A Letter From the President
I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve as the 2009-2010 president of the PCNA. More than a decade ago, I joined PCNA because of its mission to be "the leading nursing organization dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes, and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals." Immediately, I felt at home, having truly identified with the organization's stated mission and goals. That same year, I registered for my first PCNA Annual Symposium and was thoroughly impressed with the quality of speakers and the level of professionalism exhibited by everyone associated with PCNA. Later, I became involved with my local chapter and eventually honed my leadership skills as co-chair of the chapter. Six years ago, I was nominated to become a member of the PCNA Board of Directors. Having the opportunity to work even more closely with the PCNA staff and board members has furthered my commitment to helping the organization move forward its mission and goals and to ensure that nurses have the information, tools, and the professional pathways to be leaders in CVD risk reduction.
During the past year, PCNA has partnered in numerous Web-based educational programs that addressed timely topics such as motivating patients to exercise and managing women with cardiometabolic syndrome. Web-based education allows attendees to receive high-quality continuing education in a convenient and cost-effective manner. The PCNA will likely continue to use this new format for continuing education programs as it clearly expands our educational reach. We are also committed to continuing our tradition of offering high-quality face-to-face programs that have the added value of professional networking and relationship building.
PCNA will continue to provide professional education through printed material and educational products such as the Pocket Guide "National Guidelines and Tools for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction," which will be revised this year to stay current with national guidelines updates. The Online Forms Guide has also recently been updated to include new forms for helping patients with lifestyle change and medication adherence. In response to suggestions from members, we are also considering the development of educational products to address timely concerns such as the obesity epidemic and improved management of hypertension. We hope that throughout the year, you visit the PCNA Web site (http://www.pcna.net) to learn about new educational products and opportunities.
Last year, PCNA invested significant resources to a Web site redesign. Feedback from members and other stakeholders was used to make the site more visually appealing and intuitive to use. The new Web site includes a daily news stream that provides users with quick access to current and late-breaking CVD- and health-related information. To aid members with career planning and professional networking, the PCNA has partnered with HealtheCareers, a healthcare job site, and LinkedIn.com, an online community that provides a member-only networking forum.
Looking forward, the 2009-2010 year presents a number of challenges and opportunities for us as individuals, nurses, PCNA members, and leaders. Healthcare costs continue to rise while the economic downturn has led to increasing unemployment and growing numbers of uninsured Americans. We are beginning to learn what plans our new president, his administration, and the new Congress have in mind with regard to healthcare reform. President Obama's agenda includes, in his own words, "a historic commitment to comprehensive healthcare reform" and a pledge to provide "quality, affordable healthcare for every American." The plan includes the investment in preventive care as a primary means to both improve public health and reduce healthcare costs. I look forward to the journey ahead and hope that we all can contribute to a new system of healthcare that will indeed place increased value on prevention and the contribution that nurses can make in improved public health, decreased healthcare disparity, and improved healthcare outcomes. I hope that you will join me on the journey.
Sincerely yours,
Jane Nelson Worel, MS, APRN-BC, APNP
Cynthia Rodriquez Honored With 2009 Terry Thomas Clinical Practice Award
PCNA member Cynthia G. Rodriquez, MS, ARNP, FNP-BC, CLS, was presented with the 2009 Terry Thomas Clinical Practice Award during the opening reception on Thursday, April 16, during the 2009 PCNA Annual Symposium in Dallas, Texas.
Ms. Rodriguez is employed by University of South Florida (USF) Heart Health, where she has been responsible for the management of the USF Division of Preventive Cardiology's Lipid Clinical program.
Rodriguez has been involved in the development of a novel program to bridge the gap between preventive cardiology and gynecological medical care to improve access to cardiovascular risk reduction and improved women's health outcomes. This initiative is designed to provide state-of-the-art preventive cardiovascular care to women presenting to the gynecological clinical setting and fosters improved education and collaboration with clinicians trained in this specialty discipline.
Rodriguez is also a full-time student at the USF Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, and her thesis and focus are preventive cardiovascular disease and the role of advanced practice nursing in the field of medicine. "Ms. Rodriquez represents one of our finest cardiovascular DNP students and one who has consistently demonstrated clinical and scholarly expertise throughout her career in preventive cardiovascular nursing," said Francis M. Rankin Sahebzamani, PhD, ARNP, FAANP, director of the USF, College of Nursing's Clinical Doctorate of Advanced Nursing Practice Program.
Ms. Rodriguez was presented with a plaque and received paid travel expenses and complimentary registration to the symposium and $1,000. Congratulations to Ms. Rodriguez on receiving this prestigious award!
May Is National Stroke Awareness Month
National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale
PCNA members may be interested in adding to their clinical assessment skills by becoming certified in administering the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). This tool is used in clinical settings to evaluate stroke severity, determine appropriate treatment, and predict both short- and long-term patient outcomes. It provides a common language among healthcare professionals.
The NIHSS is most commonly administered by emergency physicians and nurses, neurology specialists, and other stroke team members as a baseline in the emergency department before treatment, serially after immediate treatment, at 24 hours, and again at 7 to 10 days of follow-up during hospitalization. The NIHSS takes about 5 to 8 minutes to complete.
Certification for nurses is available from the National Stroke Association through either an online training program with online testing or a paper version of the examination. Excellent training materials are available on DVD that can be used independently or in a classroom session. The DVD materials include detailed instructions on how to administer the NIHSS, video demonstration cases to test skill in making assessments, and 3 full certification sets of 6 patients that provide a simulated assessment experience in which nurses can score patients, then submit their answers for certification.
To learn more about these training materials, check out the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Web site at http://www.ninds.nih.gov. Presently, there are no national standards for recertification, but many hospitals test their nurses on an annual basis as part of ongoing competency skill days.
Primary Stroke Centers
Beyond the individual health professional certification discussed above, The Joint Commission (TJC) awards certification to Primary Stroke Centers that demonstrate excellence in improving outcomes for stroke patients. These Centers of Excellence are important designations within the community to highlight hospitals where quality care is provided to effectively manage the acute phases of stroke.
The certification program of TJC was developed in partnership with the American Stroke Association (ASA), based on the Brain Attack Coalition's recommendations for Primary Stroke Centers. Certification is based on (1) demonstration of compliance with consensus-based national guidelines, (2) effective use of stroke recommendations and clinical practice guidelines to manage stroke care, and (3) performance measures and quality-improvement activities.
Ten measures for stroke patient care required for certification were established by TJC: administration of thrombolytic therapy, dysphagia screening, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, antithrombotic therapy by end of hospital day 2, anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation, discharge on antithrombotic therapy and on statin medication, stroke education, smoking cessation counseling, and assessment for rehabilitation.
More than 285 US hospitals have received this Primary Stroke Center designation. The ASA has developed a variety of tools and resources to assist hospitals in preparing for certification. These include the Acute Stroke Treatment Program, a toolkit that guides hospitals through a step-by-step process on how to build the necessary infrastructure for a primary stroke center. In addition, the ASA has its continuous quality improvement program, "Get With the Guidelines-Stroke," to help hospitals gather current and ongoing stroke data with the goal of monitoring performance. More information about "Get With the Guidelines-Stroke" is available at http://www.strokeassociation.org.
PCNA Supports Advocacy-Now Is the Time
President Obama has invited all Americans to send him suggestions for healthcare reform, mentioning a special interest in prevention. This is a perfect opportunity for the PCNA to participate in advocacy programs to educate legislators about issues surrounding cardiovascular disease prevention. This can be done in several ways.
Contact your local or national legislators by calling, writing a personal letter or e-mail, or meeting with them in person to share your own views and expertise, those of the PCNA, or the national organizations with which we partner. Most officials are not aware of the issues that face those who work in the preventive cardiology field.
Face-to-face meeting or lobbying with the legislators is a powerful method for advocating. If you are a member of the American Heart Association (AHA) or the American College of Cardiology, consider joining forces with these larger organizations by attending Lobby Day in Washington, District of Columbia, each spring. This event can have a significant impact on changing healthcare policy. At Lobby Day, volunteers are divided by state to visit with their own senators and representatives. When the prevention message is multiplied by many, it carries great strength.
Sign form letters that have been e-mailed to you as healthcare professionals and return them to your legislators. The volume of supporters sending these e-mails can strongly influence healthcare issues. You also may be asked to call your local state legislator to discuss an issue. Check out any talking points provided to enhance your advocacy efforts.
Finally, do not forget the positive impact and attention that participation in local programs such as heart walks can provide for national healthcare issues.
Whether you get involved by lobbying with national organizations, provide support via e-mail regarding issues highlighted by national organizations or become involved at a local level; each voice has power and importance to bring about change. We have an administration that wants to hear our voices concerning healthcare issues. The PCNA encourages everyone to get involved in advocacy at every level. You can make a difference!
For more information, check out the AHA Web site for advocacy and consider participating in one of their advocacy training programs at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3028706.
What Is Going on in PCNA?
Central Virginia Chapter Co-Hosts Blood Pressure Clinic
PCNA's Central Virginia Chapter and the local American Heart Association chapter up to host a blood pressure clinic on February 6, 2009, in Charlottesville, Virginia. During the 3-hour clinic, 30 participants were screened and counseled on risk factor reduction, including, but not limited to starting a walking program, stress reduction techniques, smoking cessation, dietary changes, and weight loss.
In addition to the screening, PCNA Chapter Representative Cathy Kern, RN, clinical lead/director at the University of Virginia Cardiovascular Rehab & Wellness, presented the PCNA's campaign, Tell a Friend About Women and Heart Disease. To find out more information about the Tell a Friend campaign, visit http://www.pcna.net/national/women/index.php.
Members of the PCNA are also encouraged to share ideas for holding a community event on the PCNA's online knowledge-sharing community, LinkedIn. If you have not yet joined this group, visit http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=836857.
PCNA Launches Members-Only Online Knowledge Sharing Community on LinkedIn
Since launching the online knowledge-sharing community in February, the PCNA has had an overwhelmingly positive response from our members. Members of the PCNA are networking and connecting on several topics. The latest topics that are being discussed include the following:
* Rule out myocardial infarction protocol and stress testing.
* Warfarin testing and point-of-care systems.
* Cardiovascular risk-reduction programs and collaboration with diabetes or women's health programs.
* Primary prevention for women and heart disease programs.
* Tobacco cessation project for local/national implementation.
To participate in these discussions, PCNA members can visit http://www.linkedin.com/groupRegistration?gid=836857.
PCNA Congratulates Cardiac/Vascular Nurse Certified Members
In recognition of a very successful first annual Certified Nurses Day (March 19, 2009), the PCNA would like to congratulate all of its Cardiac/Vascular Nurse Certified Members. We applaud you for taking the extra step in advancing your careers by becoming certified!
Board-certified nurses contribute to the advancement of nursing professionalism and to higher standards and better outcomes in patient health. In addition to being awarded the credential RN-BC, board-certified nurses are in the greatest demand and command the highest salaries, earning an average of $9,000 more than their do counterparts who are not board certified.
The PCNA and American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) offer membership discounts for those interested in becoming Cardiac/Vascular Nurse certified. Members of the PCNA receive a $50 discount on the cost of first-time certification and $70 off the cost to renew. Members also receive a discount on the Cardiac/Vascular Certification Review Manual. For more information, please e-mail [email protected].
Call for Articles: The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing
The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing is seeking reviews of the literature and research reported related to the following topics. We are particularly interested in contributions from PCNA members that focus on any aspect of prevention.
We would like to incorporate more review and clinical articles in the journal. We are also very interested in publishing small clusters of reviews on specific topics. We encourage you to consider writing a scholarly review or spearheading a small group of articles on a preventive cardiovascular topic. If you have questions about this invitation, please feel free to e-mail the editors, Debra Moser ([email protected]) or Barbara Riegel ([email protected]), for further information. They look forward to seeing your submissions.
The primary objective of The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing is to foster expert clinical practice of cardiovascular nurses. Issues address the physiological, psychological, and social responses of cardiovascular patients and families in a variety of environments. All manuscripts received will be subject to peer review. All manuscripts must be submitted online using the instructions for authors found on the submission website: http://www.editorialmanager.com/jcn/mainpage.html.
Section Description
The Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing is the official journal of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. PCNA is the leading nursing organization dedicated to preventing cardiovascular disease through assessing risk, facilitating lifestyle changes, and guiding individuals to achieve treatment goals.