HPNA Initiates Clinical Practice Forum
Nursing education is not standardized across the nation in terms of hospice and palliative education. Recognizing this fact, the HPNA Board of Directors has recommended creating Clinical Practice Forums. The first forum will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA, on Friday, September 7th and Saturday, September 8, 2007. The planning team consists of Janet Snapp, Elaine Glass, Rhonda Oakes, Dena Jean Sutermaster, Deena Butcher, Nancy Grandovic, Amy Killmeyer, and Judy Lentz. An excellent program focused on "Managing Non-Cancer Patients" has been planned. The outstanding faculty includes all HPNA members: Betty Ferrell, Connie Dahlin, Meg Campbell, Linda Gorman, Beth Fahlberg, and Judy Bartel. After the welcome by HPNA President Janet Snapp and Local Chapter President Pam Johnson, the opening remarks will be presented by HPNA CEO Judy Lentz. More than 300 attendees are expected. A preconference session on documentation will be presented by HPNA member Virginia Valentine. This is an exciting event and lays the groundwork for more to follow.
Beginning January 1, 2007, the requirements for the Senior RN membership level were changed. The member must be 70 years of age and no longer working in nursing. Proof of age will continue to be required for first-time purchase of this membership level. Persons who are currently Senior RN members will be "grandfathered in" and retain their status as Senior RN members.
Free Journal Club: New in 2007
Thanks to the 300+ members who responded to our August 2006 Journal Club Survey, which was randomly sent by e-mail to 1,000 of our RN members. Based on your positive comments, beginning in January 2007, HPNA offers a Journal Club via teleconference free to members and nonmembers. The 1-hour focused discussion will offer nurses the opportunity to learn about new techniques and scientific advances and better understand how to read and critique research studies. These toll-free teleconferences are open to the first 20 sites that register by calling the National Office at 412-787-9301. The calls will be held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 3PM EST. Contact hours are available at minimal cost upon request. After registering, the participant will receive the journal article and the teleconference call information by e-mail. The listing of future topics is posted on the Teleconference Schedule and the Events Listing of the HPNA Web site.
HPNF News
HPNF Board News
HPNF would like to thank Jane Kirschling, DScN, RN, for her wonderful leadership over the past 2 years. Jane will continue as an HPNF Board Member.
HPNF announces the election of Elizabeth Pitorak, MSN, RN, as President for 2007-2008. Jane Kirschling will serve as Vice President, and Barbara Miller will continue as Secretary/Treasurer.
HPNF would like to thank Kathleen Foley, MD, and Cynda Rushton, PhD, for their wonderful service to the board over the past 3 years. Dr. Rushton served as Vice President for 2 of those 3 years, and Dr. Foley was instrumental in securing education grants from other foundations. We are very grateful for their wise counsel, guidance, and dedication in growing the assets of the Foundation.
New additions to the HPNF board are Sylvia Marcantel, who is currently President of the Louisiana/Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and Marianne Gill, who is from Mount Carmel Hospice in Columbus, OH.
Key2YourHeart Boxes
Key2YourHeart Boxes are available for purchase. These beautiful gold lattice boxes display a blue butterfly and contain three keys-one for love, one for an errand, one for a chore. What a wonderful way to let someone know you are there to help in any way possible during their time of need. Available online at http://www.hpnf.org or by calling 412-787-9301, these boxes sell for $20.00 and will be shipped at no expense to the purchaser.
Annual Spring Campaign
Each spring, HPNF launches an annual giving campaign. Look for your letter to arrive in the mail soon. In 2006, many HPNA members and certificants participated in the 20/20 campaign acknowledging the 20th Anniversary of HPNA. These funds are made available to support the many awards, grants, and scholarships that are awarded each year. It is your opportunity to support your hospice and palliative nursing colleagues. Maybe you will be or have been a recipient of one of these awards, grants, or scholarships in education, certification, and research. We are proud of the success of our Foundation, and you are the reason for that success. We thank you for your ongoing support and urge you to encourage others to support our Foundation as well.
NBCHPN(R) Announced the 2007 Certificant of the Year Award Recipients at Certification Luncheon
The National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses presented the 2007 Certificant of the Year Awards during the Certification Luncheon held on February 15, 2007 at the Annual Assembly of AAHPM and HPNA.
Connie Dahlin, MSN, APRN, BC-PCM, is the recipient of the 2007 Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse of the Year Award (APRN, BC-PCM, or ACHPN). "I can think of no better candidate for this award than Connie," said Betty Ferrell, PhD, FAAN, Research Scientist at City of Hope. "As an APN, she epitomizes scholarship, leadership and clinical excellence. She is a dedicated nurse and her life and work honor advanced practice nursing, continually raising the bar for the field." Dahlin is a founding member of the Palliative Care Service at MGH and past president of HPNA.
Hazel Jackson, APRN, BC, CHPN(R), is the 2007 recipient of the Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse of the Year Award (CHPN(R)). "Hazel is innovative and proactive in the care of patients and their families," said Phyllis Campbell, RN. Ms. Jackson has worked as Hospice and Palliative Care Team Nurse/Pain Resource Nurse at the Atlanta VA Medical Center from 2003 to present.
Charlene Kranitz, LPN,CHPLN(R), is the 2007 recipient of the Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Nurse of the Year Award (CHPLN(R)). "Charlene is the type of employee that makes my job easy," said Kathleen Dahl, RN, Supervisor of Peace Hospice of Montana. "She is compassionate, an active listener, considerate, understanding, accepting, sincere, and very encouraging. She's an ideal hospice nurse." Currently Charlene works at Benefis Healthcare, where she supervises five to seven certified nursing assistants daily.
William Parrott, CHPNA(TM), is the 2007 recipient of the Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant of the Year Award (CHPNA(TM)). "William's enthusiasm and zest for hospice care is unquestionable," said Maggie Welsh, RN, BSN, Director of Clinical Services at Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix. "William inspires the staff with his zeal and dedication to excellence." William has worked at Hospice of the Valley since 1997 and has been actively involved in patient care, team activities, precepting, and education growth for the Hospice CNAs and volunteers.
2008 Call for Nominations
If you-or someone you know-are certified and interested in serving your profession and are committed to end-of-life care, you may want to consider applying for a position on the NBCHPN(R) Board of Directors or one of the four Examination Development Committees.
The NBCHPN(R) welcomes applications for available positions for the Board of Directors and the four Examination Development Committees for 2008. If interested, please contact the National Office via phone at 412-787-1057, via fax at 412-787-9305, or via e-mail at [email protected] for an application packet. Applications are also available on our Web site: http://www.nbchpn.org. Completed application packets are due by June 1, 2007.
Great care is taken to select candidates from both hospice and palliative care backgrounds who represent various geographic areas of the country and have clinical, management, and academic expertise. It is very important that a sufficient number of qualified individuals apply to ensure the ongoing leadership for the certification process and accomplishment of the goals of the organization.
Computer-based Testing to be Implemented in 2008
Computer-based Testing (CBT) will be implemented for all levels of nursing for NBCHPN(R) certification exams in 2008. CBT will replace the paper and pencil exam. The application process for CBT will be similar to the current application process. There will be four testing windows throughout the year as well as more than 150 CBT test site centers available throughout the US. Please look for upcoming information on our Web site-http://www.nbchpn.org-and in future publications.