2008 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Clinical Practice Forum
"Caring for People Who Are Not Like Me"
Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6, 2008
Hilton Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
The HPNA is very proud to offer the 2nd Clinical Practice Forum, "Caring for People Who are Not Like Me." This forum focuses on the challenges of caring for individuals and those who love them when patients' culture, languages, beliefs, attitudes, and practices may differ from those of the caregivers. This course is designed for practicing hospice and palliative RNs and any other professional nurses who care for patients with life-limiting illnesses and are interested in improving the cultural care of their patients. The purpose is to demonstrate best practices in caring for end-of-life patients from different cultural and religious groups. For more information go to http://www.HPNA.org.
HPNF Annual Appeal
Your annual letter requesting a donation to HPNF should have arrived in your mailbox by the time you read this. Consider your valuable contribution of $10 (or a multiple of $10) today. As always, the more contributions, the merrier the outcome. In this case, the bigger presence we make across the healthcare system in the hospice and palliative nursing care specialty! Your donation is significant to our success.
Key to Your Heart
Our 2008 Key to Your Heart gift case is in beautiful lavender and pastel shades. It is a perfect addition to your collection or as a spring gift to a friend. The cases are available for a $20 donation to HPNF, and they may be ordered by phone or online at http://www.hpnf.org.
"Fun-draising" for HPNF
In addition to our annual member appeal, the Foundation seeks other, more casual and perhaps even fun ways to raise funds. This year we are highlighting the Toucan Campaign, which simply is a way to collect your loose change and turn it into funds for the Foundation. You can find out all the details at http://www.hpnf.org or call the Foundation office! Go ahead-add a little cheer to your desk with a friendly Toucan change collector!
Opportunity Knocks
Two Hospice Foundations have made early donations to HPNF in 2008. We are grateful to Odyssey Foundation and HPC Foundation for Hospice Care for setting the pace this year with hospice contributions. These organizations have given donations to HPNF to advance their mission of improving end-of-life care. HPNF is always seeking more hospice foundations that choose to partner with us to improve hospice and palliative care across the healthcare spectrum. If you think your hospice organization would like to consider the advantages of donating to HPNF in 2008, please contact Laura Ristau, Director of Development, at 412-787-9301.
Seventh Annual Certification Recognition Event
The National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses held its 7th Annual Certification Recognition Event on January 31, 2008 in Tampa, Florida during the AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly. The recognition event was very well received and provided a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge certified nurses and nursing assistants and allow interested noncertified individuals an opportunity to familiarize themselves with hospice and palliative specialty certification and the value that it holds.
More than 220 individuals attended the recognition luncheon event this year. The recognition event agenda included introducing the NBCHPN(R) Board of Directors, acknowledging the 15th Anniversary for NBCHPN(R) and the certificants from the first exam in 1994, a prize drawing in which certification scholarships were given to five lucky individuals attending the luncheon, and announcing the 2008 NBCHPN(R) Certificant of the Year Awards. The 2008 CHPN of the Year was awarded to Marilyn Berwick, RN, CCM, CHPN(R), from Louisville, Kentucky, and the 2008 CHLPN of the Year was awarded to Joan Sue Bloodnick, LPN, CHPLN(R), from West Islip, New York.
Luncheon participants also enjoyed a presentation titled "Certification Linked to Practice" by Lawrence J. Fabrey, PhD, Senior Vice President of Psychometrics at Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. Dr. Fabrey discussed the relationship of certification to clinical practice and the chain of evidence provided through role delineation studies. For more information regarding "the chain of evidence" or role delineation studies, visit our Web site at http://www.nbhcpn.org.
Administrator Exam Available Through NBCHPN(R) Starting September 2008!
Eligibility requirements and exam overview and the Role Delineation Study information for our upcoming hospice and palliative care administrator exam is available on our Web site, http://www.nbchpn.org, under the ADMIN tab at the top of the home page. The candidate handbook will be updated to include the Administrator certification exam information after the June application window closes.
Computer-Based Testing Is Under Way!
Please see the chart for the fall 2008 testing windows deadlines.