News

WCAPN will hold its annual Advanced Practice Forum on October 12 & 13, 2018 at the Holiday Inn in Sheridan, Wyoming

Registration will open by July 1st and Call for Speakers will be available in February. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

Mark your calendars to join us in October!

Please join us for the annual Nurses Day at the Legislature on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at the Little America Hotel & Resort in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The theme is Workplace Violence.

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Conference

5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. - Legislative Briefing - FREE to all APRNs!

6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Legislative Reception - WCAPN members get in free to the reception

There will be a full day of great speakers, which will be followed by a WCAPN-sponsored legislative reception in the evening. Download the complete agenda here.

WCAPN, in partnership with the Wyoming Nurses Association and the Wyoming Hospital Association, will be hosting a Nursing and Legislative reception on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at the Little American Hotel in Cheyenne from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Because of WCAPN sponsorship, WCAPN members may attend reception at no cost.

To register to attend the reception only (at no cost for WCAPN members), email the WCAPN office at wcapnstaff@wcapn.org. To register for the one-day conference, click the button below. Early Bird pricing ends February 1, 2018!

The Call for Nominations for the AANP 2018 election opened, Wednesday, November 1. The deadline for nomination applications to be received by AANP is November 30, 2017.

The American Medical Association (AMA) took steps at its recent meeting to call for the creation of a national strategy to oppose legislative efforts that grant independent practice to non-physician practitioners through model legislation and national and state level campaigns. While these tactics are not new, the AMA’s ongoing physician protectionist resolutions are hurting patients and negatively impacting the health of our nation. 

The AMA resolved to:

·    Effectively oppose the continual, nationwide efforts to grant independent practice (e.g., APRN Consensus Model, APRN Compact) to non-physician practitioners;

·    Effectively educate the public, legislators, regulators, and healthcare administrators; and

·    Effectively oppose state and national level legislative efforts aimed at inappropriate scope of practice expansion of non-physician healthcare practitioners; with report back at the 2018 Annual Meeting.

The Wyoming State Board of Nursing (WSBN) proposes to amend Chapter 2 - Licensure/Certification Requirements and Chapter 5 - Fees.

Wednesday, Nov. 22^nd at 12:00 pm.

In these proposed revisions are important items Wyoming nurses need to be aware of:

·    Chapter 2 Section 8.5 proposes that every Wyoming licensed nurses will know have to submit evidence of completing at least two (2) hours of continuing education units related to pain management, and/or opioid use and addiction.

·    Chapter 2 Section 13.7 proposes completion of twenty (20) hours of CEUs that provide learning activities related to nursing practice within the last two (2) years and which adhere to the following guidelines: (I) Courses shall be relevant to the applicant's primary area of nursing practice; (II) Fifty (50) minutes of theory is equivalent to one (1) CEU; and

·    Chapter 2 Section 13.8 proposes that if an applicant has not practiced nursing during the last five (5) years, applicant shall: (I) Successfully complete a refresher course or the equivalent, accepted by the Board; (II) Successfully complete a nursing education program which confers a degree beyond the licensee’s basic nursing education; (III) Obtain certification by a nationally recognized professional accrediting agency in a specialty area of nursing that is accepted by the Board.

Click here to review all the draft proposed changes for Chapters 2 and 5.

WNA requested a public hearing. WSBN will hold this hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 22^nd at 12:00 pm. The location of the hearing will be the Board of Medicine Board Room (entrance on South side of building), 130 Hobbs Ave, Cheyenne.

Participants can attend the hearing either: 

1. In person, or
2. Remotely, by accessing a Google Hangouts Meet link (email lori.cook@wyo.gov or call Lori at 307-777-3425 for the video link), or by dialing +1 478 419 0170 PIN: 2235# 
   

On Monday, November 13^th, during Nurse Practitioners Week, Governor Matt Mead signed the Wyoming Nurse Practitioner Proclamation, celebrating the contributions that Wyoming APRNs make to health care every day.  

The Wyoming Council for Advanced Practice Nursing (WCAPN) membership elected four positions to the WCAPN Board of Directors at the Annual Membership meeting on Saturday, October 14, 2017 in Casper. The term for the newly elected Board members began in October 2017 and they will serve through October 2019. 

The current Board of Directors now includes:

·    Colleen Butler, President, 2017-2018

·    Margaret A. Easley, President-elect, 2017-2018

·    Amy Gruwell, Past President, 2017-2018

·    Kelly Eckes, Treasurer, 2017-2019 (newly elected)

·    Colby Butler, Secretary, 2016-2018

·    Sarah Frank, Member-at-Large, 2017-2019 (newly elected)

·    Shala Swarm, Member-at-Large, 2016-2018

·    Velvet Maureen Hiser, Member-at-Large, 2017-2019 (newly elected)

·    Alicia LePard, Member-at-Large, 2016-2018

·    Maria Kidner, AANP Representative

Congratulations to Nancy Potter who was awarded the Pinnacle Award at the recent WCAPN Conference! Nancy has been a nurse for 54 years and was one of the early Nurse Practitioners in Wyoming and she introduced many patient to the role of an NP/APRN. As a Women’s Health NP, Nancy as touched the lives of not only her patients, but students and APRN’s across the state. She has been a long-standing preceptor for students from multiple programs. Nancy has practiced in the private practice setting with a physician, Planned Parenthood and was a nurse owned private practice owner. She not only managed her private practice, but was a mentor to others who were looking to start independent practices. She carried the respect of the medical community in Casper as an expert in GYN procedures and received referrals from local MD’s, NP’s and PA’s and was always up to date on the current recommendations and used evidence based guidelines to guide her practice. Her patients loved her care, followed her, and was disappointed when she decided to retire. Even though Nancy has retired from her private practice clinic, she still maintains her membership with our organization and attends CEU events. She is truly dedicated to our profession and has made a lasting impression on patients and healthcare providers in Wyoming. We have been fortunate to have her in our profession! 

The Wyoming Council for Advance Practice Nurses (WCAPN) will be electing four positions to the WCAPN Board of Directors: President Elect, Treasurer, and (2) Member At Large. The term for each will begin October 2017 and serve through October 2019.

The candidates for the Board of Directors are:

President Elect

·       Margaret A. Easley, RN, MSN, FNP-C; Lander

Treasurer

·       Kelly Eckes, DNP, FNP-C, CNRN; Casper

Member At Large (elect 2)

·       Sarah Frank, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, CPNP; Casper

·       Velvet Maureen Hiser, FNP-C; Casper

All current and valid members have received instructions via a September 13, 2017 email on how to access their official electronic ballot. All members are asked to complete an electronic  ballot by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27, 2017.

Election results will be announced during the Annual Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 14, 2017 in Casper.