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FNPN August 2014 Newsletter Bullets

Posted over 9 years ago by Regina Pommer

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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:

Contents:
  • FNPN Conference Update
  • Legislative Update
  • Shining Stars
  • Around the State and Around the Nation
  • Education Updates
  • Membership Update
  • Job Announcement
  • FNPN PAC Update
  • News You Can Use

Quote of the Month:

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't."

― Eleanor Roosevelt

FNPN Conference

Last Chance to register!! The 11th Annual FNPN conference is this weekend! Our theme this year is "Freedom to Practice: Charting our Course". The conference will be held at the beautiful Wyndham Buena Vista, Orlando. This action packed event will include the new Florida mandatory licensure requirement! Our Keynote speakers this year are Barbara Safriet J.D., LL.M, FAANP, Jeff Bauer, PhD, and Tay Kopanos, DNP.

In addition to our all-star line-up of national speakers, FNPN will honor Senator Denise Grimsley and Representative Cary Pigman with "Distinguished Legislator" awards. Both were instrumental with legislation that would have significantly enhanced nurse practitioner practice thereby improving care access.

Also instrumental in advocating nurse practitioner practice, Allison Carvajal, will be presented with the Distinguished Advocate Award.

We hope that you will join us later that afternoon for an intimate "fireside" chat with these legislators and advocates and learn firsthand about the current and future legislative climate.

Help us fill the Florida NP Sponsored "First Aid OMK Camp Bag" at FNPN Annual Conference.

FNPN is pleased to announce our latest statewide initiative to assist "Joining Forces". We have adopted the Operation: Military Kids (OMK) Camp program in our effort to help our military veterans and their fam-ilies. We will sponsor the OMK Camp Medical Supplies to keep the 4 camps stocked with needed items for the camp nurse! Items will be put in weatherproof military duffle bags and we hope our friends and mem-bers with join us and help by donating these items.

Bring your items to the conference and drop them in the bag. Every donor will receive a raffle ticket!

Suggested Items: Band-Aids, Dressings, paper tape, coban, First aid oint-ments, Ace Wraps, slings, OTC topicals, skin cleansers, BP cuff, stethoscope, splinter removal kit, insect repellent, OTC anti-histamines, OTC analgesia, ice packs, thermometers, oral glucose, baby wipes, tampons/peripads, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, alcohol pads, CPR mask, antihistamine, spray and topical calamine, cough drops, gloves, scissors, etc!

For those of you who have registered we would like to remind you as an attendee of our meeting, you have access to specially-priced Disney Tickets, including After 2:00 pm and After 4:00 pm Tickets. These tickets are exclusive to meetings in Central Florida and are not available at theme park gates. For more information or to purchase tickets click here or call 407-566-5600

There is still time to register- you do not want to miss this exciting event!! please click here

Legislation Update

Jean Aertker-VP Legislation

Florida 2014 Election Candidates-Federal and State

The primary is August 26TH and the "THE BIG ELECTION" is November 4th. Click here for the list of candidates running for election or re-election in Florida. Many incumbents have no opposition this term. Take a minute and look over your own districts. We encourage you to talk with incumbent and challenging candidates seeking election within your area. Candidates unopposed also NEED to hear from YOU!!! This is an important year, become informed on which candidate you should support and vote for.

Shining Stars

This month our shining star is FNPN member Dr. Mai Kung. Dr. Kung was recently recognized as one of the top 25 nurse practitioner professors in the country. Dr. Kung received her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree from University of Florida and she was the recipient of the DNP Academic Excellence Award. She received a Post-Master's Nurse Educator Certificate from Florida State University (FSU), her Master's in Nursing and Master's in Public Health Degrees from Emory University, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Kung has been a family nurse practitioner for over 25 years and spent most of her career in clinical practice. She is also an educator, author, a public speaker, an advocate and a researcher. She serves as an Associate-In-Nursing Faculty at FSU. She has published in professional journals; presented in local, regional, national and international conferences; as well as regularly testifying before the Florida legislature on healthcare issues. Her advocacy, practice and research efforts are focused on innovative practice models to improve patients' access to safe, high quality healthcare. Her vision and mission is to remove ARNP practice barriers through nursing unity (speaking with one voice). Other specific interest areas include influenza vaccination, DNP, legal and risk management issues, interprofessional education/collaboration, cluster headaches, athletic physicals, and social media.

Dr. Kung was a founder and a volunteer of the Havana Health and Wellness Family Practice Clinic (HHWCFPC) that served vulnerable populations four hours per week. In 2013, the Neighborhood Medical Center (NMC) partnered with HHWCFPC and increased medical services to 40 hours per week. This partnership contributed to NMC's success in achieving the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status in 2014. Dr. Kung continues to volunteer at NMC.

Dr. Kung's serves as a co-chair for the Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses and serves on the Board of the Havana Health and Wellness Center. She was a past chair of the HHWC Board of Directors and past president of the Tallahassee Area Council of Advanced Practice Nurses (CAPN). She is a member of AANP, ANA, FNA, FNPN, FLANP, Tallahassee Area CAPN, and AAPINA (Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association

Around the State and Around the Nation

DEA Publishes Final Rules Rescheduling Tramadol to Schedule IV

Effective August 18, 2014 The US Drug Enforcement Administration today published its Final Rule in the Federal Register placing tramadol into Schedule IV effective August 18, 2014.

A number of states in the country including Arkansas, Mississippi and New York have already placed tra-madol as a controlled substance.

Acknowledging that changes such as these take time to implement, the DEA extended the usual effective date for this type of change from 30 to 45 days to provide what it considers to be "reasonable time for registrants to comply with handling requirements for a schedule IV" drug, such as moving tramadol products into a warehouse cage or adjusting suspicious monitoring systems to include tramadol orders.

Effective August 18, 2014 all manufacturers will be required to print the designation "C-IV" on every bottle and it is unlawful for commercial containers of tramadol to be distributed without that designation. In addition, all DEA registrants will be required to take an inventory of all tramadol stock in compliance with 21 C.F.R. § 1304.11(d).

As a friendly reminder, Florida ARNPs are not authorized to prescribe controlled substances and thus can-not initiate, scribe, order or have this authority delegated by a DEA licensed professional to prescribe a controlled substance in any class. This will seriously impact your practice as this has been a standby alter-nate medication for relief of moderate pain. Please discuss this with your colleagues and protocol physician today. Also suggest you write and call your local legislator and tell them that after 20 years of building this barrier, it must come down! If this state truly supports treating patients properly for all medical condi-tions as evidenced by the recent fever for passing medical marijuana, they need also to support NPs to continue to deliver safe & quality healthcare!

Education Updates:

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

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

Pamela Johnson-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:
  • $75.00 - New Member /Renewing
  • $50.00 - Student / Retired Member
  • $120.00 - NP Group Member
  • $120.00 - Organization Member

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!

FNPN PAC Update

As voters, we are in a position to support the candidate of our choice by promoting their campaign not only on Election Day but by participation and promotion of the candidate's campaign promises.

Advanced practice nurses in Florida have not been able to practice to the full extent of our scope of practice and education because of political restrictions imposed on us in the House and Senate.

Our PAC committee will be traveling throughout the state to raise money and participate in fund raising efforts to build OUR VOICE in the Florida political arena. We will also support the candidates that support our issues by monetary contributions to their campaigns.

We need your help! Money is Power!! A brilliant legislative session is expected and we are closer than ever to reach our goals. We have a lobbyist working with us. We are well informed and networked in Tallahassee. She keeps the constant flow of information current. We cannot achieve our goals with this disruption of policy and politics! Without you, your patients, family and community support we are invisible. Become a member of the FNPN PAC Committee.

Consider your commitment to our profession. We are ARNPs in private practice, hospital settings, colleges, universities and clinics throughout the state! We are YOU !

If each person in our membership donated $10 and asked 5 more people to donate $10 we would be on our way to political success! We have a membership of 4,300 ARNPs in Florida. We are solid, we are YOU! To make a contribution 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.

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!

Florida's Largest Health Insurer Is Raising Exchange Rates An Average Of 17.6 Percent - Kaiser Health News click here

AANP 2014 Grants and Scholarships Call for Application

AANP recently announced that the 2014 Grants and Scholarship application period is now open. These scholarships and grants are open to candidates who are AANP members and will complete their NP program by Spring 2015. Recipients can receive up to $2,500 in funds. Applications will be due October 1st, with awardees announced in late November. Learn more about our grants and scholarship program, access eligibility criteria and begin the application process

Board Certified ARNPs now Exempt from FL CEs for license renewal

Senate Bill 1036 (by Senator Grimsley), primarily related to nursing education programs, passed from the 2014 legislative session & became law on July 1st as Chapter 2014-92, Laws of Florida. (Senate Bill history here)

You will find a summary of the changes below and can view the actual bill language here

Nursing licensure applicants: The changes require graduates of approved nursing education programs in Florida, who do not take the licensure examination within 6 months after graduation, to complete a licensure exam preparatory course (approved by the Board of Nursing).

Licensed nurses: Licensed nurses (LPN, RN, ARNP) are now exempt from continuing education requirements for licensure renewal if they are certified by a health care specialty program accredited by the National Commission of Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the Accrediting Bureau of Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC).

Nursing education programs: 6 new rules related to nursing educational programs here