At the 2015 AAACN meeting, which takes place at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Lake Buena Vista, FL, industry experts will empower registered nurses with the information they need to lead the movement toward better patient outcomes. The milestone meeting takes place April 15-18, 2015.

AAACN conference attendees represent the diversity of nurses who practice in ambulatory care clinics, group physician practices, call centers, military and VA settings, home health, and schools. Administrators, managers, and clinicians at all levels of their careers will collaborate in sessions designed to address relevant topics. Nurses will earn continuing nursing education (CNE) contact hours during sessions that cover a breadth of critical practice issues including care coordination, transition management, professional practice models, staff engagement, and quality outcomes, plus telehealth and leadership tracks.

New this year, nurses in a care coordination or transition management role can elect to pilot the CCTM Certification Exam, which is currently being developed by the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) in collaboration with AAACN. Registration for the post-conference Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Review Course is available for those preparing for certification.

Learn more at http://conference.aaacn.org, 800-262-6877, or aaacn@ajj.com.

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

To ensure patient care is safely and efficiently coordinated among qualified providers, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board  (CCTM) certification exam. The exam will be developed and administered by MSNCB based on AAACN’s Care Coordination and Transition Management Core Curriculum. Exam development will begin immediately and is expected to be ready in early fall 2015.

To better prepare RNs for a CCTM role in which they must manage patients with complex health care needs from an access, quality, and cost perspective, AAACN conducted a two-year expert panel translational research process spearheaded by longtime AAACN leaders Sheila A. Haas, PhD, RN, FAAN, Beth Ann Swan, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, and Traci S. Haynes, MSN, RN, BA, CEN. The result was the creation of evidence-based CCTM core competencies, a core curriculum text, and 13-module online course, which is scheduled for release this August. The CCTM exam is the next step in this process. “This is a perfect marriage between acute and ambulatory care,” concluded MSNCB President Mimi Haskins, MS, RN, CMSRN.

AAACN President Marianne Sherman, MS, RN-BC, agrees that nurses who achieve this certification will be in great demand. “Care coordinators are key to ensuring that top quality services are provided,” she said. “They help patients navigate the health care system, which improves outcomes and helps to lower costs.”

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

To educate, standardize, and ensure excellence in patient care, AAACN created the evidence-based Care Coordination and Transition Management (CCTM) course and core curriculum text. Developed by an expert panel of nurses and spearheaded by AAACN leaders Sheila A. Haas, PhD, RN, FAAN, Beth Ann Swan, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, and Traci S. Haynes, MSN, RN, BA, CEN, this course is a vital guide to the state of research evidence for care coordination and transition management.

“Health care delivery has shifted, and nurses provide care across multiple settings and providers rather than onsite and in person,” said Beth Ann Swan.

The self-learning CCTM course includes thirteen online modules and a PDF version of the corresponding core text chapter. The course will provide approximately 20-30 contact hours. To introduce nurses to the value and wealth of education available in the complete course, AAACN is offering the first CCTM Introduction module free to all nurses, including 2.4 contact hours.

The complete course is $995, with a discount available for AAACN members ($595). The CCTM core curriculum text will be available in May 2014 for $99 ($79 for members). Purchase the course at aaacn.org/cctm.

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

Through AAACN’s affiliation with the National Council State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Nurse Licensure Compact Coalition, members Kathleen Damian, RN, and Tami Regan, RN, CHT, testified at the Massachusetts State House on October 29 in favor of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). Representatives from the Massachusetts Hospital Association, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Cambride Health Alliance, and Organization of Nurse Leaders (MA and RI) also gave strong and compelling testimony in favor of the compact. The National Military Families Association sent a letter to each member of the Joint Committee supporting the NLC legislation. Opposing testimony came from the President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Kathleen said, “It was a wonderful opportunity to educate our legislators about the actual nuts and bolts of caring for patients telephonically and the Massa­chusetts regulation governing nursing practice using telecommunications technology.”

A vote was not taken at the hearing. Next steps for the legislation will be announced in the future. AAACN has urged our MA telehealth nurse members to contact members of the Joint Committee on Public Health to tell them why the NLC legislation is important to them.

[Courtesy of AAACN’s Viewpoint Newsletter, Nov/Dec 2013.]

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) will host its 39th Annual Conference at the Marriott New Orleans in New Orleans, LA, May 19-22, 2014. Attendees will enhance their practice with education specific to ambulatory care and telehealth nursing, and leave feeling enriched and energized, ready to share information and put strategies into practice.

Attendees will earn continuing nursing education (CNE) contact hours, view posters, visit the Exhibit Hall, and network with colleagues. Registration for the pre-conference Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Review Course is also available.

Donna Wright, MS, RN, will give the conference Keynote Address, “Leadership and Resiliency,” where she’ll take a humorous look at what is needed to succeed in health care today and explore strategies and tools for better outcomes. This year’s popular Town Hall, “Ambulatory Nursing Sensitive Indicators (NSI),” will be facilitated by the Chair of the Ambulatory NSI Task Force, Sharon Eck Birmingham, DNSc, MA, BSN, RN. Attendees are invited to contribute ideas or examples of NSI from their practice.

Sessions run from Tuesday, May 20, to Thursday, May 22. With pre-conference workshops offered on Monday and Tuesday, May 19-20. On Tuesday, May 20, AAACN will host a session to welcome new members and first-time conference attendees. The session will be followed by the Opening Reception and Silent Auction. Money raised at the auction will benefit the AAACN Scholarship Program.

Complete conference information and registration is available online at www.aaacn.org.

[Posted by Peter DeHaan for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

The American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) released the newly titled Scope and Standards of Practice for Professional Telehealth Nursing. The fifth edition provides scope and practice guidance specific to the ambulatory subspecialty of Telehealth. The standards promote effective clinical and administrative management of the increasingly complex telehealth nursing roles and responsibilities in a changing health care environment. Sixteen standards are included along with competencies for telehealth registered nurses, nurse executives, administrators, and managers. The standards reflect current professional norms, practices, and expectations.

The publication can be used as a tool to advance ambulatory care professional nursing practice, patient health, and the performance outcomes of telehealth institutions. This resource is ideal for writing policies, procedures, and job descriptions; orienting staff; planning for Joint Commission surveys; and increasing the quality and safety of patient care. You can also use the “standards” to prepare for the ambulatory care nursing certification exam, which contains questions on telehealth nursing and is the recommended exam to validate telehealth nursing knowledge. It costs $44 and can be ordered at www.aaacn.org/store.

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

With a focus on healthcare reform and how it will affect ambulatory care nursing, the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) 36th Annual Conference drew 600 ambulatory care and telehealth nurses to San Antonio, TX, in April.

The conference featured two general sessions on healthcare reform, as well as a keynote address, and other concurrent sessions.  “We are on the threshold of major changes in healthcare, and AAACN is prepared to step up and provide members with the leadership and resources needed to face these challenges.  The conference was a perfect platform for members to gain the knowledge needed to prepare for the coming healthcare transformation,” said AAACN’s new president, Linda Brixey, RN.

The conference, which is designed to help ambulatory care and telehealth nurses advance their practice and improve patient care skills, featured education sessions presented by nursing and healthcare experts.  Sessions covered such topics as ambulatory quality metrics, comparing conventional wisdom with evidence, and the medical home model.

AAACN’s 37th Annual Conference will be held May 2-5, 2012, at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World® Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL. For more information, visit www.aaacn.org.

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

The 2011 edition of the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) Telehealth Nursing Practice Resource Directory, 2011 edition is now available.  This resource will help improve the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of telehealth practices.

The directory includes professional standards, practice tools, textbooks, articles, references, Websites, associations, and call center services.  Needed information can be quickly located in this current and relevant listing of resources in an easy-to-read, bibliography-style guide.

It is only $24 and can be ordered at www.aaacn.org.

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]

Suzanne N. Wells, BSN, RN, has been elected president-elect of the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN) for 2011-2012.  Wells is manager, Answer Line, St. Louis Children’s Hospital.  “I will work diligently on behalf of our members to ensure they have the resources they need to stay informed and engaged in health care reform,” Wells said.  “I will also work to assure AAACN continues to be the voice of ambulatory care nursing.”

In addition to a new president-elect, Pamela Del Monte, MS, RN-BC, and Sherry Smith, MSN, RN, MBA, will serve on AAACN’s nominating committee, which oversees the annual elections process and reviews the annual awards and scholarship applications.  Del Monte is associate chief nurse/ambulatory care service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Durham, NC.  Smith is a disease specific reviewer and senior consultant, Joint Commission and 3CN, Oakbrook Terrace, IL, and Phoenix, AZ.

AAACN’s 2011-2012 National Board of Directors is:

• President: Linda Brixey
• President-Elect: Suzanne N. Wells
• Immediate Past President: Traci Haynes
• Director/Secretary   : Lt. Col. Carol Andrews
• Director: Judy Dawson-Jones
• Director: Susan M. Paschke
• Director: Mary Vinson
• Executive Director (Ex officio): Cynthia Nowicki Hnatiuk

For more information: www.aaacn.org, 800-262-6877, or aaacn@ajj.com.

[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for AnswerStat magazine, a medical healthcare publication from Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc.]