Seattle U Dean to Keynote Consortium's Fall Conference

Kristen M. Swanson, RN, PhD, FAAN, Dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University will be the keynote speaker at the Nursing Consortium of South Florida's Fall Education Conference.  Expanding Nursing Roles to Enhance the Quality and Excellence of Care Delivery, will take place at the Signature Grand on September 25, 2015.    Please click here to register at the early bird rates. The day-long conference will feature three afternoon tracks; (1) Continuance of Care - Transitional Health - Population Care, (2) Barriers to Practice - Scope of Practice, and (3) Academic-Practice Partnerships - Innovative Degree Offerings. The Consortium’s last two conferences have sold out well in advance.  Don't be left out this time around. Reserve your spot by registering today! Only a few sponsor/exhibitor opportunities remain.  Please click here for details.

Day in the Life of a Nurse scheduled for November 13, 2015

2015 will mark the sixteenth continuous year that the Nursing Consortium of South Florida organizes Day in the Life of a Nurse, an event that last year spanned five counties and included more than 1,000 participating students.  All South Florida hospitals and nursing schools are encouraged to serve as hosting locations this year. "One Profession, Many Careers" is the program theme for 2015 as we look forward to impress on area youth the growing number of career options for nurses and the unique opportunities that nurses have over other professionals in achieving work-life balance.  The Nursing Consortium of South Florida has prepared a best practices toolkit for hosting facilities available by clicking here.  Facilities interested in hosting students should send an email to Joanne Masella at Joanne_Masella@pba.edu or Maggie Hansen at mhansen@mhs.net.

Florida Action Coalition Leadership Study finds Succession Planning Needed

A study published in the Journal of Nursing Administration by the Florida Action Coalition State Implementation Project of actively licensed Florida RNs and advanced nurse practitioners who are current and emerging nurse leaders identified participant perceptions about (1) the availability of resources to develop nurse leaders in the state, (2) the top 3 leadership competencies needed for success in today’s healthcare environment, (3) barriers to nurses attaining leadership roles, (4) interest and/or current experience in leadership, (5) participation on task forces and/or boards at the agency, community, or state level, (6) how they attained their leadership role, (7) current span of control if in leadership, (8) retirement plans, and (8) leadership succession planning in their organizations. More than 3,000 surveys were completed by licensed RNs and nurse practitioners in the state, including 1,354 of whom reported being in formal leadership roles in their organizations in acute care, community-based, long-term-care, and academic settings The study, funded through grants by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Florida Blue Foundation, found that Florida nurse leaders are aging and less diverse than the general population, and that healthcare organizations are making  limited utilization of succession planning to identify and prepare future nurse leaders.  The Florida Action Coalition will use the findings from the survey to promote leadership succession planning in the state as well as focus on strategies to increase the diversity among nurse leaders through a planned diversity think tank.

CMS announces phase 2 bundled payment initiative participants

A total of 360 organizations have entered agreements with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assume financial risk for an episode of care during the second phase of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative, the agency announced last week. The awardees have partnered with 1,755 post-acute care providers, hospitals and physician group practices who participate as “episode initiators” but do not bear risk directly. The initiative is testing four bundled payment models for hospital and/or post-acute care in an effort to better coordinate care and reduce costs. CMS required participants to transition at least one episode of care to the risk-bearing phase by July 1. For more on the initiative and participants, please click here.

Hospitals encouraged to complete survey on employee wellness programs

The American Hospital Association’s Health Research & Educational Trust affiliate is surveying hospitals about their employee health and wellness programs to identify best practices for promoting employees’ health. The confidential survey was mailed last month to all hospital CEOs for completion by Aug. 31. Participating hospitals will receive a summary of the survey findings. For more information, contact Kevin Kenward at (312) 422-2634 or kkenward@aha.org.

Consortium announces 2nd Nursing Leadership Development Conference at Sea

The Nursing Consortium of South Florida's second Sea-E-You™ conference, Awakening the Leader Within – Empowering Nurses across the Career Spectrum, will be held aboard the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas April 14-18, 2016. This unique 10 contact hours leadership development program will feature six co-facilitated educational seminars and four facilitated roundtable discussions in a unique setting to enhance the opportunity of nurses at all levels to formally and informally engage senior nurse leaders and aspiring nurse leaders while enjoying the four-night weekend cruise aboard a five star cruise ship. Seminar topics will include (1)Understanding the Leader Within, (2) Setting the Team up for Success, (3) Achieving Objectives through Co-constructed Solutions, (4) Facilitating Evidenced-based Practice and Teaching, (5) Successfully making the Leap from Practice to Education to Practice, and (6) Enhancing Team Dynamics and performance in Good times and Bad. Whether you are or aspire to be a leader in a clinical or academic setting this is a wonderful opportunity to build your competency and your network, and have a great time doing it! For additional information, including super early-bird pricing and cabin rates please click here or call 800-422-0711. For information on the limited number of sponsor opportunities available, please click here.

FCN Biennial Employer Surveys Due!

Since 2007, the Florida Center for Nursing (Center) has collected, analyzed, and reported on data regarding the demand for nurses in Florida. Every two years, the Center surveys the industries which employ the great majority of LPNs, RNs, and ARNPs in Florida, including hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, hospices, public health departments, home health agencies, and skilled nursing facilities. The survey gathers information about the number of employees, vacancies, separations, anticipated new positions, and difficult to fill positions. “The Nursing Consortium of South Florida strongly encourages all CNOs to complete and return completed surveys to the Center as soon as possible.  The Center uses the data to calculate estimates of current statewide nurse vacancies and demand for the upcoming year – information that is critical for strategic decision making in health workforce planning, policy development, and budgetary allocations.” noted Consortium president Steve Seeley. For more information on the Center and to view previously published reports on Florida’s demand for nurses, please click here. To obtain a survey or if you have questions regarding the survey, please contact Marie-Hortence Prosper at Marie.Prosper@ucf.edu or 407-823-0984.

CCPS Placement Cycle Dates for Spring/Summer 2016

The Nursing Consortium of South Florida has set the dates for scheduling Spring and Summer 2016 nursing and allied health student clinical experiences via the Centralized Clinical Placement System (CCPS).   

August 31, 2015 - September 6, 2015: Clinical Agencies extend their end dates to August 14, 2016 (global edit) to update unit availability.

September 8, 2015 - September 20, 2015: Schools submit their placement requests for Spring/Summer 2016 clinicals.

September 21, 2015 - October 2, 2015: Clinical Agencies respond to their placement requests.

The CCPS greatly facilitates the scheduling of clinical experiences in South Florida, significantly saving staff time, while creating greater transparency and making communication more efficient.  The CCPS has also enabled increase placements as the system makes it easy to find unclaimed clinical space.  For more information please click here or contact Susan Medina at ccps@nursingconsortium.us or (561) 633-5574.

NIH: More than one in 10 adults report chronic pain

An estimated 25.3 million adults (11.2%) suffer from daily pain, according to a new analysis of data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. More than half of adults (56%) reported some pain in the three months before the survey. Adults in the two most severe pain groups were likely to have worse health status, use more health care and suffer from more disability than those with less severe pain, according to the study. “This analysis adds valuable new scope to our understanding of pain and could inform the National Pain Strategy in the areas of population research and disparities,” said Josephine Briggs, M.D., director of National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which funded the study. “It may help shape future research, development and targeting of effective pain interventions, including complementary health approaches.” The study was published in The Journal of Pain.