2015 FNPN November Newsletter Bullets

Posted over 8 years ago by Regina Pommer

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:

Quote of the Month:

"You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas."
-Shirley Chisholm

FNPN ELECTIONS

It is time once again for elections. PLEASE Click here to see the following candidates that are running for office. A link for voting will be sent to current members. If you would like to vote, make sure that your dues are current. If you have any questions, please email us at floridanpnetwork@gmail.com. Thank you again for your participation.

FNPN SHINING STAR

Jessica Bahorski, MSN, ARNP, PPCNP-BC, WHNP-BC

Jessica Bahorski is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, School of Nursing where she was prepared as a nurse practitioner. She is certified as both a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner and a women's health nurse practitioner. For five years she was in the position similar to that of a clinical nurse specialist in a community hospital. During that time became actively involved in several research projects. The first was a collaborative effort between the emergency department and pediatric department focusing on temperature measurement in children. This study, Temperature Measurement in Pediatrics: A Comparison of the Rectal Method Versus the Temporal Artery Method, was published in the June 2012 edition of the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

The next research endeavor was to examine the effectiveness of a vibration device, Buzzy®, compared to a lidocaine based cream, to reduce pain during needle stick procedures in children. Jessica was the principal investigator of the study which was a collaborative effort between the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Children's Center and the Florida State University, College of Nursing. Data was analyzed on a 173 participants between the ages of 18 months and 17 years of age. Participants were randomized to one of three groups for intervention used during a needle stick procedure. Group 1 received lidocaine cream only, Group 2 received Buzzy® only, and Group 3 received both lidocaine cream and Buzzy®. The research study entitled, Mitigating procedural pain during venipuncture in a pediatric population: A randomized factorial study has been completed. The full study is available online in the International Journal of Nursing Studies and will be published in the October edition of the journal. Results indicate that Buzzy® is as effective as a topical lidocaine cream in children regardless of age group or sex. Further exploration of ethnic influences regarding procedural pain and approaches to pain mitigation in children is of utmost importance. The research study was presented as a podium presentation at the Southern Nurses Research Society Annual Conference in February 2015 and at the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Congress in July 2015. It was also a poster presentation at the Society of Pediatric Nurses Annual Conference in April 2015.

Jessica served as a nursing representative on the IRB at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for four years and has been involved in several other research studies. She was also a member of the Society of Pediatric Nurses Research Committee in which she served as the chair from 2013-2015. Jessica currently works as a pediatric nurse practitioner in a school health setting in Gadsden County, FL in which she has the opportunity to work with children and families who have little access to healthcare services. She is also a full-time student in the PhD program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her area of research interest is pediatric obesity prevention with a focus on early feeding practices. A concept analysis regarding parental self-efficacy and the role in may play in feeding practices during infancy has been completed and is currently under review for publication. Once her PhD is completed, Jessica hopes to continue in clinical practice as well as be a researcher to improve the health of children.

FNPN PAC Update

Dr. Laureen Fleck, FNPN PAC Chairperson

The Palm Beach County Council Advance Practice Group held its annual meeting on October 9 and 10th at the Palm Beach Airport Hilton. Dr Janet DuBois, our President spoke on legislative issues concerning NPs today in Florida. Dr Laureen Fleck our Political Action Committee Chair spoke on the importance of our PAC and their fundraising efforts! This group of Nurse Practitioners and students raised $3500. Thank you all for your continued support.

Membership

Dr. Pamela Johnson, Membership Chair

It has been a pleasure to serve Nurse Practitioner peer through members of Florida Nurse Practitioner Network (FNPN) over the past three years. FNPN Membership surpassed goal, increasing over 10% each year. A systemic change from joining FNPN using a paper application online an application improved accounting of new and renewing memberships.

Unfortunately, the online membership process thwarted ability of group members to offer dual membership in local organizations as well as Florida Nurse Practitioner Network. Florida Nurse Practitioner Network's Board of Directors continues efforts to engage local Advance Practice Nurse Organizations in State Activities. FNPN Group Members should invite FNPN Board of Directors to partner by sharing conference venues, inviting FNPN Board Members to speak at local events, encourage local members to become individual members of FNPN, and most important is remembering that local members can are future leaders of Florida Nurse Practitioner Network.

Florida Nurse Practitioner Network needs every member to be active beyond ﬁnances! We respect comments voiced, welcome opportunity to mentor students, and know that together FNPN membership will see Full Practice Authority legislated in Florida.

On October 16th, membership in FNPN there were 881 active members! Our goal is to have 1000 active members in Florida Nurse Practitioner Network by December 31, 2015!! Anything is possible when we unit for ONE COMMON CAUSE! FNPN believes Full Practice Authority is ACHIEVABLE! To achieve our goal of 1000 members, FOLLOWERS must join FNPN and existing MEMBERS must renew their memberships!

If each of us gives $25 three times a year ($100 a year) to the Political Action Committee (PAC) FNPN would be able to support more Legislators and legislative activities! Money TALKS!! Politics and Policy require voice and ﬁnancial support.

I am on to the next venture, looking forward to supporting future Nurse Leaders in Florida :) JOIN FLORIDA NURSE PRACTITIONER NETWORK, give to the PAC, and TAKE YOUR PLACE AT THE TABLE.

Sincerely,
Pamela V Johnson DNP, ARNP, FNP-BC
Membership Director 2012, 2013 - 2015.

Job Announcements!

There have been many new job postings around the state on our website 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!

Around the State and Around the Nation

AANP
National NP Week 2015 Resource Guide - The 2015 National NP Week Resource Guide is packed with great ideas to help you plan a stellar week in recognition of the NP role. National NP Week 2015 will be held November 8 – 14. The resource guide contains information such as a sample news release, talking points, an NP fact sheet, community activities, a media interview guide, posters, guidelines for writing a letter to the editor, and a template for creating an NP Week proclamation. Let us know how you celebrate NP Week 2015 – we'd love to share success stories with your colleagues. 50 Year Anniversary Fans are avaialble for purchase to use during NP Week. Order fans and NP brochures. #NPWeek

Interested in Seeking AANP Elected Office? - Nominations for AANP elected offices will open on November 2 and close November 30. The offices up for election in 2016 are: Executive Committee: President-Elect, Recording Secretary; Regional Directors: Region 2 (NJ, NY, Puerto Rico), Region 4 (KY, NC, SC, TN), Region 6 (AR, LA, OK, TX), Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY) and Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA); State Representatives: Alabama, Arizona, California (N), California (S), Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Florida (N), Florida (S), Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pacific U.S. Territory, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont. Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin; and Nominations Committee: Four positions are open. VIRTUAL LOBBY DAYS WEEK THREE | Florida Nurse Practitioner Network

More information will be available at www.aanp.org when nominations open on November 2.

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!

Virtual Lobby Days

FNPN is participating in a coordinated weekly Virtual Lobby Day Project with the other advanced practice nursing associations in the Florida Coalition of Advanced Practice Nurses. Your involvement is imperative in order to make this a success. Each week you will be receiving an email with a prepared message. Please take a few minutes to send the communication to your legislators. Please try to send on Wednesdays if possible, but if you miss Wednesday, send it out as soon as you can.

By working together with all the advanced practice nursing associations and speaking with one voice we can have a successful campaign!

Florida APN Practice Survey

You are invited to participate in a survey of advanced practice nurses (APNs) in Florida. Survey participation is confidential, anonymous, and voluntary. The results will help the profession address needs of APNs in the state. No one will know who has participated and who has not, but we sincerely hope you will complete the survey to help the profession. The survey asks about your perceptions and behaviors related to APN practice and regulations in Florida. It is estimated that the survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete.
Access the survey at this link: Take the Survey