transition programs see a drop in attrition and improved patient outcomes. 1 Psychiatric-mental health nursing requires the development of specialized skills and knowledge, yet many nurses lack the foundational knowledge needed to provide mental health care to a diverse population across the lifespan. The ATP Certificate Program will: Cover foundational topics liketherapeuticengagement,psychiatric-mental healthdisorders,psychopharmacology,riskassessments,addictions,co-morbid disorders,recovery,andthetherapeuticenvironment. Deliver 15 contact hours ofpsychiatric-mentalhealthcontenttowardsmeeting thecontinuingeducationrequirementforamericannursescredentialingcenter certification(pmh-rn-c). Support nurses astheytransitionfromtheclassroomtoclinicalpracticeorfrom anotherspecialtyintopsychiatric-mentalhealthsettingswithsafe,evidence-based knowledge,tools,andbestpractices. Promote effective communication tomeetthejointcommission(tjc)safety standards. Highlight the importance ofmentalhealthcareprovidedbyrnsinawaythatis highlyvisibletoinstitutions,consumers,healthcareprofessionals,andthepublic. THE ANSWER THE EVIDENCE 100% of participants agree that the APNA Transitions in Practice Certificate Program increased their awareness and understanding of psychiatric-mental health nursing. 60% 100% of participants say they will modify their practice as a result of what they learned. 40% of participants say that the program reinforced their current practice. of participants agree that the ATP Certificate Program content is: Wellorganizedand clearlypresented Easilyunderstandable Presentedobjectively Easytonavigate 1.NationalCouncilofStateBoardsofNursing.(2013).Transition to practice. Retrievedfromhttps:// 2.AmericanAssociationofCollegesofNursing.(2014a).Nursing shortage fact sheet.retrievedfromhttp://

12 How the A T P Certificate Program Works 5 1 ACCESS with an online registration at elearning.apna.org/atp. EARN 15 contact hours and a certificate validating successful completion of the program. 2 PROGRESS through self-paced content with supplemental activities (discussion board, glossary of terms, case examples). 4 COMPLETE all of the modules within a 90-day period. 3 PASS post-tests for each module and an overall post-test (80% or higher, up to 5 attempts). The ATP Certificate Program online platform tracks where users are in the program and remembers where they left off after their last log in. Its user-friendly graphics visually tell users what they have completed, what they re in the process of completing, and what is left to complete in order to earn their certificates. In addition to the faculty presentations, case studies, evaluations, and post-tests that make up each module, participants also have access to handouts, glossaries, extensive references, and a discussion board. FACULTY PRESENTATIONS GLOSSARY CASE STUDIES HANDOUTS DISCUSSION REFERENCES

13 The A T P Certificate Program Content Program Foreword: Therapeutic Engagement ObjECTivES: Identify therapeutic use of self, including presence and engagement and how it affects patients perceptions of their care and patient outcomes. LEARNiNg OuTCOmES: At a novice level, participants should be able to: Apply the principles of presence and engagement in the clinical setting. Module 1: Psychiatric-Mental Health Disorders and Psychopharmacology ObjECTivES: Identify current best practices of care for persons with psychiatric mental health disorders. Identify current best practices for safe medication management, which involve monitoring for common side effects, drug interactions, and desired versus adverse effects. LEARNiNg OuTCOmES: Participants should be able to: Identify common signs and symptoms of selected mental health disorders across the lifespan. Identify and monitor for common side effects, drug interactions, and desired versus adverse effects of psychopharmaceuticals in individual patients. Module 2: Risk Assessments, Addictions and Co-morbid Disorders ObjECTivE: Identify appropriate screening tools and interventions for persons at risk for self-harm, suicide, and/or harm to others, substance-related disorders, and medical comorbid illness. LEARNiNg OuTCOmES: Participants should be able to: Perform a risk assessment for suicide with individuals in clinical settings using best practice assessment tools and communicate the risk and interventions to the treatment team. Develop a safety plan with persons at risk for suicide or self-harm. Identify patients at risk for substance use and apply SBIRT appropriately in clinical setting (SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment for Alcohol/Drug Abuse). Educate patients on topics related to self-management of comorbid/co-occurring illness for individuals with mental illness and chronic disease.

14 Module 3: Recovery ObjECTivE: Apply the principles of recovery-oriented nursing care to selected PMH scenarios. LEARNiNg OuTCOmES: Participants should be able to: Use de-stigmatizing language when working with individual patients. Identify and begin to develop a trauma-informed, strengths-based, personcentered plan of care. Discuss best practices related to the use of peer specialists in PMH settings. Module 4: Therapeutic Environment ObjECTivE: Identify at least three strategies that incorporate the principles of safety, de-escalation, and/or boundaries that assist in developing/maintaining a therapeutic environment. LEARNiNg OuTCOmES: Participants should be able to promote a therapeutic environment by: Implementing strategies to improve safety in the PMH workplace. Recognizing when to set boundaries with patients and being aware of situations of potential boundary crossing. Applying basic de-escalation techniques and concepts of cultural humility when engaging with individuals. What participants say about the A TP Certificate Program This was an excellent course and provided a breadth of knowledge that increased my confidence and ability to successfully transition into my new position as a psychiatric nurse. All of the sections were very engaging and provided very practical, useful information that can serve to improve my practice as a mental health nurse and it has certainly built my confidence in returning to the inpatient setting.

15 Registration & Cost Individual registrations can be completed online at elearning.apna.org/atp. $200 for APNA Members $250 for Nonmembers Bulk purchase pricing is available to institutions interested in purchasing the program in blocks of 10 or more. Please for more information. Learn more and register at elearning.apna.org/atp. Continuing Nursing Education The American Psychiatric Nurses Association Transitions in Practice (ATP) Certificate Program is a 4-module nursing education program that includes faculty presentations, case studies, post-tests and evaluations of the content. The ATP program is worth 15.0 continuing nursing education contact hours. In order to receive contact hours for the program, participants must: Complete the overall pre-test, view the program in its entirety (foreword, modules 1-4), complete the end-of-module evaluations, and earn a passing score of at least 80% on the post-test for each module during the allotted access period. Participants will have 5 tries to correctly answer the questions on the post-test. Once the overall post-test and evaluation have been completed, the certificate will be generated online, available to print immediately. Credit cannot be earned unless all steps are completed. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. This is th e bread and butter of what we do. elearning.apna.org/atp

16 Summer 2017 President s Message Dear Colleagues, Twitter love it or hate it. Sometimes it takes more than the 140 characters of a tweet to get your message across and sometimes the 140 character limit forces you to get to the point. In a world where short and sweet is preferred, messages are often either distilled down to the essentials or oversimplified at the cost of accuracy. It depends on the message. What psychiatric-mental health nurses do is complex, nuanced, and rooted in science. That s why you ll not see the Annual Conference turned into a Twitter chat, or research articles in JAPNA cut down to a sentence, for example! That being said, our time is also incredibly valuable and that means quick access to up-to-date information is essential. The APNA Annual Conference program is structured so that you get both we have 2-hour pre-conferences which provide deep dives into complex topics and we have mini-concurrent sessions which give you succinct, to-the-point updates in 20-minutes. You also get on-demand access to sessions online after the conference, so you can find the content you need whenever you need it. Your needs as a practicing clinician, administrator, educator, or researcher, are paramount. This year at the conference the Board is going to get up on stage and present what is called an ignite session on Saturday morning. An ignite session s structure forces its presenters to package their information in a quick moving, pared down format. Each presenter gets 20 slides, with 15 seconds for each slide (a total of five minutes). We re going to tackle the Whole Health Begins with Mental Health topic from the viewpoints of administration, education, practice, and research. Our presentations will provide the essential info, then we ll give you time to explore in-depth the complexities and implications through discussions with your fellow attendees. It s an experimental endeavor, but I think it s going to be exciting and you won t want to miss it! Looking forward to seeing you this October in Phoenix, Arizona! You can learn more at apna.org/annualconference. Register by September 6th to save $100! Kris A. McLoughlin, DNP, APRN, PMH-CNS, BC, CADC-II, FAAN WHOLE HEALTH BEGINS WITH MENTAL HEALTH IN BRIEF Free CE of the Month for APNA Members 4 free sessions each month, covering various aspects of psychiatric-mental health nursing care. View this month s offerings at apna.org/freece JAPNA Now with Continuing Education Each issue of APNA s scholarly journal will include a continuing education article from here on out. apna.org/japna Register for the APNA Annual Conference Take the proactive approach to your practice! Join 1600 of your colleagues in Phoenix, AZ this October apna.org/annualconference Stand for Mental Health Educate stakeholders on the need to ensure that mental illness and substance use disorders are adequately addressed in national and state policies through this ongoing effort. apna.org/standformentalhealth MAT Waiver Training Now Available 24 hours of free CNE (21 in psychopharmacology) meet requirements for APRNs with prescriptive authority to obtain a DEA waiver to prescribe MAT (including buprenorphine) for opioid use disorders. apna.org/pcssmat APNA Transitions in Practice Certificate Program Newly updated content now online! More than 2,000 learners have registered for this program, which offers 15 CNE contact hours and foundational PMH nursing knowledge. apna.org/atp Competency-Based Training for Suicide Prevention APNA Facilitators continue to deliver this hybrid training for PMH-RNs in the assessment and management of suicide risk. For upcoming trainings, check apna.org/suicideprevention Assessment & Monitoring Toolkit This toolkit of resources gathered by the APNA Council for Safe Environments, is now available at apna.org/safety

17 APNA NEWS: The Psychiatric Nursing Voice urpose, Technology & Wellbeing We chatted with this year s Annual Conference Keynote Vic Strecher, PhD, MPH to get insight into who he is, what he thinks, and what to expect from his Keynote this October. Strecher is a Professor and Director for Innovation and Social Entrepreneur at the University Of Michigan School Of Public Health. He is also founder and CEO of JOOL health, a digital health solution company pioneering the integration of the science of purpose with technology and big data to promote positive health outcomes. Q. Where are you now, and what brought you there? A. John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends, said that The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human. I m at a point in my career and in my life where I want to discover what it means to be human whether it s difficult to grasp, difficult to publish, difficult to get grant funding I don t care about those things anymore. fewer hospital visits, are less likely to develop depressive symptoms, and more resilient than people with a weak or no purpose in their lives. They also have better sex. There are many other positive physiological, psychological, and behavioral benefits from having a strong purpose. These effects are both strong and consistent even after statistically controlling for demographic, personality, health, and behavioral factors. Q. How can we leverage new technology to create a sense of engagement that encourages behavior change? A. New data collection options using the technology available in our society smartphones, the web, biometric devices allows us to better understand what makes a person tick. Advances in predictive analytics allow us to create an intervention model specific to each individual a model that continually gets smarter. I see this technology serving both as a powerful adjunct to counseling from a psychiatric-mental health nurse and as a way to help individuals further examine the behavioral and environmental influences in their lives, becoming better researchers of themselves. P Q. Could you speak to the science supporting the link between purpose and overall wellbeing? A. For starters, people with a strong purpose in their lives live longer, are less likely to get a stroke or heart attack, make Q. Describe what attendees should expect from your session in three words. A. EMOTION JOY SYNCHRONICITY On Purpose: Mobile App & Graphic Novel for Conference Attendees Annual Conference attendees will receive Strecher s graphic novel, On Purpose as well as an interactive mobile app, which serves as a purpose-driven tool for promoting healthy behavior change. Learn more at O pioid Use: Need for Education Continues 75% 55% WOMEN MEN Opioid-linked Hospitalization Rate Increases A new report from AHRQ provides new data on opioid-related hospitalizations. There are several striking points in this report. Opioid-related hospitalizations amongst women rose sharply, increasing by 75% With hospitalizations of men increasing 55% during that period, both women and men were hospitalized at about the same rate in 2014 for opioids and heroin. The report also shows wide variation in opioid-linked hospitalizations across states. Hospitalization rates in 2014 were highest for women in WV, MD, and MA and for men in DC, NY, and MD. There was also significant variation across states in age groups most likely to have opioid-related hospitalizations. 2

18 Dr. Kris McLoughlin chose Whole Health Begins with Mental Health as her theme for her year as APNA President. But what exactly does it mean and how does it apply to you? Find out in her Keynote presentation at the APNA Annual Conference. Below, she shares some thoughts and hopes around Whole Health Begins with Mental Health. Here s what led Kris to the concept of Whole Health Begins with Mental Health: D Years ago, I noticed a change in how our society talked about health often when speaking of physical health, and mental health was added to the end of the sentence. I appreciated that mental health was being brought into the conversation, but thought, Why should mental health be at the end, as if it is an afterthought? In my mind, mental health is the driver, or jump-off point for overall health. If we are to focus on achieving health we need to begin with mental health. I hope that the conference serves to reinforce this concept and helps us find our voices in advocating for the fundamental role mental health plays in wellness. More and more research is bringing to light the role that mental health plays in overall health. Here s how Kris sees this impacting the profession and the individuals we serve: It has exciting implications for everything from how we structure our health systems to how providers across specialties interact with mental health concerns. This focus on the role of mental health in overall wellness reinforces a basic tenet of our specialty that the mind and body are not two separate entities. A proactive approach which focuses on building mental This focus on the role of mental health in overall wellness reinforces a basic tenet of our specialty that the mind and body are not two separate entities. Summer 2017 riving a Paradigm Shift health in order to promote wellness is a step away from an illness-driven model of care and a step towards a health promotion model. This means more focus on prevention, early intervention, and recovery. Psychiatric-mental health nurses across the country are already implementing innovative practices to promote mental health, weave these approaches throughout the health care system, and reframe our society s whole outlook on the role of mental health. Many of these exciting innovations will be showcased in the presentations at the conference. The big picture hope is that we will have a healthy society full of persons living fulfilling and meaningful lives. Here s one way that you can transform the meaning of health to one that recognizes mental health as foundational for overall health: Psychiatric-mental health nurses are skilled advocates think of how often we advocate on behalf our patients. We can take our finely honed advocacy skills into a broader arena and present this concept in our conversations with colleagues, stakeholders, friends, and family. Simply introducing the concept to those around us is a powerful way to drive grassroots change. Flip your language put mental health before physical health! Here s what Kris is most looking forward to at the conference: As I mentioned before, colleagues are already implementing impressive new approaches that place mental health at the starting point, as well as woven throughout, the continuum of care. I m excited to hear from them at the conference and for the thoughtful conversations that will occur. My fellow psychiatric-mental health nurses never cease to inspire and amaze me with their ingenuity, passion, and dedication. Opioid abuse affects all genders and age groups, but the issue presents differently in different communities. What remains consistent is the need for providers to be equipped with knowledge of best practices and treatment options for persons with/at risk for opioid use disorders. APNA's webinars, Effective Treatments for Opioid Use Disorders, are targeted to all nurses, APRNs, and PMH-RNs respectively. They provide free continuing education to nurses who want to gain knowledge, help their patients, and increase access to care. Feedback from thousands of participants shows that the webinars are helping to shift perceptions and practices. See, for example, responses from nurses who completed the webinar for non-pmh nurses: "I will increase the number of screenings for opiate use," says one. "I intend to interview patients more carefully and research options for individual issues as needed." A nurse educator says, "I plan to teach SUD as a medical/mental health issue not [a] legal [one] and help empower nurses to make a difference." Important takeaways relate to an understanding of addiction as an illness and the importance of the ability "to see each person in their reality and individual situation." Learn more about the webinars at apna.org/nursesturnthetide The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited with distinction as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center s Commission on Accreditation. 3

19 3141 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 625 Falls Church, VA APNA (2762) Inside this issue: Q&A with speakers from the Annual Conference, quick updates, and more! The APNA Annual Conference program is built from abstracts which are submitted, peer reviewed, and selected by your colleagues. I highly recommend attendance at APNA conference! Every year has excellent informative sessions on a wide range of up to date topics for all levels of practice, education, research and administration. There is great networking. It is the gold standard for the most organized and well run and valuable conference I attend. Register by 9/6 to save $100 apna.org/annualconference