The Nursing Voice - March 2018

The Nursing Voice March 2018 Page 11
Update From the Illinois Chapter of
the American Association of
Psychiatric Nurses
RECENT EVENTS
In conjunction with Ambria College of Nursing, the
APNA Illinois Chapter hosted a conference entitled
“Empower. Energize. Inspire: A Conference for Psychiatric
Mental Health Nurse Educators” on Friday, November
3, 2017. Nurse educators from around the state enjoyed
dynamic speakers who shared their teaching expertise.
Dean Georgine Berent hosted the day and nursing
student volunteers made sure the attendees were well
cared for. Topics included factors leading to outstanding
teaching, establishing a therapeutic alliance with patients
who have schizophrenia, preparing a therapeutic teaching
toolkit, reducing stigma by inspiring empathy, selfcare
for the nurse educator, team-based learning an
innovative teaching strategy, and the male perspective
in nursing education. Northern Illinois University and
Johnson & Johnson sponsored the conference and
attendees enjoyed a catered breakfast, lunch and 5.75
continuing education contact hours. A future conference
focusing on nursing education will be planned for Fall
2018, so stay tuned!
SPRING CONFERENCE
The 17th Annual Illinois Chapter of the American
Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Conference is
coming this spring! “Whole health begins with mental
health”
Friday, April 27, 2018 from 8:30 am – 6:00 pm
NEW LARGER SPACE--Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Feinberg Conference Center, 251 E. Huron Avenue,
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Next month, over 250 psychiatric RNs, APNs,
and students will gather in Chicago for this day-long
conference. The conference is just steps from Chicago’s
Magnificent Mile and Navy Pier. This day-long meeting
includes:
• Top nurse researchers & clinicians
• Buffet breakfast & lunch
• After conference reception
• Free validated parking
In addition, there are opportunities for psychiatric
nurse researchers to present posters.
The Keynote will be presented by international awardwinner
David Granirer, Consumer, Comic, Founder of
Stand Up for Mental Health - a program that teaches
stand-up comedy in three countries to people with
mental illness or mental health issues as a way of building
confidence and fighting public stigma.
Other topics include: Integrating psychiatric
services in primary care, perinatal women’s health,
pharmacogenomics, physical effects of psychotropics, RN
self-care, and more!
Accreditation statement:
This activity has been submitted to the Ohio Nurses
Association for approval to award CNE contact hours. The
expected number of hours awarded will be 7.8 hours.
The Ohio Nurses Association is accredited as an
approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on
Accreditation (OBN-001-91).
To receive contact hours for this event, you must
attend the entire event and submit a completed
evaluation form.
The planners and speakers have declared no conflict of
interest.
Save the date - Coming up in June!
APNA Competency Based Training for Suicide
Prevention
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Generalist Role
Become a card-carrying APNA Suicide Prevention
Provider!
Learn to systematically apply the first suicide
prevention competencies developed for psychiatricmental
health nurse generalists to your practice! This
live* interactive training, presented by a facilitator
with expertise in suicide prevention, will increase your
confidence and competence in the nursing skills of suicide
assessment, management and prevention. Get evidencebased
nursing knowledge and best practices from this
content developed to improve the knowledge, attitudes,
skills and critical thinking of psychiatric-mental health
nurses caring for persons at risk for suicide.
*Includes 1.25 hours of online pre-work - overall
awards 6.5 CEs.
Target Audience: Generalist nurses who care for
persons with mental health disorders in an inpatient
setting.
June 22 - Linden Oaks Mill Street location
Naperville, IL
Check APNA.org/Illinois/events for details and how
to register
The VA St Louis Health
Care System is recruiting
Registered Nurses
ISAPN UPDATE
From the ISAPN
President
Welcome to 2018: a time of great change for all
APRNs in Illinois. As we move forward with the process
of the elimination of the written collaborative agreement
(WCA), there are some important things to keep in mind.
First and most importantly, this is a process, and one
that will take some time to complete. While the Nurse
Practice Act (with stipulations for elimination of the WCA)
was signed by Governor Rauner in September 2017, the
Rules still need to be written. The Rules will delineate
the process of enforcement, and because of this, we are
not able to eliminate the WCA until after this process has
been completed. The Rules are currently being written
– and ISAPN continues our presence, involvement, and
advocacy. Following the development of the first draft
of the Rules, there will be a period of public comment.
Currently the anticipated timeline is February 2018, but
as with everything in government processes, it is a wait
and see game. Following the period of public comment,
revisions may need to be made to the Rules, and then
there will be an additional period for public comment.
These are processes that cannot be avoided or shortened.
It is our hope and expectation that this process will
be completed during the summer 2018. Please be
aware of this period of public comment, and voice your
concerns, suggestions, and questions! The Rules can
be reviewed either through the Illinois Register: http://
www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/
home.html or through the Finn Report: http://www.ilga.
gov/commission/jcar. You can also register at the ISAPN
Advocacy Portal for updates and information.
The next topic of importance is that it is crucial for you
as an APRN to be informed! There are several ways for
you to be informed of all changes to our practice.
• The first is to become a member of ISAPN. You
will receive frequent emails with the most current
news.
• The second way is for you to register for the ISAPN
Advocacy Portal. If you haven’t registered for the
ISAPN Advocacy Portal, do so right now at http://
cqrcengage.com/ilnurses/home?0
• Another way for you to get the most current
information is to work with your facility and invite
ISAPN to do an APRN Update at your place of
employment or to watch for announcements about
other events. This is an excellent way to learn the
most up-to-date information, to have your questions
answered, and to earn 1.0 hour of CE.
I am excited about our professional practice and future
in Illinois, and look forward to these changes!
Ricki Loar, Ph.D., APRN
President, ISAPN
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