Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) are masters or doctoral level prepared nurses with rigorous theoretical and clinical preparation who provide primary, acute or specialty care services to various patient populations. APNs are licensed independent practitioners who provide and coordinate either primary or specialty patient care, as cited by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States. There are four different types of advanced practice nurses:Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Midwives, Nurse Anesthetists and Clinical Nurse Specialists. In order to work in any of these roles, a nurse must complete an applicable academic program and may undertake the national board certification.

National Association of Indian Nurses of America (NAINA), a minority nurses organization for nurses of Indian origin, embraces the key message from the Institute of Medicine report (IOM), The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health released on October 5th, 2010 which states that:

a) Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training

b) Achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education

system that promotes seamless academic progression

c) Should be full partners with physicians and other healthcare professionals in redesigning health care in United States.

Additionally, the aging American population places higher demand on the expanding need of clinically competent APNs. The health care providers, policy makers, and payers find that utilization of APNs is crucial when there isshortage of primary care physicians. There is also increasing healthcare demand with the nation’s population growth and aging patients with multiple chronic diseases. APNs deliver cost effective comprehensive healthcare, blending their clinical expertise in preventive care, diagnosing and treating the health conditions, and managing chronic diseases.

The APN forum was established under NAINA in 2015 with the goal of uniting all the APNs of Indian origin under the leadership of then NAINA president Sara Gabriel, MSN, RN, MBA. The committee was chaired by Lydia Albuquerque, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC, CCRN. The dedicated session for APNs during the NAINA’s 5th biennial educational conference held at Chicago in 2016, waswell received and applauded by the attendees.

The goal of APN forum is to provide a culturally sensitive platform to APNs, where they can receive mentorship, networkingand professional development opportunities, to render culturally competent, holistic and compassionate care to the populations they serve. The APNs will also be a strong voice for policy changes in areas of health disparities affecting the aging population of Indian origin through evidence based research.

Clinical Excellence Conference 2017

NAINA has planned a clinical excellence conference, which is being hosted by the Indian American Nurses Association of Greater Houston on Dec 2nd, 2017 with the theme “Advancing Health through Excellence in Clinical Practice”. This conference is designed for all registered nurses at various levels of practice, physician assistants, and nursing students.

The conference will focus on important clinical issues faced by healthcare professionals and will offer didactic lectures and focused discussions based on evidence-based practice guidelines. There will be presentation of scientific posters depicting original research or process improvement projects. These posters will give the presenters means to showcase their scientific inquiry, clinical excellence and crucial research literacy skills.

The 2017 clinical Excellence conference is planned under the leadership of the current president Dr. Jackie Michael, PhD, APRN, WHNP-BC, and the conference chairperson Lydia Albuquerque, MSN, RN, ACNP-BC, CCRN(NAINA) and Acamma Kallel, MSN, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN (Houston). The APN forum has representatives from each state and has been instrumental in planning this conference. The planning committee has worked together to put an educational program with continuing nursing education hours. More information about this conference can be viewed at www.nainausa.com.

Please contact:

Lydia Albuquerque: lydia170461@yahoo.com/AccammaKallel: accamma kallel@gmail.com