Upcoming Events

The Nursing Foundation of Pennsylvania (NFP), a supporting organization of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA), is now accepting scholarship applications. The following scholarships will be awarded:

• Florence (Madden) Grady-Fasick Scholarship Fund: The Florence (Madden) Grady-Fasick Scholarship Fund exists to provide scholarships to students demonstrating financial need in the pursuit of a nursing degree. Funds are for nursing students in their second semester or more of nursing school. This fund awards five $2,000 scholarships per year.
• NFP Future Nurse Leader Scholarship: NFP Future Nurse Leader Scholarship exists to provide scholarships to students demonstrating leadership skills in their pursuit of a nursing degree. Funds are for full-time nursing students in an accredited BSN program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This fund awards two $1,000 scholarships per year.
• Jack E. Barger, Sr. Memorial Nursing Scholarship Fund: The recipient must be at least one of the following: active duty service member, U.S. veteran, child/spouse of a veteran, or active duty service member. Recipients must be a resident of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate student. This fund awards six $1,000 scholarships per year.
• The Alumni Association Scholarship Fund of the Former Albert Einstein Medical Center – Nursing School of Philadelphia: This fund provides scholarships to students demonstrating financial need in the pursuit of a nursing degree, whether baccalaureate, graduate, or post-graduate. This fund awards five $2,000 scholarships per year.

For application requirements or to submit your application, visit www.theNFP.org/scholarships.

Applications must be received by March 30, 2019. All applications must be submitted electronically via NFP’s website. Questions can be directed to PSNA/NFP Chief of Staff Jennifer Neidig at [email protected]. To learn more about NFP, visit www.theNFP.org. NFP is organized and operated to support the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association’s (PSNA) efforts to enhance nursing and healthcare.

This is about you!

PSNA is proud to present the 2021 Virtual Summit Standing Together: Caring for Each Other. On September 24, 2021, participants will be given an opportunity to lean into their many experiences and emotions over the past year. As we know, many studies have concluded that in 2020 nurses faced significant challenges to their mental health. Take better care of yourself and your colleagues as we learn to cope and heal from the challenges of Covid- 19 under the guidance and insight of our expert and engaging speakers. According to the American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics, self-care is our responsibility. If we aren’t caring for ourselves, we can’t care for others. The PSNA Virtual Summit is an opportunity for learners to replenish their capacity to provide compassion and empathy, while improving the quality of care they provide every day. Take time for yourself, because you’ve earned it!

Click here for the day’s agenda.

exVo User Manual

5.0 contact hours can be earned by full participation in the entire event.

Pennsylvania State Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Cost to Attend

PSNA Member

• $79 Member Benefit – Early Bird Special through July 9
• $99 Member Pricing – July 10 through September 17

 Non-PSNA Member

• $149

 Unlicensed Student

• $49

Click here for Sponsorship Packages and Exhibitor Booths

Meet our Speakers

KEYNOTE: Carolyn Jones | President and CEO, Carolyn Jones Production

Celebrating Nurses: A Filmmaker Witnesses Our World

Carolyn Jones—author and filmmaker behind The American Nurse Project and Defining Hope—spent over 10 years documenting the work of nurses across the country, a journey that led her to conclude that “without them, we don’t stand a chance.” That was before the global coronavirus pandemic that has thrust our nation’s nurses even further onto the frontlines of healthcare, addressing our physical and emotional needs before sending us back out into the world. When COVID hit, she had an opportunity to see what emergency nurses were dealing with on the front lines of the pandemic. In this session, Jones will share excerpts and stories from her book The American Nurse, and her three documentary films, including the recently released In Case of Emergency, shedding light on some of the biggest health care challenges facing Americans today—from the opioid crisis to gun violence to behavioral health and lack of insurance—and the ways in which nurses are able to tackle them head-on.

Carolyn Jones is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker who has devoted her career to celebrating invisible populations and breaking down barriers. She has published multiple books include Living Proof: Courage in the Face of AIDS and The American Nurse, and directed three feature documentaries focused on nurses: The American Nurse, Defining Hope, and most recently In Case of Emergency, which focuses on our nation’s biggest public health challenges—from COVID-19 to the lack of health insurance to the devastating impact of the opioid crisis.

FEATURED SPEAKER: Gloria Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, FCPP

Overcoming Secondary Stress: Self Care and Resilience in Nursing Practice

Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN, FCPP, is a longstanding proponent of self-care and resilience-building strategies, beginning with her book, Coping with Stress: RN’s Survival Sourcebook Medical Economics Press (1983), and, most recently, with Dr. R. Wicks, Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice (2021). As editor in chief of the refereed journal, Holistic Nursing Practice, she encourages the practice of holistic self-care modalities to nurture mind, body, and spirit. Dr. Donnelly is also Dean Emerita and Professor Emerita with the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia. True to her quest for personal resilience, Dr. Donnelly is a stand-up comedian, using her comedic talents to raise funds to assist nursing and health professions’ students. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Philadelphia College of Physicians, the oldest medical society in the United States.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented strains on healthcare professionals, particularly direct care providers and the institutions in which they work. High levels of stress among direct care providers are well documented by the American Nurses Association and have been widely reported in the media and literature, including levels of depression, anxiety, and suicide. Demands on nurse educators have also increased as in-person instruction converted to other formats and clinical sites discontinued student experiences. This presentation will focus on secondary stress — that extra layer of stress that results from the demands of caring for others. Self-awareness and intentionally designed self-care strategies are key in building resilience, some of which will be described in this session.

Grief, Fear, and Loss
Christopher Watts, Sr., PhD, LPC, NCC
Board Certified Counselor, National Certified Custody Evaluator, Licensed Professional Counselor (PA)

Dr. Christopher T. Watts, Sr. has taught in the Department of Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University since 2012. He is a frequent international keynote presenter and trainer on Eastern therapies, post-trauma healing, hate and bias crimes, victimology, and multicultural competencies. Dr. Watts is the clinical director of C.T. Watts & Associates, PC Counseling Education Center, a lead counseling clinic in Central Pennsylvania. Past appointments include director of the Triage and Evaluation Center, Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute and Assistant Professor of Psychology, Temple University. Dr. Watts has consulted on many national research and curriculum projects on cross-ethnic approaches to death, dying, and bereavement; hate violence; multiculturalism; violence against women; and crime victim rights and services.

Mind on the Mend©
Marti G. Derr, MSN, RN, CNE
Associate Professor of Nursing, Clinical Track, Messiah University

Marti G. Derr’s presentation is an opportunity to learn and practice strategies for creating an inner space for quietness and restoration in the midst of our chaotic lives. Marti has taught nursing for 28 years after 12 years of private practice in therapy. Her primary focus has been psychiatric nursing, bioethics, and leadership. As a trained spiritual director, Marti values the integration of body, mind, and spirit.

Step-by-Step: Processing Trauma and Moving Forward After Trauma
Karen Foli, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor of Nursing, Purdue University, College of Health and Human Sciences

Karen Foli is leading Purdue researchers in identifying at-risk nurses and finding ways for healing and recovery through the concept of insufficient resource trauma and the middle range theory of nurses’ psychological trauma. She is the co-author of The Influence of Psychological Trauma in Nursing. Karen is reviewing data with colleagues, using narratives from a survey of critical care registered nurses, which was sent out in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses are reporting significant mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and symptoms that would indicate posttraumatic stress disorder. Previous ways to cope have been weakened as teams struggle to provide care and grieve incredible patient loss.

Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation
Alison Cuccia, MSPH
Research and Program Manager, American Nurses Association

Alison Cuccia is a public health researcher with expertise in health behavior and program evaluation. She is published in peer reviewed journals on behavioral science approaches to tobacco control, access to healthier food options, and creating active communities. This presentation will review the framework and components of Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation and display preliminary data from the Healthy Nurse survey. The presentation will also overview the Well-Being Initiative, which contains a collection of resources to support the mental health and resilience of all nurses.