Greetings SPN Members!
PEDIATRIC NURSES WEEK
I enjoyed seeing the photos and videos of you and your teams celebrating Pediatric Nurses Week on social media! Also, a huge thank you to those who purchased Pediatric Nurses Week items to incorporate into your celebrations.
This year we introduced a contest for nurses to submit a short video to share their pride in being a pediatric nurse and describe how they were celebrating Pediatric Nurses Week. Those who participated had a chance to win one free registration and a 25% registration discount for up to four colleagues at our 34th Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ next April. Congratulations to Jennessa Acal who was our randomly selected winner. If you missed it, you can check out the videos here. I look forward to seeing Jennessa and her colleagues from Fargo, ND at our Annual Conference in April!
I hope you were able to attend Greg Durkin’s presentation, “The Joys of Being a Pediatric Nurse.” If you missed the live presentation, you can view the recording. Greg helped me refocus on why I got into nursing in the first place and reflect on how I find joy in the gift of service.
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC NURSING
The Journal of Pediatric Nursing (JPN) continues to be SPN’s official journal. Our agreement with Elsevier, JPN’s publisher, allows SPN to appoint five members to serve on JPN’s Editorial Board. I am happy to announce four SPN members who will be joining Debra Ridling, PhD, MS, RN, NEA-BC on JPN’s Editorial Board: Jodi Herron- Behr, PhD, RN, RNC-NIC, ACCNS-P; Valerie Lapp, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CPN; Lindsey Patton, PhD, APRN, PCNS-BC; and Julie Perry, PhD, RN.
In their role as Editorial Board members, the SPN appointed members will also mentor SPN members who are interested in submitting to JPN for the first time. This mentorship structure will help those of you who are new authors in your journey to share your research and evidence-based practice work through publication.
MINORITY NURSE MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
Board member, Michaela Lewis, DNP, ARNP, CPNP, CPN, CPEN, CNE, CNE-cl, PMHS was recently interviewed by Minority Nurse Magazine and eloquently described her career path in becoming a pediatric nurse, the skills needed to practice as a registered nurse and nurse practitioner, and also touched upon the importance of having diverse representation in pediatric nursing. You can view Michaela’s interview here.
REPRESENTATION ON THE ASHP ADVISORY PANEL
I am pleased to see SPN’s involvement in national initiatives that design and address issues in pediatric nursing care. Board members Amy Marks, MSN, RN, CPN, CPHQ and Kim Peterson, MSN, ARPN, CPN are representing SPN on the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Advisory Panel. ASHP was awarded a multi-year contract by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop and implement national standardized concentrations for intravenous and oral liquid medications. Weight-based dose calculations may result in volumes that are difficult to measure, particularly in the outpatient setting. The Advisory Panel is an interdisciplinary panel comprised of pharmacists, physicians, and nurses, and will be making recommendations for rounded doses of common oral medications that result in easier volume measurements. Their first steps will be to decide the key medications to focus on and determine oral dosage form rounding. Once the standards have been finalized, there will be a public review period, and comments from public review will be reviewed and the standards finalized. Lastly, the Advisory Panel will develop and guide the implementation of the newly developed standards.
YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH ACT INTRODUCED
On October 19, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Katie Britt (R-AL) and Representatives Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D-NJ) and Brian Fitzpatrick (D-PA) introduced the Youth Mental Health Research Act (H.R. 5976 / S. 3060 ). This legislation would establish a Youth Mental Health Research Initiative in the National Institutes of Health to facilitate collaboration between the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Child Health Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to provide dedicated funding support research on improving child and adolescent mental health. I strongly encourage you to ask your congressional leaders to support this bill.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
In this season of Thanksgiving, I would like to acknowledge all who contribute to SPN’s success and improving the nursing care of children. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve with you.
Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more
of what you want into your life.
– Rhonda Byrne
Kathy Van Allen, MSN, RN, CPN
SPN President