What a year! Since we last blogged and as shared in our annual business meeting in Oct 2021 our ‘transformational program’ continues to make great strides and is taking shape. We had hoped to be further down this journey of change, but no one could have anticipated the impact of the pandemic on both our personal and work lives, but we really hope that the worst has come and gone, and we can now continue to move forward again with some pace.
We are now moving back into ‘normal operations’ and attempting to recalibrate like the rest of the world. I trust you will recognize and appreciate that the hiatus caused by the pandemic in terms of regular communications, conference (in-person) and many of the other activities that IntNSA members have become accustomed to was unavoidable, and if we have not been able to provide a ‘full service’ either as a Board or organization we ask for your patience. That said, and despite the challenges of the last 12 months, your Board and management company has been working hard on your behalf and we are pleased to report some updates and activities.
Global Realignment
In our last blog – we identified the year 2021/2022 to be the year of “transitions and new beginnings” for both the global board and a newly formed IntNSA-USA Board. In recognition of the international outlook of IntNSA and to begin to incorporate our Country Chapters into the decision making of the organisation – we established a ‘sub-committee’ of the main Board called the President’s Council. To understand how this committee sits within the structure of the organisation see figure below, and you can click on the following link for a copy of the Council’s Terms of Reference. The Council is an ‘advisory group’ to the main Board and is chaired by the President of IntNSA Global, like the affiliate groups (FIAAN and FAN), members of the President’s Council do not have voting rights (other than the same rights as a full member of IntNSA) – but are invited in consultation with the President to shape and grow the Society. This aspect of our global realignment facilitates opportunity for two-way communication between the Presidents of each Country Chapter and the Global Board.
Revised Membership Dues Model
The Board has been particularly mindful of the economic downturn over the last number of years, the financial challenges that our members faced during the pandemic, and the persistent salary gap within the nursing workforce globally. Consultation with nurses considering joining IntNSA including nursing students, that our pricing model can make membership out of reach, has led the BoD to reconsider how we can apply dues that our representative of ‘fair pricing for our members’. As we grow globally, we were particularly aware that the ‘lack of parity in salary across nursing globally’ has the potential to prevent individual nurses working in different countries from affording membership.
As part of IntNSA’s membership strategy, and to ensure equity of access, in February 2022 IntNSA moved to a new membership dues model, which uses an annual salary sliding scale model. In applying this annual sliding scale model, IntNSA recognises the World Bank economic categories and has mapped global nursing salaries accordingly. Membership prices are based on our members country’s category, and we hope offers a fairer and more equitable approach. This approach has also included a significant overall ‘drop in membership price’ for higher income countries (e.g., USA, Canada, countries in Europe etc), so we truly hope that all our members will find this helpful.
If you have not already been contacted by our Management Company regarding renewing your dues, or you just want to check out what the ‘new model looks like’ please click on the following link ‘Fair Pricing’ which takes you through the rationale and details of how the model applies to you.
IntNSA USA now formally registered!!
Under the guidance and leadership of interim President Kris Waite-Labott, the Interim IntNSA USA Board and with the support our management company – we are delighted that IntNSA USA has now been formally registered as a separate legal entity with its own 501-C. This in effect means we can now move forward with formally voting for a Board for the USA Country Chapter and begin to put in place the necessary support (including financial) to get USA up and running smoothly for the largest group of our membership. You should have already received notice from our Management Company that we are now seeking nominations for a full USA Chapter Board including the position of President, President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary. This is a new beginning for USA members to take ownership of their agenda with a focus on issues germane to USA in relation to addiction nursing practice, policies, research, and education, whilst remaining and being an active part of the wider global leadership of addiction nursing. Please do give serious consideration to applying for a role on the Board either as part of the Executive group or as a Director. Your input and leadership are needed and will be very much welcomed! If you would like to discuss the role requirements, please reach out to our current President-elect Dana Murphy-Parker who is working with the nominations committee, and who will be only too happy to talk this through with you. To also assist members on expectations we have drafted a guidance document on the role and responsibilities of key roles – please click here for review.
Financial Health (Dr. Susanne Fogger, IntNSA Treasurer)
IntNSA financially has held steady despite global changes due to COVID. Income from membership and royalties from the Journal of Addictions Nursing have kept us in a good place. While the stock market has cooled in the past 6 months, our investments are conservative, and we will remain invested in the program we have. We hope that we have good attendance both virtually and in person at the upcoming conference in Calgary as this is an expense that is offset by support! Please plan to attend either in-person or virtually.
Launch of the new Scope and Standards of Addictions Nursing Practice (Dr. Susanne Fogger)
We are proud to announce the Third edition of the American Nurses Association; Scope and Standards of Addictions Nursing Practice. We believe this 2022 document will be a valuable and up-to-date resource for addictions nurses in the United States and offers a comprehensive account of the role of Addictions Nursing, which acts as a strong reference document for other countries either in early stages of this role or planning to develop this role.
The third edition of the ANA’s Scope and Standards of Addictions Nursing Practice is available through the ANA’s website: https://www.nursingworld.org/~49c621/globalassets/catalog/book-toc/anss3e_chapter.pdf
This link will introduce the Scope and Standards and gives the reader a taste of what is in the manual. If you are a member of the ANA, it can be purchased through the website, or via on-line bookstores.
From the jacket cover:
This new edition contains up-to-date information on this dynamic specialty that applies a holistic approach employing biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors to provide treatment to patients who are affected by alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use and persistent and recurrent maladaptive behaviors and addictive disorders. Much of the addictions nurses job involves teaching patients about the dangers of substance abuse and possible treatment options. Since addiction is both a mental and physical disease, these nurses are trained in both general medicine and mental health. This go-to guide contains the most up-to-date information on this practice specialty. It specifies the who, what, where, when, why, and how of addictions nursing practice. The 16 standards are those by which all RNs in addictions nursing are held accountable for in their practice. Each standard is measurable by a set of specific competencies that serve as evidence of minimal compliance with that standard. Additions Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice is a must-have title for clinicians, educators, students, and other healthcare works directly involved in this area of practice.
Membership, e-Learning Platform Website and Main Website
You may recall that as part of our transformational program, the Board also sought to ‘streamline’ our various platforms, which were ‘not connected’ hence members had to log in separately. This work has now been completed and all three key aspects now ‘speak with one another’. We trust that you will find this a more accessible and friendly user experience.
The Board had also signed off work so that each Country Chapter (and State Chapter within the USA) will be given access to their chapter landing page so that they can edit/upload information and details for their own members. This also offers the opportunity for Country Chapters to post information in their “mother tongue”. If you have not already had the opportunity to ‘influence’ your own country website page – our webmaster is available and can be contacted at Web@intnsa.org
Providers Clinical Support System (PCSS) Report (Dana Murphy-Parker, MS, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP, FIAAN)
The International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) continues to be partner for Providers for Clinical Support Services (PSCC). IntNSA’s contract has been in place since 2015. PCSS is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is made up of a coalition of major healthcare organizations dedicated to addressing the heath care crisis of the opioid epidemic in the United States.
The Providers Clinical Support System (PSCC) provides mentoring and national education to healthcare professionals in the USA with the goal of providing evidence-based medicated-assisted treatment webinars for the care of patients who have opioid use disorders. These webinars target primary care, substance use disorder treatment programs, pain management settings, and psychiatric care services.
The PCSS grant is managed by American Academy of Addictions Psychiatry (AAAP). (See https://pcssnow.org/about/program-partners for a list of the twenty-three health care organizations that make up the coalitions for PCSS education).
Very recently, Jennifer Lundstrom, Project Manager for PCSS, sent out the news that SAMHSA had approved a No Cost Extension for PCSS for 2022-2023. This means that partners do not have to re-apply as educational partners for the PCSS webinars, and will stay on and continue to participate PCSS.
If there are any IntNSA members who have an idea for a PCSS webinar for the upcoming fiscal year, please contact Dana Murphy-Parker at murphyparkerd@gmail.com.
List of IntNSA Webinars for PCSS Fiscal Year: 2021 – 2022 (All IntNSA webinars have been moderated by Dana Murphy-Parker and Robert Ranieri, Ex Director of IntNSA)
July 1, 2021
Consortium Management 101: Development and Engagement Strategies for Success in Building Community Resources for those with Opioid Use Disorder; presented by J.K. Costello, MD, MPH & Lindsay E. Houston, MPH.
July 29, 2021
Methadone Then, Methadone Now. Presented by John S. Silvani, RN, CARN, CAS, LCDCII, FIAAN. IntNSA member; IntNSA BOD member, and Interim Treasurer of IntNSA USA.
August 29, 2021
Senate Bill (19)-001 MOUD Expansion Project Lessons Learned: Improving MOUD Delivery and Reducing Disparities in Rural Colorado. Presented by Aimee Techau, MSN, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP and Jennifer Place, MA, LPC, LAC
April 15, 2022
Opioid Use Disorder in the Nursing Profession. Presented by Kristin Waite-Labott, RN, BSN, CARN; April Lynn Lenzmeier, RN, DNP; and Rachal Schuster, RN, BSN, CARN, CAAP.
June 3, 2022
Opioid Facts and Figures. Presented by Lauran Wirfs, Do.
August 18, 2022
Recognizing and Responding to an Opioid Overdose and Naloxone Training.
Presented by Lyndall Young, LPN, Western Colorado AHEC, Facilitator for the Mesa County Opioid Response Group
Calgary IntNSA Global Conference October 25-28
We are so excited that finally we can host an ‘in-person’ conference (with key elements also available virtually) and will be travelling to Calgary in October. We have received an abundance of abstracts and the Conference Programme under the leadership of Marissa Abrams and the conference planning team, is really taking shape.
We are delighted to announce and confirm that the Chief Nurse for the International Nurses Council (ICN), Dr Michelle Acorn, who also happens to be a Canadian, will be opening our Conference. Dr. Acorn completed her Doctor of Nurse Practitioner/Nursing Practice and is certified as both a Primary Health Care and Adult Nurse Practitioner. She holds national nursing certifications in Emergency and Gerontology and an international certification as a Global Nurse Consultant. Her diverse clinical expertise includes practicing in the Emergency, as a Hospitalist, innovating GAIN (Geriatric Assessment and Intervention Networks), and pioneering the most responsible provider (MRP) impacts of a Nurse Practitioner-led model of inpatient hospital care and primary care in corrections. Dr. Acorn has shared how she very much appreciates the role and work of addiction nurses and has practiced in this area over the course of her nursing career. She hopes to join us for the entire conference subject to her schedule.
We have also had confirmation that Dr. Brian Hurley, President-Elect of ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) will be joining us as a key speaker on “Interdisciplinary Teams: Integrating Addiction Treatment into Whole Person Care.”
In addition to a full and exciting schedule of presentations, our Journal Editor Ann Mitchell is also delivering a pre-conference workshop on ‘how to publish’.
If you have not already registered, please sign up – our conference is really the place where IntNSA members ‘connect’, and fellowship is reignited.
Update on Fellows of the International Academy of Addictions Nursing Leadership Assembly (Dana Murphy-Parker, MS, PMHNP-BC, CARN-AP, FIAAN President: International Academy of Addictions Nursing)
Over this past year, FIAANs worked on ‘restructuring the guidelines’ for the FIAANs. A huge thank you (!) to FIAANs Phyllis Raynor, Camille Zalar, Deborah Bowman, and Michelle Knapp who gave of their time and provided guidance in helping me to complete this document. The FIAAN guidelines are available on the FIAAN link, along with all FIAANs biographies, on the IntNSA website.
It was decided that these addiction leaders within the International Society of Addictions Nurses (IntNSA) shall be known as the Fellowship of the International Academy of Addictions Nurses Leadership Assembly (FIAAN Leadership Assembly).
The mission of the FIAAN Leadership Assembly is to promote the vision of IntNSA’s high standards of addictions nursing care by advancing and disseminating addictions science through evidence-based practice, education, research, policy, and administration. A major goal of the Addictions Nursing Leadership Assembly is to increase FIAANs who live outside of the United States in the effort to continue IntNSA’s Vision: To Be A Global Leader In Addictions Nursing.
Currently there are 29 FIAANs. Applications/Nominations have recently been opened for new FIAANS. An Induction Ceremony will be held during the Annual Awards Meeting in Calgary at our 45th Annual Conference in October. It is exciting that we can all get back to an in-person annual conference. I hope to see many IntNSA members, and others interested in addiction care, in Calgary!
International Partnerships and Global Work
We have, albeit hampered by the pandemic, been making steady progress on building on our expansion globally. This has involved key work over the last year including working closely with our partners at the Bureau of International Narcotics & Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), U.S. Department of State. In line with our mission IntNSA has a positive history and track record in providing education, training and credentialing for all nurses working in addiction nursing. This has very much been in partnership with our colleagues in ANCB and the professional certification of USA and Canadian RNs via the CARN and CARN-AP. With the support of INL, and in partnership with ISSUP (International Society for Substance Use Professionals) IntNSA now proposes to add to this suite of qualifications and proposes to widen the global certification via the Global Centre for Credentialing and Certification which has over the past decade supported the professionalization for the delivery of evidence-based services in the field of prevention, treatment and recovery support world-wide. Through the engagement of professionals, policymakers, funders, and our Commission, GCCC is on a continual path to ensure those seeking services for substance use disorders receive the highest quality services to lead a life of good health and recovery. With GCCC, IntNSA will seek to adapt GCCC’s current International Certified Addiction Professional (ICAP) examination and certification specifically for nursing e.g., ICAP Nurse. This proposed wider global certification is being pursued to provide an ‘offer’ and address the needs of nurses residing and working outside of the USA and Canadian territories.
Our relationship with ISSUP continues to be strengthened, and we are delighted that ISSUP recognizes the potential support IntNSA provides to enhance the offer of ISSUP network nursing members. To this end IntNSA was invited to present both in person and virtually at ISSUP’s and partners International Congress in Abu Dhabi in May.
Please see below members of IntNSA who participated and the links to presentations:
Leveraging the Role of the Nurse in Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) – Dr Carmel Clancy, PhD
If you would like to review all presentations at this congress please click onto main ISSUP website, including keynotes from Responding to Global Stimulant Use: Challenges and Opportunities by Professor Mike Farrell. Professor Michael Farrell is the Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW and Faculty Theme Lead of Mental Health, Neuroscience, Ageing and Addictions, UNSW Medicine. Prior to his appointment at UNSW, Professor Farrell was a Professor of Addiction Psychiatry at Kings College London.
Scientific Advances in Addiction Treatment and Prevention by Dr. Nora D. Volkow, M.D. Dr Volkow is Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. NIDA is the world’s largest funder of research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction.
Dr. Volkow’s work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a brain disorder. As a research psychiatrist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate how substance use affects brain functions. In particular, her studies have documented that changes in the dopamine system affect the functions of frontal brain regions involved with reward and self-control in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging.
Finally, Former U.S. Congressman: Patrick J. Kennedy, addressed the conference. During his time in Congress, Patrick J. Kennedy co-authored the landmark Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Federal Parity Law), which requires insurers to cover treatment for mental health and substance use disorders no more restrictively than treatment for illnesses of the body, such as diabetes and cancer. In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit that unites advocates, business leaders, and government agencies to advance evidence-based practices, policies, and programming in mental health and addiction. In 2015, Kennedy co-authored the New York Times Bestseller, “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” which details a bold plan for the future of mental health care in America. In 2017, he was appointed to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.
Kennedy is also the founder of DontDenyMe.org, an educational campaign that empowers consumers and providers to understand parity rights and connects them to essential appeals guidance and resources; co-founder of One Mind, an organization that pushes for greater global investment in brain research; co-founder of Psych Hub, the most comprehensive online learning platform on mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention topics in the world; co-chair of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19 (National Response); and co-chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Behavioral Health Integration Task Force.
Comms and Branding
With support and leadership from Kris Waite-Labott; Dr. Charon Burda; Dr. Paulo Seabra, Adrian Jugdoyal and Sean Collinge we continue to review our ‘comms and branding’ materials. Please see the latest new flyer and ‘calling card’ that we invite you to distribute through your personal networks. The more we can bring attention to the existence of IntNSA the more we will build our community, network and membership, and the louder and more powerful our voice will become!
We hope that this ‘round up’ of news provides you with an overview of what IntNSA and the Board have been doing on your behalf. We really hope that you will join us in Calgary and if you are interested in joining the Board and becoming more involved in steering/leading the Society do please consider applying for the positions on the Board.
On behalf of the Executive Committee
Dr. Carmel Clancy
IntNSA President
August 2022