Practical tips and resources from APNA Annual Conference 2025
What are you still talking about from the APNA Annual Conference?
The practical tips and resources from sessions and posters?
The networks and connections you made, built, and reinforced?
The fun?
Maybe it’s all of the above! Maybe it’s something below!
The four days this October at the premiere event for psychiatric-mental health nurses were filled with valuable information for attendees to soak in and take back to their work, bridging the gap between knowledge and application in the real world. Plus, the APNA Annual Conference featured sessions to fill your cup!
Practical tips & resources: Connecting information to practice
Joyce Shea, APNA Immediate Past President
“PMH nurses, by virtue of their roots in caring and the therapeutic relationship, are uniquely positioned to lead the way to care excellence.”
— Joyce Shea, APNA Immediate Past President, from the President’s Address: Empowered to Innovate and Collaborate: PMH Nurses Shaping Care Excellence
“We tend to treat insomnia as a symptom, but untreated chronic insomnia is an independent risk factor for cardiometabolic disease, mood disorders, and even early mortality. So this is not just about helping someone fall asleep — it’s about preventing long-term harm.”
— Mark Crawford, MSN, PMHNP-BC from the Saturday session Pharmacologic Management of Sleep Disorders in Psychiatric Patients (also led by Leslie Laine, MSN, PMHNP-BC; Brianna Swanson, MSN, PMHNP-BC)
Gabrielle Abelard
“Equipping PMHNPs with practical tools supports effective navigation of reimbursement systems and practice growth.”
In the session “Cracking the Code: Mastering Billing and Documentation for PMHNP Practice Success,” Gabrielle Abelard explained that gaps in billing knowledge cause underutilization of key CPT codes which equals missed reimbursement opportunities. And that loss calculates to 15% on the dollar or $30 per hour lost reimbursement.
From the session, “An Interprofessional Approach to the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Psychiatric Nursing,” from Andrea Kwasky DNP, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC; Martin Leever PhD; Phillip Olla PhD; and Mary Serowoky DNP, FNP-BC:
- AI enhances patient education, generates messages, and transcribes notes. AI Scribe tools streamline documentation, freeing up clinician time for patient care.
- Concerns include data privacy, algorithmic bias, and transparency in AI’s background operations. Ensuring human oversight and ethical AI creation is crucial for patient safety.
Beyond the resources
It’s not always about the learning at the APNA Annual Conference. It’s also about connecting with your why, opening your mind, and getting refreshed before returning to practice.
See pictures from the event on Facebook!
Swipe a carousel from the event on Instagram!
Keynote Allison Massari helped inspire APNA Annual Conference attendees. Massari shared her journey of recovery after sustaining severe burns in a car accident and how she found resilience and strength. Her words Friday morning highlighted how compassion can change everything, and that healing requires presence, empathy, and hope. She said: “Compassionate care isn’t just about being kind. Being an expert at your job is compassionate care.”
November 2025
>>> Hear the sessions for yourself and earn contact hours! APNA 39th Annual Conference Sessions will be available in the elearning center soon. Attendees: Keep an eye on your inbox!
>>> Present your innovation to PMH nurses at the APNA 40th Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona in October 2026. The Call for Abstracts opens next month!
