2014 HPNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the 2014 Board Officers will be Jennifer Gentry, MSN, ANP BC, GNP, ACHPN, FPCN, serving as president; Joy Buck, PhD, RN, as president-elect; and Judy Bartel, MSN, ACHPN, CHPCA, FPCN, serving as secretary/treasurer. Other board members include Barbara Head, PhD, RN, CHPN, FPCN, ACSW, past president; Jody Chrastek, DNP, RN, CHPN; Patrick Coyne, MSN, ACHPN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, FPCN; Marian Grant, DNP, ACHPN, CRNP, RN; Karen Kehl, PhD, RN, ACHPN, FPCN; Virginia (Ginger) Marshall, ACNP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN; and JoAnne Reifsnyder, PhD, RN.
RESULTS OF MEMBERSHIP VOTE ON BY-LAW CHANGE
In October 2013, the HPNA membership voted in support of the proposed change to the Mission Statement. The new mission statement reads: To advance expert care in serious illness. This by-law change took place immediately.
RESIGNATION OF HPNA BOARD OFFICER
Because of personal reasons, Maryjo Prince-Paul, PhD, APRN, ACHPN, FPCN, resigned her position on the HPNA Board of Directors.
HAVE YOU JOINED YET? MEMBERS CAN NOW SIGN UP FOR THE NEW BIOETHICS SIG
HPNA has launched a Bioethics SIG (Special Interest Group) and hopes that you will consider joining. The SIG was developed in response to information that was received from you, our members, and also as a way for HPNA to support you in your practice as you deal with these very difficult issues. We are also very excited that Nessa Coyle, PhD, NP, ACHPN, FAAN, and Debra Wiegand, PhD, RN, CHPN, FAAN, are serving as coleaders for the Bioethics SIG.
If you want to sign up to be a member of the SIG please follow the following steps: (1) sign into Members Only on the HPNA Web site (http://www.hpna.org); (2) click on the SIG Manager icon; and (3) select yes for the Bioethics SIG from the Special Interest Group listing. Additional information from the SIG leaders will arrive in your e-mail inbox in the coming weeks.
Hope to see you on the Bioethics SIG! If you have any questions about this or HPNA's other SIGs, please e-mail mailto:[email protected].
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2013 RESEARCH SCHOLAR AWARDEES!
The HPNA Board selected these 3 members as the fourth cohort of HPNA Research Scholars.
* Caitlin Brennan, PhD, APRN, from the Cleveland VA. Caitlin's research focuses on measuring nursing acuity in the palliative care setting, as an important prerequisite for risk-adjustment in quality and safety research.
* James N. Dionne-Odom, MA, MSN, RN, from Boston College. James is in the data-collection phase of his dissertation, where he seeks to model the psychological processes of surrogate decision making at the end of life using cognitive task analysis.
* Jay Horton, MPH, ACHPN, FNP BC, from New York University. Jay presented a poster at the retreat with data from his dissertation study of the association of treatment intensity and palliative care services among elderly patients with serious illness.
The HPNA Research Scholars program supports funding to participate in the Annual Kathleen Foley Palliative Care Retreat and Research Symposium of the National Palliative Care Research Center, cosponsored by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), American Cancer Society, and HPNA. The retreat was held at the Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, California, in October 2013. Also participating in the retreat were the recipients of the National Palliative Care Research Center Pilot/Exploratory Grants and Career Development Awards and recipients of American Cancer Society Palliative Care Pilot/Exploratory Grant Awards.
More information about the HPNA Research Scholars Program may be found under the "Research" tab of the Web site, http://www.hpna.org. The application deadline for the 2014 Research Scholars Program is February 14, 2014.
HPNA ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
The HPNA Annual Membership Meeting will be held on Friday, March 14, 2014, 12:30 to 1:30 PM, during the 2014 AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly in San Diego, California.
PRECONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AT THE 2014 AAHPM/HPNA ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
Please visit http://www.HPNA.org or http://www.AAHPM.org for details and registration.
The APRN Certification Preparation Review is offered as a full-day preconference. The HPNA supports nurses seeking advancement of their professional development and career with specialty certification. This 1-day course encompasses the fundamental concepts of palliative nursing. The review course will provide a review of the content areas based on the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses (NBCHPN) detailed test content outline. This course may be used to increase the hospice and palliative nurses' knowledge of general palliative nursing or to assist the Advanced Practice Nurse in self-identifying topics that require further preparation and study for the specialty certification examination. This course will offer 7.5 continuing education (CE) and 4.5 designated pharmacology hours.
Required text: Core Curriculum for the Advanced Practice Nurse-order online from the HPNA Specialty Shoppe.
The complete listing of all preconferences is noted in the Conference Brochure posted on our Web site. Registration for the HPNA-sponsored educational events is part of the online conference registration on the AAHPM Web site, http://www.aahpm.org.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE HPNA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The HPNA Board Development and Leadership Committee seeks nominations (including self-nominations) for individuals to serve on the Board of Directors for a 3-year term to begin January 2015. The association proudly serves as the voice for hospice and palliative nurses. We are seeking energetic, experienced, and passionate hospice and palliative nurses who will lead the delivery of palliative nursing into the future.
Applicants to the Board of Directors will be asked to provide evidence of key competencies that are relevant to governance on a national board. Global skills, such as strategic thinking and teamwork, and essential skills, such as quality improvement or business management, will be requisite. Changes in the overall leadership structure of HPNA will still allow for the voice of the bedside nursing team to be heard loud and clear. It is anticipated that the changes proposed for improving national governance will allow those voices to have a greater impact in the field of palliative nursing. Full details are noted on the HPNA Web site under the "Leadership" menu. The application deadline is March 3, 2014.
THANK YOU TO PURDUE PHARMA
HPNA, the NBCHPN, and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) wish to thank Purdue Pharma L.P. for their continued corporate support for 2013-2014. This financial support has enabled our 3 affiliated organizations to expand collaborative initiatives to further their missions.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE 2015 AAHPM/HPNA ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
Planning is beginning for the 2015 AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Thinking of submitting an abstract for the next conference? Have an idea but stymied about pulling it together? HPNA has resources available to help you prepare a submission for the 2015 conference-visit the Education menu/Conferences on the HPNA Web site http://www.hpna.org for tools to assist you with this process.
Calls for the 2015 AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly being held February 25-28, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are posted on the HPNA website. All proposals must be submitted via http://aahpm.org.
Palliative Care Chaplaincy-an excerpt from Conversations in Palliative: Questions and Answers with the Experts, 3rd edition
Editors: Joan T. Panke, MA, RN, ACHPN, and Patrick J. Coyne, MSN, APRN, ACHPN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, FPCN
Authors: Rev Dr Martha R. Jacobs, MDIV, DMIN, and Chaplain Joan Paddock Maxwell, MTS
Some of you have told us that Conversations in Palliative Care is your favorite book, whereas others were not sure "what it was about." For clarification, we have added "Questions and Answers With the Experts" to the title of the book. Same great content!
The third edition of Conversations in Palliative Care: Questions and Answers With the Experts is a comprehensive resource that builds upon the basis of palliative care-communication. Presented in 41 question-and-answer-formatted chapters, this text describes palliative care's role in various settings (eg, emergency department, intensive care, long-term care), the role of multiple disciplines in palliative care (eg, nutrition; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; funeral directors), and care for individuals with serious or life-threatening illness and their families (eg, pain and symptom management, wound care, bereavement).
With the chapter Palliative Care Chaplaincy, we are starting a 3-month series on the interdisciplinary team.
What Is a Professional Chaplain?
A professional chaplain is one who meets the following criteria:
* obtained a bachelor's degree from a college or university that is appropriately accredited
* obtained an appropriately accredited master's degree in theological studies or its equivalent
* ordained, commissioned, or similarly recognized by an appropriate religious authority according to the standard practice and policy of that authority
* completed 4 units (1600 hours) of Clinical Pastoral Education as accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Commission on Certification and Accreditation, or the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education
* currently endorsed by a recognized religious faith group for ministry as a chaplain
* meets 29 competencies for chaplaincy as established by the certifying bodies, including skills in assessment, developing and delivering a plan of care, appropriate documentation, collaboration, confidentiality, respect for diversity, care for staff and for the organization as a whole, serving as a leader, striving for continuous quality improvement, and participating in research
* remains accountable to their endorsing faith group, employer, and certifying body
* affirms and practices chaplaincy according to the Common Code of Ethics established by the certifying bodies
* maintains membership in a certifying body by participating in a peer review every 5 years, documenting at least 50 hours of CE each year, and providing documentation of endorsement with his/her faith tradition every 5 years.1
What Does a Palliative Care Chaplain Do?
When patients receive life-threatening or life-changing diagnoses, palliative care chaplains help them reframe, redefine, and repurpose life as it may be for the foreseeable future.
One of a chaplain's basic functions is to provide patients and their families with spiritual support. Because spiritual support may mean different things to different people, the chaplain must make a spiritual assessment to learn the patient's spiritual perspectives, how important these perspectives are to the patient, what, if any, spiritual support he/she receives from others, and what impact, if any, his/her spiritual perspective has on how he/she copes with his/her illness.
When a palliative care consult is made, patients may not be aware that 1 criterion is that they have a life-threatening disease, which may not be terminal but requires ongoing oversight. This may be because they have not been told their diagnosis or because they are in denial. However, the chaplain is aware of their disease status. So, a palliative care chaplain must also learn from the patient what his/her perspective is on his/her own mortality and his/her understanding of their present situation and then support him/her in that understanding. In addition, if death is viewed by the medical team as relatively imminent, the chaplain must support the patient when he/she is informed of this prognosis.
Sample of Additional Questions in Palliative Care Chaplaincy:
What about when patients have ways of coping that are unrealistic?
If a palliative patient is not religious, is there any need for a chaplain?
What is the difference between a person who is religious and one who is spiritual?
What are some of the things to look for when selecting a chaplain to be part of a palliative care team?
How do you know if you've picked the right chaplain?
The answers to these and other questions about palliative care chaplaincy can be found in Conversations in Palliative: Questions and Answers With the Experts. To order and see additional excerpts, go to https://www.hpna.org/Item_Details.aspx?ItemNo=978-1-934654-26-2.
THE NATIONAL OFFICE HAS MOVED
The National Office relocated to a new and improved suite in the same building. The National Office is now located at One Penn Center West, Suite 425, Pittsburgh, PA 15276.
NBCHPN TESTING WINDOWS FOR NBCHPN 2014 COMPUTER-BASED TESTING
See the chart below for testing window dates and "received by" application deadlines for 2014.
NBCHPN CERTIFICATION RENEWAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES,REGISTERED NURSES, LICENSED PRACTICAL/VOCATIONAL NURSES, AND ADMINISTRATORS
The 2014 HPAR (Hospice and Palliative Accrual for Recertification) applications for renewal can be received in the National Office any time after January 1 but must be received by March 1, 2014.
All HPAR applications can be downloaded from our Web site, http://www.nbchpn.org. If you have any questions about the HPAR process for any of our programs, please contact us at mailto:[email protected] or call 412-787-1057.
NBCHPN BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The NBCHPN Board of Directors welcomes new members Julia Aucoin, DNS, RN-BC, CNE; Susan Koff, MSN, ARNP, ACHPN, CRRN; Stephen McGowan; and Joyce Palmieri, MS, RN, CHPN. They join the Board members who continue their service: Judy Friedrichs, RN, MS, FT, CPLC; Julie Holman, LPN, CHPLN; Kathie Kobler, MS, APN, PCNS-BC, CHPPN; and Denise Stahl, MSN, RN, ACHPN.
NBCHPN 2014 ITEM WRITER WORKSHOP
Learn more about item writing by attending the workshop "Secrets of Competency Testing: Writing Items for Hospice and Palliative Certification Exams." NBCHPN, with expert assistance from Applied Measurement Professionals of Olathe, Kansas, offers a unique opportunity for you to make a direct contribution to developing the certification examinations.
The workshop is offered as a 3-part course; the first 2 parts must be done online; the third and last part is a live webinar. After completing the first 2 courses online, including posttest and evaluation, submit the online Item Writer Workshop Application for the third part. Choose 1 of 3 dates for the live webinar:
Monday, March 24, 3:00-4:30 PM EST
Tuesday, June 17, 10:00-11:30 AM EST
Wednesday, October 8, 3:00-4:30 PM EST
Full details are posted at http://www.nbchpn.org under "Resources."
NBCHPN CERTIFICATION TACKETTES
Certified Nurses Day is March 19. Honor your certified nursing team members with a tackette (pin). They are available for purchase for all certificants! To order, please visit our Web site at http://www.nbchpn.org and look under the "Recognition" tab, or call the National Office at 412-787-1057.
NEW COMMITMENT FOR THE NEW YEAR
Support 2014 HPNF Annual Fund Drive
Start the New Year with a new commitment[horizontal ellipsis] a financial gift to the 2014 HPNF Annual Fund Drive.
Our goal is that every HPNA member gives to the Foundation during this 2014 year. Gifts of every amount are greatly appreciated and sorely needed. The HPNF appeal for your support is in the mail to you now. Please respond with your gift of financial support!
HPNF provides professional development opportunities to HPNA members with scholarships for education, conferences, and certification along with nursing research grants and leadership awards. In 2013, 45 opportunities were offered! The Foundation wants to do more. In order to further its professional development opportunities, HPNF depends on your generous spirit. Giving is as easy as clicking on this link, DONATE NOW or by visiting the HPNF Web site at http://www.hpnf.org.
As you ask those difficult questions about the future of your specialty nursing practice, let's also ask the difficult question of how you may financially support your colleagues and peers. Collaboration and mentorship at the philanthropic level as well as the clinical support the professional development of the hospice and palliative nursing specialty and lead to better palliative patient care.
Nurses supporting nurses! HPNA members supporting HPNA members! Please Lead through giving and support the scholarships, grants, and awards of the HPNF with your donation now.
Be sure to visit the HPNF Web site at http://www.hpnf.org for the announcement of scholarship winners to the 2014 AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly in San Diego as well as for NBCHPN(R) Certification and the second annual Judy Lentz Scholarship for the Advancement of Palliative Care in Oncology Nursing! These are examples of where your future donations can go!
Leading through giving!
~ Please remember HPNF in your will and estate planning ~
1Adapted from Standards of Practice for Professional Chaplains in Acute Care Settings. Association of Professional Chaplains. Available at: http://www.professionalchaplains.org/uploadedFiles/pdf/Standards%20of%20Practice. Accessed November 16, 2010. [Context Link]