President’s Message:

Inspiring Others Who INSPIRE Us

Dear ISPN Members,

As we move into summer in the northern hemisphere, I reflect on the success of our most recent annual conference held in New Orleans, LA this past March. If you were not able to attend, we had nearly 200 in attendance with over 46 educational sessions and 30 poster presentations. We also had 2 amazing preconference sessions which focused on psychotherapy and psychopharmacology as well as 4 high impact keynote speakers. Special thanks to all the conference committee members and especially the conference chair: Dr. Gabrielle P. Abelard on organizing another amazing conference. I would like to say that I was able to say Hi to everyone at the 2025 conference but I don’t think I met that goal. I am hoping I can connect with everyone at our 2026 conference.

As we navigate the evolving landscape of psychiatric-mental health care, I am continually INSPIRED by the dedication and resilience each of you brings to our profession. Psychiatric-mental health advanced practice nurses are at the forefront of addressing the complex needs of our communities, and our collective efforts are making a profound impact. 

ISPN’s strategic direction remains focused on serving as an indispensable resource for professional development, fostering collaboration, and advocating for policies that enhance psychiatric-mental health services worldwide. By emphasizing inclusivity, integrity, and empowerment, we aim to create an environment where every member feels valued and supported. 

Recent initiatives have highlighted the importance of integrating research, practice, policy and education to address emerging challenges, such as workforce shortages and the psychiatric-mental health needs of diverse populations. Because of this ISPN will be holding a listening session on June 10th at 5:30pm (CST). Please mark your calendars to attend as we hope to have multiple sessions at different times to maximize the availability of all ISPN members.

The ISPN board continues to move forward with the development of a Fellows of ISPN committee. This was started with Dr Barb Peterson, past ISPN president and announced at the business meeting at the 2025 annual conference. This initiative has been met with continued support by members and will require a change to the ISPN bylaws. Look for an email with more information on how to vote for this bylaw change and then more information on how you can become a Fellow in ISPN.

Lastly as your ISPN president I look to have periodic member spotlights. My first one was with Dr. Emily Hauenstein (link to video on website) who shared her inspirational career in advancing psychiatric-mental health research. As I move through my year as your ISPN president I want to highlight more ISPN members. Through these difficult and trying times I believe that focusing on the light of that which INSPIREs us to keep us all focused on what is important. Please reach out to me to volunteer your own story or the story of your colleague that INSPIREs you. To all have a wonderful summer season and

thanks to all for being the foundation of ISPN.

**I** - Involve patients

**N** - Nurture therapeutic relationships

**S** - Support recovery

**P** - Promote mental wellness

**I** - Integrate holistic approaches

**R** - Respect individuality

**E** - Empower through education

Warm regards,

Dan Wesemann, DNP, MSW, PMHNP-BC, APRN, FAANP

President, ISPN

Administrative changes and the challenges presented by the proposed 2026 fiscal year (FY) budget that impact nursing and mental health care and research are highlighted below to inform members and inspire individual action. 

Although Shannon Zenk, the Director of NINR, has been replaced with a temporary director in advance of proposed institute mergers, the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) has extended an appeal to nurses to urge their legislators to reject the proposal to eliminate NINR stressing that investment in nursing research is an investment in the health and wellbeing of all Americans. To strengthen the appeal to your Representative/Senator you can go to the NINR website and review the research contributions of nurse researchers (As of this writing they remain). You can use this government website to locate your specific contacts (https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/).

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been effectively eliminated with a 90% personnel cut. This includes the elimination of the division that certifies PPE - like N95 respirators for healthcare workers, Firefighters Cancer Registry, World Trade Center worker health program, Coal miners’ screening, etc. NCC notes this will be devastating for the health and safety of the workforce.  

JAMA (Liu et al., 2025) reports that 694 grants totaling $1.8 billion dollars have been terminated across 24 of 26 institutes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The largest number is from NIMH (n=128) with the largest proportion from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (n=77, 30%). NINR lost 19 of 379 grants (5%) 

The Mental Health Liaison Group reported that House Speaker Johnson plans to complete the budget for FY26 by Memorial Day. Of major concern are the proposed multibillion dollar cuts to Medicaid, the largest provider of mental health in the U.S.(https://modernmedicaid.org/). Recent town hall meetings illustrate the effectiveness of individuals contacting their representatives and urging them to vote no. This can be done via the internet as well. Sharing stories of stress regarding cuts to mental health is effective. An argument for cuts is to address waste, fraud and abuse, however, study demonstrates that true fraud is by providers, not patients. The Kaiser Family Foundation is another excellent resource (Medicaid Watch | KFF).

Both the ANA and American Association of Colleges of Nursing provide information to support advocacy on these and other areas, including workforce development. 

Liu, M., Kadakia, K. T., Patel, V. R., & Krumholz, H. M. (2025, May 08). Characterization of research grant terminations at the National Institutes of Health. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.7707

Pam Galehouse

Policy Committee Chair

We are currently seeking volunteers to contribute to ISPN's growth by joining the following committees/positions:

• Awards
• Membership
• Communications & Marketing
• Social Media Poster

If you are interested in helping ISPN advance in any of these areas, please complete this brief form.

ISPN uses the information you provide in your profile in many ways. Please take a few moments and update your information. Please login to the ISPN website and go to “Member Home” in the quick links. Once on that page, you will see a “My Profile” link. Then you will be able to click edit and change or update your responses to different questions. Thanks in advance for taking the time to do this!

Think of a student - or two - whose membership you might sponsor by paying the student's first year of ISPN membership dues. A special way to reach out to graduates as well is to support their entry into ISPN by sponsoring their first year of ISPN membership dues.

Regionalization Corner

Stay up-to-date with your region by visiting the Regional Initiative webpage!

International

Co-Leaders: Amanda Bailterra, DNP, MPH, FNP-BC, PMHNP-BC; and Adebayo Fasheyitan, Mental Health Student Nurse

If you have an interest in what you’d like to see from this region and/or if you’d like to get involved, please email info@ispn-psych.org. We’d love to hear from you!

Amanda and Adebayo

Midwest

Co-Leaders: Beth Bonham, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN; and Linda Jo Volness, MS, APRN, CHTP

New members to ISPN are invited to attend this one hour far reaching discussion group that meets about four times a year at the lunch hour with one meeting being at the annual conference. The 2026 conference will be in Vancouver! At this time, a co-facilitator is needed for the group which makes it is a great time to consider becoming a leader in ISPN. Linda Jo Volness will serve as Region facilitator and invites queries.

Northeast

Co-Leaders: Jennifer Graber, EdD, APRN, PMHCNS-BC; and Susan Glodstein, DNP, RN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC

The Northeast Region held a successful regional meeting during the ISPN Annual Conference, providing a valuable opportunity for members to network, exchange ideas, and discuss key issues impacting their practice and professional interests.

Looking ahead, we have confirmed our upcoming meeting schedule for 2025–2026. Please save the dates and plan to join us as we continue important conversations and explore topics that matter to our region.

 ISPN Northeast Region Upcoming Meetings (Eastern Time):

• June 11, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
• September 10, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
• January 14, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

We also began discussing future meeting topics and welcome your input on areas of interest or relevance to your work. Stay tuned for updates, and thank you for your continued engagement with the Northeast Region!

Your Regional Co-Coordinators,

Jen and Susan

Southeast

Co-Leaders: Ann Marie Jones, DNP, PMHNP-BC; and Meira Yasin, DNP, PMHNP-BC, APHN-BC

Look for the next meeting via your email! If you have suggestions or want to get involved please email info@ispn-psych.org

Ann Marie and Meira

Southwest

Co-Leaders: TBD

We are seeking one to two individuals to take the lead in organizing three meetings per year for members within the SW region. You will have the flexibility to decide on the dates and times that work best. Please note that ISPN has a Zoom account available for these meetings.

For further details, please feel free to email info@ispn-psych.org.

West

Co-Leader: Pamela Minarik, PhD, RN, CNS, FAAN; and Jeffery Ramirez, PhD, PMHNP, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN

ISPN West Region Upcoming Meeting (Pacific Time):

• June 20, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Andrew Penn of UCSF will join us in a discussion on "The Use of AI in Psychiatric Nursing Education and Practice."

Look for the next meeting via your email! If you have suggestions or want to get involved please email info@ispn-psych.org 

Guidelines For Prescribing Psychotropics to Children/Adolescents

Presenter: Megan Esoldo, DNP, PMHNP-BC

July 23, 2025, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm ET

Learn More and Register

To register for any upcoming or on demand webinars, visit

ispn-psych.org/ispn-webinars.

Member Spotlight

May's featured member was Dr. Emily Hauenstein.

Dr. Dan Wesemann, ISPN President, and Dr. Emily Hauenstein discuss her experience and what inspires her about mental health research.

Your ISPN membership includes access to our exclusive e-list (AKA, listserv). This member tool allows you to distribute messages to all members subscribing to the list, with a simple email to the list address. Think of the possibilities!

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