The 2023 Session of the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1147 and House Bill 1426 which authorize the Board of Medicine to select a continuing education (CE) topic of up to 2 hours in satisfaction of the CE requirement for the renewal of a license. At its October 19, 2023 meeting, the full Board of Medicine thoroughly discussed this new law. It was noted that if the Board chose to implement the law, the first topic would be Human Trafficking. The Board voted to require 1 hour of CE in Human Trafficking for all licensees for the 2024-2025 renewal cycles. The only exception to this requirement is surgical technologists, who are certified not licensed. The Board has the responsibility of notifying its licensees of this requirement prior to January 1 of the next renewal cycle. Please consider this and the recent email to be your notification. Upon your renewal, you will need to attest to the fact that you obtained 1 hour of CE in Human Trafficking. There is excellent online information at no cost on the website of The Polaris Project. Go to https://polarisproject.org/. Select Human Trafficking from the menu at the top of the homepage. It provides information about “Understanding Human Trafficking”, “Recognizing Human Trafficking”, “Myths, Facts and Statistics”, “Policy & Legislation”, “Resources and Reports”. You can keep clicking through the modules to accumulate an hour of CE. Under “Recognizing Human Trafficking”, you will find “Human Trafficking Training” that has 6 modules. Polaris is a recommendation, but you may utilize another reputable site that provides high-quality content. A Colorado physician that has maintained his Virginia license complied with the requirement within hours of getting the recent notification. His comment was, “I just want to say that the Human Trafficking module was the most unforgettable training experience I have ever been mandated to complete by a state medical board.

Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on Mpox, Measles, and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Updates for Virginia.

This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.

Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on respiratory disease in Virginia.

This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.

VCNP President, Olivia Newby, is quoted in an article ranking the best jobs in 2024. NPs took the top in THREE categories!

The VCNP Blue Ridge President, Judy Jenks, was quoted in the article, “General Assembly leaders tout collaboration, compromise in Roanoke forum” while attending a Roanoke legislative event with local representatives.

VCNP is excited to share that VCNP’s Immediate Past President, Rebekah “Becky” Compton is a recipient of the 2024 AANP Nurse Practitioner State Award for Excellence. Congratulations, Becky!

Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on Mpox.

This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.

Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on Syphilis guidelines.

This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.

Virginia Department of Health distributed the letter below sharing an update on respiratory diseases in Virginia.

This information is also available on the VDH Resources for Health Care Professionals web page.

VCNP member Rosie Taylor-Lewis provided a commentary in the Virginia Mercury titled, “Nurse practitioners can help increase Virginians’ access to behavioral health care.”