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FNPN January 2012 Newsletter Bullets

Posted about 12 years ago by Regina Pommer

Good Evening!

We would like to bring you up to date on what’s new in your own backyard of Florida.  In this newsletter you will find the following:

Contents

 

Quote of the Month: "Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind."

        - Theodore Roosevelt

From the Board of Directors

As the upcoming year brings time for renewal, we hope you will consider your pledge to not only the FNPN, but your local organizations as well. This commitment needed is not only financial, but of a promise to remain engaged, whether by keeping abreast with the changes on the legislative front, or finding opportunities for education in your own back yard and around the state and nation. We ask all members to consider ‘bringing a friend’ to the registration table and helping to build our organizations to where they should be. With the numbers of Advanced Practice Nurses nearing 15,000 in Florida, we should have a strength that can overcome any push from our medical community. We MUST stand up and learn to feel empowered to push back, but do so with professionalism, wisdom and conviction. We hope you will let us nurture that side of you if you need it and engage those around you to do the same. Please be sure to contact us should you have questions about legislation, membership, education and more. Our Executive Assistant, Regina, is always available either by phone, computer and even skype!

FNPN Annual Elections ring in new Board Members and welcomes back others! This year, the positions of Membership Chair, Secretary and Vice President for Legislation of FNPN were up for election. Special thanks to our election committee who submitted the results after voting ended on January 7, 2012. The following candidates were successful in securing positions for the Board of Directors in this election cycle;

Membership Chair: Armando Riera

Vice President for Legislation: Debra Friedrich

Secretary: Cindy Parsons

Thank you to all who took the time out to vote and welcome to our new Board members!

Education Updates:  

Feb 02

Dorothy   M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference at University of Florida

Thursday, February 02 2012 at 11:00am ET in Gainesville,   FL

 

Feb 06

State   University’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Information Session

Monday, February 06 2012 at 6:30pm ET

 

Please check for important educational opportunities posted on our website at www.fnpn.org.

 

Legislation Update

Debra A. Friedrich, DNP, ARNP- BC, CLS

 Please Email Senator Rene Garcia, the Chair of the Senate Health Regulation Committee Members: URGENT!! Simply cut and paste this email message below to Senator Rene Garcia, the Chair of the Senate Health Regulation Committee. It is essential that the Baker Act bill be placed on the agenda for Jan. 31st. Please add a personal account on how this restriction to Baker Act may have impeded your ability to provide adequate care and protection for your patients. This is very important. Please take a few minutes of your time to benefit your profession! For a sample letter click here

 

Job Announcements!

There have been many new job postings around the state on our web site at www.fnpn.org  for those of you that may have an interest. On our new website, the most recent postings are on the front page. A new feature will allow postings to be visible for 90 days. Please feel free to pass this along to your colleagues who may be interested in it as well, or who may have an interest in finding out more about our network.  For those of you that have found jobs on our website, please be sure to let us know!

 

Do you know an employer who might find the FNPN Job posting a worthwhile site? If so, please be sure to tell them about the website and the fact that on average 20 or more jobs are posted each month.  The traffic to our website is incredible and we have more and more folks seeking employment through this site than ever before.  Let them know you saw it on the FNPN Website!

 

Membership Update

Dear Members, 

In order for us to have our voices heard in Tallahassee, we will need to increase our membership, at the same time working hard to retain current members.   One of our goals this year will be to actively work on recruiting new members to FNPN to make our organization stronger.

Renewal Reminder-Membership in FNPN runs on an annual basis Jan-Dec. Please renew your membership today. Membership in FNPN can be as a group or individual member.

Individual members belong and receive many benefits as part of their membership-frequent communication during the legislative session (or special sessions), a paid lobbyist based in Tallahassee, access to posted job opportunities, access to posted upcoming conferences and many more benefits. If you belong to your local NP group you are not an FNPN member until you join FNPN individually, group and individual membership are two separate levels of membership. I encourage you to visit our newly redesigned web page today www.fnpn.org and while you're there you can renew online.

Group Presidents- please renew today and continue to be an integral part of our growing organization. We value our group members as this creates a vital network of NP groups throughout the state. These groups help disseminate information about trends, issues and changes impacting NP's at the state and national level. As a group member we will also assist with conference planning and obtaining approval for CEU's if offered. We will also assist with promoting your conferences and activities and can provide assistance or link you with support in web design. 

FNPN now has several options for membership:

$70.00 - New Member /Renewing

$120.00 - 2 Year Membership Special (Through December 2013)

$45.00 - Student / Retired Member

$80.00 - 2 year Membership Student/Retired (Through December 2013)

$120.00 - NP Group Member

$120.00 - Organization Member

Student Group Membership "First Year Free!"

To pay by check click here

To pay by credit card click here

As the Chair of the Membership Committee I am always open to suggestions and new ideas. If you have any questions, please contact me. This year, when joining/renewing, we also ask you to consider ‘bringing a friend’ to the registration table and helping build our organizations to where they should be. With the numbers of Advanced Practice Nurses nearing 15,000 in Florida, we should have a strength that can overcome any push from our medical community. We hope you will let us nurture that side of you if you need it and engage those around you to do the same. Please be sure to contact us should you have questions about legislation, membership, education and more. Our Executive Assistant, Regina, is always available either by phone, computer and even skype!

 

Thank you in advance for all your support.

Respectfully,

Armando Riera, MSN, ARNP-BC

FNPN, Membership Committee Chair

ARiera@jhsmiami.org

FNPN PAC Update

FNPN would like to congratulate Dr. Laureen Fleck on becoming the new FNPN PAC chair. There is much hard work ahead and we thank you in advance for your time and effort, we appreciate it!

The purpose of the FNPN-Political Action Committee (PAC) is to promote the ARNP profession through advancing the outcome of political issues or legislation. This is accomplished by contributing to the support of worthy candidates for State or Local offices who we believe have demonstrated their support of the principles to which this professional organization is dedicated. To further their purpose the PAC is empowered to solicit and accept these voluntary personal contributions (up to $500 per year per person). These contributions are used to attempt to influence the selection, nomination, or election of any individual to any State or Local office. Your decision to make a PAC contribution will help to continue our efforts wherever possible. Contributions can be made @ www.FNPN.org via Pay Pal…or your check payable to FNPN-PAC.

If anyone is interested in volunteering their time, please contact Dr. Fleck at laureenfleck@yahoo.com

Let’s make things happen together! Thank you for your support!!

Around the State and Around the Nation

Local legislators weigh in on priorities for next session

Before 244 attendees at the Plantation Golf and Country Club, Bennett outlined his legislative priorities at an Annual Regional Luncheon. To read more click here

News You Can Use

The Florida NP Network has taken the next step to keep our members informed. Keep abreast of changes in your practice around the state and around the nation. You can join us today on Facebook under Florida Nurse Practitioner and Twitter under FloridaNP. We hope to hear from you.

Send us your articles

It is wonderful to spotlight Nurse Practitioners and highlight happenings in your area. Please submit names and events to floridanpnetwork@gmail.com. FNPN newsletter welcomes your input!

Nursing Education and Loan Repayment Program (NELRP) 2012 Application Cycle Now Open! The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service (BCRS),

announced this afternoon that the 2012 application cycle for NELRP will remain open through February 15, 2012.

NELRP offers Registered Nurses (RNs), advanced practice registered nurses, such as Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and nurse faculty an opportunity to repay 60 percent of their outstanding qualifying educational loans in exchange for a two-year service commitment at a Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) or an accredited school of nursing.

This year, the program has been modified to adapt to changes in the nursing profession and to ensure support for communities with the greatest need.

For 2012, the program is reserving up to half of the award funding for NPs; the remaining funding will continue to support RNs and nurse faculty.

As in previous years, NELRP is expected to be competitive. If there are more qualified applicants than available funding, NELRP will prioritize applications based upon the following criteria:

Nurses at CSFs:

  • Preference will be given to nurses based on the greatest financial need, the type of facility, and the mental health or primary care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designation. For more information on CSFs, HPSAs and funding preferences, review the Application and Program Guidance at http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/guidance.pdf

Nurse Faculty at Schools:

  • Preference will be given to faculty with the greatest financial need and to faculty working at schools of nursing with at least 50 percent enrollment of students from a disadvantaged background.

The deadline to apply to NELRP is February 15, 2012 at 5 pm ET. To learn more about NELRP eligibility and requirements, visit: http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/