Rebekah “Becky” Compton, DNP, RN, FNP-BC
President, VCNP Board of Directors

Updated October 7, 2020

Thank you to everyone who has continued to answer the weekly COVID surveys supported by the Larry A. Green Center. The data allows the opportunity to compare the VCNP member results to state and national results and then share NP practice-specific results in a weekly summary. Your data has fed over 150 articles supporting primary care (with 200 million impressions) and has been used by at least eight national professional organizations to advocate for you on Capitol Hill.

We have continued to provide regular member emails to provide COVID and legislative related updates, including resources for both our members and our patients. I hope you have found these informational and helpful. This past month we focused on personal well-being. We know that, unfortunately, depression has increased threefold since the start of the pandemic. Health care providers aren’t exempt from those statistics, and we need to attend to our personal well-being now more than ever. You will see the various resources in prior member emails and on social media. We have also provided a quick link in the “News” section on our website.

During the special session we attempted to maintain the reduction of practice hours to obtain autonomous practice to two years years, as supported by Executive Order 57. While we were not successful at making that a permanent change, we are awaiting a budget amendment so that this will remain in effect until the end of the pandemic. I would like to give a big shout out to Delegate Dawn Adams who has remained a constant supporter of and advocate for NPs during this legislative session. This is just one of the many benefits we can see from supporting the VCNP PAC, so we can continue to provide monetary support to those who can assist us in making the necessary changes to reduce and remove barriers to practice. Please consider donating to the PAC!

Another bit of exciting news is our growing partnership with other APP organizations around Virginia, including the Physician Assistants, Nurse Midwives, Nurse Anesthetists, and Certified Nurse Specialists. Thank you, VCNP Lynchburg member and Government Relations Committee member Katie Page, CNM, FACNM, who helped spear head these conversations, which now occur monthly, during which we share updates and provide support to one another. These connections allow for us to be stronger together. This past month our government relations chairs, lobbyists, and Janet Wall from the VNA attended our virtual meeting. The collaboration is encouraging and exciting!

In an effort to reach non-members and share information about our association, VCNP created a membership video. This video was most recently shared at the VNA Fall Conference and will be part of future membership and public relations efforts.

Thank you for renewing your VCNP membership! Renewal applications were sent in mid-August and included several updates to grow our association.

Several VCNP regions have scheduled regional legislative receptions. For more information about these events, visit the VCNP calendar.

Virtual meetings are here to stay for a bit longer (so keep switching up your virtual backgrounds!). We have held both the June and October Board meetings virtually and will do so again in January. Changing our Board meeting venues to virtual has allowed us to maintain a commitment to keep NPs, their families, and patients safe during pandemic as well as, an effort to be fiscally responsible with association funds. I am so grateful to all of our Board members who have so willingly donated their time to meet and move our organization forward and provide support and resources to VCNP membership. We have such a committed group of Board leaders constantly working behind the scenes. Thank you!

During our Board meeting, the Board reviewed the format of the 2021 VCNP Annual Conference. Check out our 2021 VCNP Annual Conference page for more information.

The VCNP Board of Directors also finalized our association’s plan for the next year. COVID has impacted our way of functioning, but our association leaders are committed to providing member resources and supporting opportunities for growth. Thank you to the Board for working on this plan to grow our association. Check out the website for ongoing updates to the members’ side of the website and let us know what other changes would be helpful!

VCNP is committed to supporting our Brown/Black and African American colleagues and organized a continuing education opportunity scheduled for mid-September. “Moving Toward Racial Equity in Healthcare” has been postponed because the speaker welcomed a sweet baby boy a bit earlier than expected. Dr. Johnson is still committed to providing this CE event for us and we will be rescheduling as soon as mom and baby have some time to find their new rhythm of life.

Time to celebrate! NP Week is November 8-14. While we know that plans this year will take on a new look, we hope that you will find some unique ways to celebrate. Your hard work for your patients and your families has not gone unnoticed. We appreciate your efforts and commitment, despite various challenges that so many have faced this year. Please share your local and regional plans! You can post event details on the website calendar and share information and pictures on regional website pages and social media platforms.

Speaking of celebrations, we now have over 1,000 NPs in our state with Autonomous Practice Licensure!! That is awesome!! Thank you to everyone who has submitted their application. For those of you considering, please reach out to me if you have any questions on how this might benefit or affect your practice. Here are just a few benefits: future volunteer opportunities, securing future opportunities for other NPs, allows us to demonstrate our commitment to removing practice barriers, and can maintain your ability to practice despite changes in collaborating physician employment status.

Rebekah “Becky” Compton, DNP, RN, FNP-BC
President, VCNP Board of Directors
president@vcnp.net

“Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.”

– Lady Bird Johnson