As I sat down to write my president's message, I have realized that 4 months have passed. There are many new and ongoing initiatives that the board continues to work on. One initiative is working with the Journal. As a member, you should have received communication from National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) regarding online Journal access. We are continuing to work with the Journal in increasing our members' access. If you have not taken the opportunity to activate this online, I encourage you to do so. You will soon uncover the many advantages in accessing the Journal online.
The implementation of the APRN Consensus Model calls for many changes in certification of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS). Although NACNS does not certify CNSs, we can contribute to this effort through the development of competencies for the CNS. Currently, the NACNS Board has begun work to address the need for Women's Health/Gender Specific and Family Across the Life Span competencies. NACNS is pleased to partner with the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses to begin work on the Women's Health/Gender Specific competencies. This task force has been composed of women's health experts from NACNS and AWHONN, and representatives of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health are participating in the process.
The NACNS Board has appointed a task force to develop the Family Across the Life Span competencies. These competencies, once developed and vetted within the nursing community, will be part of the overall framework needed to develop certifying examinations that would adhere with the APRN regulatory model. Melinda Mercer-Ray, MSN, RN, executive director of NACNS, has been instrumental in assisting the work of both of these task forces. Stephen Patten, immediate past president, is assisting in chairing the work on the Family Across the Life Span task force. Thank you to all who are contributing to this work.
Another key initiative the board has discussed is the efforts we need to engage in to ensure that the CNS value is seen within the APRN regulatory model, the clinical setting, and at the state and federal level. One important aspect will be for the individual CNS to consider how his/her efforts save money and increase patient quality. As a board and membership, we will be discussing this issue more thoroughly.
The conference planning committee has been working diligently to plan for another exciting annual conference for 2013. The theme for the conference is CNS: Leading Innovations for Health Care Change and will be held March 7 to 9, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. Our conference committee members are Leslie Rodriguez, MSN, MPH, RN, ACNS-BC, CPAN (chair); Anne Muller, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC; Sharon Horner, PhD, RN, FAAN; Helen Taggart, DSN, RN, CS, APRN-BC, ACNS-BC (education committee representative); and Carol Manchester, MSN, ACNS, BC-ADM, CDE (NACNS president-elect). I strongly encourage you to start thinking of the innovative ways you influence, implement, and change healthcare that we can all benefit from hearing about. The call for abstracts will be coming soon.
The board continues to work on getting the message out on the challenges of the APRN regulatory model in relation to the CNS. We continue to work with others to look at the impact of the education component of the model and how this will impact the schools of nursing and CNS students.
The NACNS Ninth Annual Clinical Nurse Specialist Summit is scheduled for July 17, 2012. At the writing of this editorial, the agenda for this meeting is still in progress. We anticipate that we will discuss the impact of the implementation of the APRN Consensus Model on CNS Education. Please look for our e-mails describing this event closer to the date.
It is truly an honor and privilege to serve you, the members of NACNS. Thank you for all of your support, the board's support, and the support of our past leaders as I continue on this journey as your president.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALISTS NEWS
NACNS is pleased to welcome new volunteer leaders who took office at the close of our 2012 Annual Business Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Our elected leaders are as follows:
* Anne Hysong, MSN, APRN, CCNS, was elected to a 2-year term as a board member. Ms Hysong is a critical-care CNS at Gwinnett Medical Center in Duluth, Georgia. In this position, she facilitates nursing education and competency evaluation as it relates to providing quality patient care.
* Gayle Timmerman, PhD, RN, is an associate professor at the University of Texas at the Austin School of Nursing, Texas. Dr Timmerman has done research and published in the field of dietary choices. She has most recently focused on mindful restaurant eating as a method to impact a community's diet. Dr Timmerman was elected to a 2-year term as a board member to the NACNS Board of Directors.
* Kimberly Elgin, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CMSRN, elected nominating committee member, is a CNS for an adult surgical intermediate and acute care unit. With 19 years of experience, she facilitates nursing research and serves as a clinical instructor for undergraduate nursing students at the University of Virginia.
* Susan B. Fowler, PhD, RN, CNRN, FAHA, elected nominating committee member, is employed at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York City as director of Magnet, Education, Quality, and Research. Previous roles include interim director of nursing research, clinical nurse researcher, director of education-practice-research, outcomes manager/nurse scientist/APN, director of clinical trials, and advanced practice nurse/CNS; clinical focus has been in critical care, neuroscience (stroke), and current, ear, eye, head, and neck nursing.
* Tanya D. Williams, MSN, APRN, CCNS-BC, has been elected as the 2012 to 2014 NACNS secretary. She is currently a critical-care CNS of a progressive care unit at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veteran's Administration Medical Center. She serves as the expert for nursing care practices, research, and quality improvement initiatives for the facility.
* Carol Manchester, MSN, ACNS, BC-ADM, CDE, was elected president-elect and will serve as president beginning in March 2013. Carol Manchester, MSN, ACNS, BC-ADM, CDE, is currently employed as the diabetes CNS at University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.
* Anne Muller, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, has been appointed to treasurer for the 2012-2013 year. Ms Muller is currently employed as the director of critical care, Acute Care Division, for Universal Health Services, Inc. In this position, Ms Muller works with both intensive and progressive care units throughout all 25 acute care hospitals.
NEWS FROM OUR AFFILIATES
California Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
California was awarded with the "Affiliate of the Year" at this year's 2012 National Association of Clinical Nurses Specialist Conference "Optimizing Outcomes-Influencing Across the Spheres" in Chicago, Illinois, at the lovely Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel. We are looking forward to the California Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists annual conference, which will be on Saturday, October 27, 2012, at University of San Diego, and sponsored by Palomar Health System. The conference title will be "The CNS as a Change Agent for Strategic Transformation."
Submitted by Margaret Talley, PhD, RN, CNS, CWCN-AP
The North Carolina Affiliate of NACNS
The North Carolina Affiliate of NACNS held its inaugural Education Extravaganza on May 23, 2012, with 45 participants. Active since 2009, this was the first board turnover for the affiliate, and it would like to thank Lisa Soltis, MSN, APRN, CCNS, for her service as its first president.
The NC Affiliate welcomes their new 2012-2013 elected officers: president: Amelia Ross, MSN, RN, APRN, CCNS; Cone Health, Greensboro; NC president-elect: Amanda French, MSN, RN, RNC-OB CNS; Duke Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, secretary: Rhonda Vincent, MSN, APRN, CCNS; Wake Med, Raleigh, North Carolina, secretary-elect: Linda Mayo, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CNRN; Wake Med, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Submitted by Lisa Soltis, MSN, APRN, CCNS
Veterans Affairs (VA) Virtual Affiliate
Mary Thomas, hematology CNS, and Janette Elliott, pain management CNS, at the Palo Alto VAMC have a recent publication: Thomas ML, Elliott JE, Rao SM, Fahey KF, Paul SM, and Miaskowski C. A randomized, clinical trial of education or motivational-interviewing-based coaching compared to usual care to improve cancer pain management. Oncology Nursing Forum. 2012;39(1):39-49.
Loreen D. Wynja has been promoted to diabetes CNS at the Loma Linda (California) VAMC and has also completed both her BC-ADM and CDE certifications. She would like to thank Kathy Ellstrom, CNS at Loma Linda, for mentoring her through this process.
Kathleen L. Dunn, spinal cord injury CNS at the VA San Diego HS, was one of the contributing authors for this American Spinal Injury Association white paper. Emerich L, Parsons KC, Stein A, eds. White paper: competent care for persons with spinal cord injury and dysfunction in acute inpatient rehabilitation. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. 2012;18(2):149-166.
Submitted by Kathleen Dunn, MS, RN, CRRN, CNS-BC
Virginia Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
The Virginia state chapter of the NACNS continues to promote the advancement of the CNS as an advanced practice registered nurse. In March 2011, the chapter was successful in ensuring that CNSs are recognized by the Virginia Board of Nursing. In February 2012, several VACNS members traveled to Richmond to meet with the nursing board members and are in the process of submitting a request for a change in the law regulating the CNS ([S] 54.1-3000). Ann Hamric, noted author of CNS literature, and Becky Bowers-Lanier have been invaluable in their support of this effort.
Nancy Altice, cardiology CNS at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, has a doctoral dissertation that has been accepted for publication in Heart and Lung. The article, "Factors associated with delay in care seeking in hospitalized patients with heart failure," evaluates the contributions of symptom recognition and clinical factors relating to delays in seeking care for heart failure.
Donna Bond, pulmonary CNS at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke and current president of the Virginia chapter of NACNS, received the Clinical Practice Award from the Respiratory Nursing Society, where she is currently president-elect. Donna was also selected to speak at the NACNS conference in Chicago in March 2012 and at the American Thoracic Society in May 2012 on her study of the effects of a brief intervention by nurses to improve smoking cessation compliance in hospitalized patients.
Patrick Coyne, CNS, clinical director of Thomas Palliative Care Unit at VAC Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, has extensively published in the area of palliative care. He has published 7 articles in various journals including Oncology Nursing Forum, Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, and Cancer Nursing. He has also edited 6 books. Patrick testified to the US Congress on prescription drug diversion and received the Advance Practice Nurse of the Year award from the March of Dimes.
Ellen Harvey, trauma CNS at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, published an article from her work in improving safety of scanning medications. This article, "Scanning for safety: a case review of an integrated approach to improve barcode medication administration," was published in Computer Informatics in Nursing. A TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer and funded researcher, Ellen coauthored "Teamwork training improves the clinical care of trauma patients" published in the Journal of Surgical Education. She has presented on TeamSTEPPS nationally, including a podium presentation at the national Magnet Research conference in Phoenix, and was recently recognized as the Rising Star for Radford University for her doctoral TeamSTEPPS work at the Sigma Theta International conference last October in Grapevine, Texas.
Linda Jenkins, acute care CNS at Centra Health in Lynchburg, was appointed to the editorial board of the Journal for Nurses in Staff Development and presented a podium presentation on the development of a nurse-driven obstructive sleep apnea risk assessment and management protocol at the 2011 NACNS conference.
Jennifer Matthews was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October of 2011. Along with this major honor, she advanced to the rank of professor at Shenandoah University in Winchester and achieved certification as a certified nurse educator. Jennifer is active in the ANA on the Bylaws Committee and the Nursing Coalition focus group for access to care. Her presentations include 2 podium presentations at the International Council of Nurses in Malta on the topic of quality care. Her article, "Role of professional organizations in advocating for the nursing profession," has been accepted for publication in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.
Phyllis Whitehead, current treasurer for the VACNS and the Palliative Medicine/Pain Management CNS at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, presented a lecture on the effects of end-of-life education consortium at the institution level as a podium presentation at the NACNS conference in 2011. She also completed a Cochrane review for the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing on Music Therapy for End of Life. She was the recipient of the Carilion Research Acceleration Program funding for studying the preferences of dying and death in the cancer and palliative care patients. She is a peer reviewer for the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing and is a 2013 assembly planning committee member for AAHPM and HPNA 2012.
Elections were held in February 2012 with Linda Thurby-Hay, adult health CNS at Virginia Commonwealth University, elected as the president and Kim Nelson, CNS also from Virginia Commonwealth University, will serve as secretary. We would like to thank Sheila Delp for her service as secretary since the chapter was organized. For information about the chapter, please contact Donna Bond at [email protected] or Linda Thurby Hay at [email protected].
Submitted by Donna Bond, DNP, RN-BC, CCNS, AE-C
The Washington Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists
The Washington Affiliate of NACNS continues to work with key partners and the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission (the State Board of Nursing) to obtain inclusion in the state's advanced practice rules. Currently, there is not a statute that defines the CNS. Although the title is included in the Affordable Care Act as a primary care provider, the CNS is not mentioned in the Nurse Practice Act, and there is no regulation of the use of the title.
The proposed change to the current rules will require that the CNS (1) hold a graduate degree from an educational program in nursing that is approved by the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission, (2) prepare graduates to practice as a CNS, (3) hold a national certification as a CNS in a designated specialty, and (4) meet the requirements to be determined by the board. Clinical nurse specialists practicing in the state of Washington are encouraged to contact the chair of the Washington Affiliate, Heather Schoonover ([email protected]). Clinical nurse specialists within the state will need to work together to have a unified voice regarding the need and importance of recognition as an advanced practice nurse. Federal regulations that govern CNS services can be found at 42 CFR 410.76, Additional regulations governing CNS services can be found at CR 5639 and in the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, chapter 15, section 210 (CNS services), and in chapter 10, sections 12.4.5 and 12.4.8 of the Medicare Integrity Program Manual.
Submitted by Heather Schoonover, MN, APRN, BC, CNS
CNS Foundation News
The Christine Filipovich CNS Scholarship Early in 2011
The Foundation established a new scholarship to honor former NACNS CEO Christine Filipovich. The Christine Filipovich CNS Scholarship was established by past presidents and past board members of NACNS in recognition of the many years of service that Chris provided to NACNS. The Foundation offers Filipovich scholarships to support research projects related to CNS outcomes and to support CNS health policy activities. Clinical nurse specialist students and CNSs who are not students are encouraged to apply for these funds. More information about these and all the Foundation's scholarships can be found on the Foundation's Web site http://www.CNS-Foundation.org.
MEMBERS NEWS
Elizabeth Scruth, PhD(c), MN, MPH, RN, CCNS, CCRN, presented her PhD work Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Women With STEMI Undergoing PCI at the Australian Catholic University poster at Women's Health 2012: The 20th Annual Congress in March; authors: Scruth E, Bairey Merz N, Cheng E, Worrall-Carter L. Ann M. Mayo, DNSc, RN, FAAN, professor Hahn School of Nursing & Health Science, University of San Diego, was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2011. She received the 2011 Best Practice-Excellence in Nursing Research, Association of California Nurse Leaders Recognition Award (awarded in 2012), and was awarded the American Nurses Association/California JoAnne Powell Award for Research (awarded in 2012).
Elyse McClean, MSN, RN-BC, CPN, CNS, Clinical Nurse Specialist Med/Surg & SSU Children's Hospital of Orange County, has been published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing in February 2012. The title of her article is "Tracheal suctioning in children with chronic tracheostomies: a pilot study applying suction both while inserting and removing the catheter."
CALL FOR NEWS ITEMS
If you have information you want to share about yourself, your NACNS peers, or your affiliate/affiliate peers, please send news items to Tanya D. Williams at [email protected]. News items for the 2012 November/December issue are due by August 22, 2012.