American Psychiatric Nurses Association Announces Newly-Elected Members of Board of Directors
Falls Church, VA (PRWEB) July 29, 2014 -- The American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) is pleased to announce the results of the 2014 APNA Elections. The following newly-elected members will begin their terms on the APNA Board of Directors at the APNA 28th Annual Conference, October 22-25, in Indianapolis, Indiana:
Mary Ann Nihart - President-Elect
Susan Dawson – Treasurer
Wailua Brandman – Member-at-Large
Leslie Oleck – Member-at-Large
"The APNA Board of Directors is a solid group committed to psychiatric-mental health nursing and our association,” says APNA President Patricia Cunningham, DNSc, APRN, BC. “Each of these members brings a valuable perspective and extensive experience to the table – we look forward to working together.”
President-Elect Mary Ann Nihart, MA, APRN, PMHCNS-BC, PMHNP-BC is currently Chief Nurse, Mental Health and Critical Care Services, at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, as well as Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco. In addition to extensive involvement in the association, her work in psychiatric-nursing has included authoring the first American Nurses Association Guidelines for Psychopharmacology in Psychiatric Nursing, presenting to Congress on women’s issues in mental health, and developing curriculum for the National Initiative for Reduction of Seclusion and Restraint.
“Commitment, collaboration, and community represent essential values in meeting the challenges facing healthcare,” says Nihart. “My passion is psychiatric-mental health nursing; it’s in my soul. I have a commitment to the evolving role of psychiatric-mental health nurses and those who chose this complex specialty. APNA provides a framework, voice, and outlet for my commitment.”
Susan Dawson, EdD, PMHCNS/NP-BC, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at a community mental health agency, will be serving her second term as Treasurer. Likewise, Wailua Brandman, MSN, APRN-Rx, PMHCNS/NP-BC, FAANP and Leslie Oleck, MSN, PMHCNS-BC, LMFT will both be returning to the Board as Members-at-Large for the second time. Brandman is currently Clinical Director of Ke`ena Mauliola Nele Paia in Hawaii and Oleck is a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist at Indiana University Health Physicians Behavioral Care.
The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is a national professional membership organization committed to the specialty practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing and wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems, and the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric disorders. APNA’s membership is inclusive of all psychiatric-mental health registered nurses, including associate degree, baccalaureate, advanced practice (comprised of clinical nurse specialists and psychiatric nurse practitioners), and nurse scientists and academicians (PhD). APNA serves as a resource for psychiatric mental health nurses to engage in networking, education, and the dissemination of research.
Meaghan Trimyer, American Psychiatric Nurses Association, http://www.apna.org, +1 571-533-1931, [email protected]
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