FNPN May-June 2012 Newsletter Bullets

Posted about 13 years ago by Regina Sanders

Good Morning!

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:

Founder and Foundation a winning combination
Important message from the Florida Coalition for Advanced Practice Nursing
Unspoken word
Education Updates
Membership Update
FNPN Spotlight
From Your AANP Representative
Job Announcement
FNPN PAC Update
Around the State and Around the Nation
News You Can Use

Quote of the Month:
"One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests."

- Peter Marshall

Founder and Foundation-A winning combination

The "power of giving" is a bond between the AANP Foundation and Loretta C. Ford (co-founder of the first nurse practitioner education program) who have established the "Loretta C. Ford Leave a Legacy" fund to benefit NPs through scholarships, grants and educational assistance

Dr. Ford's contributions to the NP role have been significant and vast, historically and continuously. Her work on this issue began when she launched the NP movement for specialized training to "assess, diagnose, treat and evaluate. Her mission was to care for and about people in a compassionate, competent and caring way." Dr. Ford introduced the NP program using the public health nursing model in 1965 and was surprised to receive tremendous resistance. Having been through the Great Depression, World War II and many other life challenges, she drew upon her heritage and conviction to persevere.

Her persistence paid off, and since then, she has steadily provided leadership, advocacy and authorship of hundreds of publications on NP history, education and issues in advancing nursing practice and health care.

Now she has added a voice of philanthropy for giving back. "It is the power of giving, where you can insist that gender issues, rights and education are honored.," shared Dr. Ford. She urges NPs to support their colleagues and those still in training with the habit of routine giving. "He who gives while he lives, knows where it goes," is a quote she offers and practices with her husband of over 60 years."Dr. Ford's commitment to education and better health for the nation is exemplary.

The Loretta Ford Legacy Society and Dr. Ford will be spotlighted at the AANP Foundation's Honors Dinner to be held this June in Orlando at the AANP National Conference.

For more background on Dr. Ford, visit http://vimeo.com/18465043 and view a short 2011 documentary filmed by Susan Hagadorn titled "The Disruptive Innovator." For more information on how you can leave a lasting legacy, visit the AANP Foundation website at www.aanp-foundation.org
Article from the AANP foundations newletter April 2012 Edition

From the Florida Coalition of Advanced Pactice Nursing

Florida Medical Association and other Physician Groups File Legal Challenge to Board of Nursing Rule on Conscious Sedation
The Florida Medical Association (FMA), along with the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA), and the Florida Podiatric Medical Association (FPMA), has filed a legal challenge to the Board of Nursing’s proposed rule on the administration of conscious sedation by RNs. The physician groups claim the rule is an invalid exercise of delegated legislative authority, and that the Board of Nursing is attempting to “shoehorn” a rule regulating the administration of conscious sedation into a rule defining “unprofessional conduct”.

The central theme of the FMA rule challenge is that the Board of Nursing has no authority to establish professional guidelines for the administration of conscious sedation by registered nurses. The physician groups argue that the proposed rule is in direct conflict with Section 464.003(2), Florida Statutes, which allows nurses to administer medications and treatments authorized by a duly authorized practitioner such as a physician. According to the FMA, the Board of Nursing cannot adopt a rule that would prohibit a nurse from administering any medication that is ordered by a physician.

The physician groups claim that a substantial number of their members will be substantially affected by the proposed rule, because the rule would “strictly regulate the manner in which physicians practice medicine involving the use of conscious sedation.” They also suggest that the rule would substantially affect the way that physicians who employ or utilize registered nurses practice medicine in cases in which they use conscious sedation. In essence, the physician groups are arguing that individual physicians, and not the Board of Nursing, should determine what functions an RN is competent and legally able to perform.

Although the rule at issue involves conscious sedation, the main legal argument of the physician groups is that the Board of Nursing does not have legal authority to define what constitutes unprofessional conduct of a nurse. This argument could be used to attack virtually any Board of Nursing rule concerning the scope of practice of nurses. Simply put: the outcome of this rule challenge case could affect the ability of the Board of Nursing to regulate the practice of nursing in the future.

The current Board of Nursing rule on unprofessional conduct [Rule 64B9-8.005(13)] states that unprofessional conduct includes “practicing beyond the scope of the licensee’s license, educational preparation or nursing experience.” The FMA concedes that this definition of “unprofessional conduct” is probably permissible. However, the FMA suggests that the existing rule is unnecessary because Florida law already provides grounds for discipline if a nurse fails to “meet minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing nursing practice, including engaging in acts for which the licensee is not qualified by training and experience.” The FMA argues that the proposed rule is using the definition of “unprofessional conduct” as a pretext to regulate the administration of conscious sedation by registered nurses.

The FMA rule challenge has been referred to an Administrative Law Judge at the Division of Administrative Hearings. A formal administrative hearing on the FMA rule challenge has been scheduled for June 26, 2012. The Florida Association of Nurse Anesthetists has intervened in support of the Board of Nursing, and other nursing organizations are being urged to intervene or to provide support for those nursing groups that do intervene.

Unspoken Word
Florida Nurse Practitioner, Jana Esden, had an assignment for a Health Policy class. She never expected the video on Restricted NP Prescriptive Authority in Florida to have over 10,000 hits on YouTube. Jana graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in Nursing. In 2006, she entered the Family Nurse Practitioner program at the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, now Frontier Nursing University, and graduated in 2008. She recently was awarded the NCNP of the year. Currently she is a faculty member at the FNP program at Frontier Nursing University, and also a DNP student at Frontier. In her clinical role, she spends time at a free clinic in Central Florida. She is pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Frontier Nursing University, and she will graduate in June, 2012. Her doctoral capstone project involved implementing group care for her underserved patients with diabetes. Jana lives in Clermont, Florida with her husband, Eric and 3 year old daughter, Callie.

This Florida NP's Unspoken Word Sends Message Loud and Clear!

Education Updates:

The following important educational opportunities have been posted for June and July; Please check for important educational opportunities posted on our website at www.fnpn.org

Jun 20

AANP 27th Annual Convention
Wednesday, June 20 2012 at 9:00am ET in Orlando, FL

Jun 23

2012 Florida Hospital Cancer Institute’s Best of ASCO® June 23 & 24
Saturday, June 23 2012 at 6:00pm ET in Orlando, FL

Jul 26

Metabolic & Endocrine Disease Summit MEDS East
Thursday, July 26 2012 at 7:00am ET in Orlando, FL

FNPN Spotlight

Recently FNPN member Arlene Write was featured in “Nurse Practitioners Filling The Void". Arlene discusses how ARNP care is vital to the Graying of America and maintaining Health. Arlene earned a BS from the College of St. Francis and her MSN from the University of Tampa. She is presently pursuing her DNP at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). She is board certified in family practice by ANCC. Ms. Wright has practiced in the specialty of Gastroenterology where she initiated a hepatitis C clinic and also became the first “non –physician” to become a member of the Florida Gastroenterology Society. She has been a speaker at national conferences and local conferences on the topics of hepatitis C and IBS. Ms Wright also participated in poster presentations on GERD at the national AANP convention in 2009 & 2010. Ms. Wright has been adjunct faculty at both NOVA Southeastern and Edison State College. She has been a BLS instructor for more than 25 years. She has published in Nursing ’98 “Life after Disbandment” and in Advance for Nurse Practitioners in 2005; “A rare case of rectal bleeding”. Ms. Wright is a member of FNA and served on the board of directors in multiple capacities for more than 10 years. She also was a member of the FNA nursing clinical excellence committee. In 2007 she was awarded the FNA Advanced Registered Nursing Practice Award for her contributions to education and nursing. She was inducted into the Honor Society of Nursing (Delta Beta Chapter) as a student and into Tau Zeta as a community leader. She is an active member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Florida Nurse Practitioner Network and is vice president of the Southern Gulf Coast Nurse Practitioner Council. She will be awarded the Nurse Practitioner Advocate for Florida at the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner national conference in June of this year. Ms Wright presently practices with a family practice group that is part of a large healthcare system. She recently became lead advanced provider for the group and with that occupies a seat on the physician governance board In her “spare” time she enjoys boating with her family, enjoying friends and her (3) 4-legged children and is anticipating her first grandchild this year. Arlene is a super star everyday! Check out this video on YouTube.

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

Armando Riera-Membership Chair

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

From your AANP Representative

Doreen Cassarino MSN, ARNP, FNP-BC, BC-ADM

The AANP National Conference in Orlando is less than a month away (June 20 - 24, 2012). I hope you are planning on attending. Please join me at the Region 11 meeting Wednesday June 20th from 10:45am - 12:00pm. I will be presenting an overview of the recent legislative efforts in Florida. The regional meeting is a great opportunity to network with other Florida NPs and learn more about how your practice will be affected by 2012 legislative changes. Remember to come by and visit the FNPN exhibit booth #952.

FNPN PAC Update

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

Around the State and Around the Nation

Gail Sadler, MSN, ARNP wins AANP State Representative Post

Congratulations to Gail for her successful campaign to serve our state as the new AANP Representative. Gail has been an active member of AANP, FNPN and her local Tampa Bay NP group since obtaining her NP graduate degree from The University of Tampa. Gail owns her own successful family care practice in Tampa and is a Fellow of the AANP and a Fellow of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. AANP's presence in Florida is strong and this great organization definitely supports our Florida NP efforts to practice as written in the IOM report. Are you a member of AANP? If not, join today…..remember you get a $10 discount as FNPN or group member. Join us at the AANP National Convention in June in Orlando!!

Nurse practitioners look to fill gap with expected spike in demand for health services

By Sarah Kliff, Published: May 13

President Obama’s health-care law is expected to expand health insurance to 32 million Americans over the next decade. Health policy experts anticipate that the wave of new insurance subscribers will lead to a spike in demand for medical services. To read more on this article please click here

Texas nurse helps the uninsured get needed care

By Ben Tracey

To address Texas' massive uninsured problem, a 31-year-old nurse practitioner opened a clinic in a Houston-area strip mall to provide low-cost care. Ben Tracy reports on the nurse who's become a one-woman coverage plan for her community. To see this video article please click here

Nurse practitioners tackling more 'doctor' tasks

By Scott Travis, Sun Sentinal

Many of your health care needs may soon be handled by a "doctor" who has actually been trained as a nurse. Advanced registered nurse practitioners are increasingly performing duties once reserved for physicians, including diagnosing illnesses and prescribing medicine. It's a trend that's likely to continue as the state grapples with escalating health care costs and a shortage of primary care physicians. To read more of this article please 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.

Nursing study on conflict and stress

A group of researchers in the Department of Psychology at Florida International University investigating how conflict management styles and interpersonal locus of control interact with interpersonal conflict at work for nurses, and we are seeking nurses to complete a 15-25 minute anonymous online survey.

The goal is to reach as diverse group of nurses across the United States as possible. The first 200 nurses and the first 100 coworkers to complete the survey will be mailed an $8 Starbucks gift card. To participate please click here

Nurses have been identified as the occupation experiencing the most social stress (arguments and verbal abuse) at work. Due to these stressful work conditions, we are studying behavioral responses to conflict at work through conflict management styles may affect how nurses' responses, such as well-being, to workplace conflict. To provide a broader view of conflict and its management, co-workers of target nurse participants will also be surveyed to validate the target’s reported behavior in the workplace.

The 2012 Faculty Loan Repayment Program application cycle is now open!

The Faculty Loan Repayment Program supports health professions educators who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and serve a vital role in preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Prospective Applicants Should Know:

The FLRP will provide a lump sum, up to a maximum of $40,000, for a two year service commitment. In addition, FLRP requires a funding match from the applicant’s health professions school, which helps program participants further reduce their educational debt.
FLRP participants who have additional qualifying loans once their service commitment is complete may re-apply for another two-year contract in exchange for additional years of service.
The financial assistance offered through FLRP decreases the economic barriers associated with pursu-ing a career as a health professions educator preparing the next generation of health professionals.

Applications are due by 5:00 pm ET on June 12, 2012.

As in previous years, the FLRP is expected to be competitive. If there are more qualified applicants than available funding, preference will be based upon: the amount of financial match from the applicant’s school; full-time faculty status; and faculty who demonstrate a commitment to promoting healthcare careers.

Prospective applicants should go to the FLRP website at Here for more information and to begin the application process.

Hospitals for Humanity is a non-profit organization that provides free healthcare to people in under-served countries. Currently we are looking for Nurse Practitioners for our next medical mission. For more in-formation please visit www.hospitalsforhumanity.org