Linda Trinh, DNP and Tiffany Nielsen, DNP

Focus On… is a Q&A style interview that highlights a member, a conversation with an authoritative expert, spotlights an innovative program, or profiles a trend. If you have a suggestion for a person or topic we should consider as a future Focus On… subject, please email CANP at admin@canpweb.org.

Linda Trinh, DNP, received her Bachelor's in Biological Science and Master's in Nursing Science from the University of California, Irvine. She obtained a second Bachelor's in Nursing and 2^nd Master's in Public Health before pursuing her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Chatham University and finally, a post-doctorate as Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She is nationally double board certified in Family Practice and Psychiatry and currently works in Orange County. She is the most recent recipient of UCI's 50^th Anniversary Lauds and Laurel's Distinguished Alumni Award for her services within the community. She currently serves on CANP's Board of Directors and as Co-Chair of the CANP Educational Affairs Committee.

Tiffany Nielsen, DNP, is a board-certified family and emergency nurse practitioner. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing at UCI and has led many of the graduate level courses in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program. Nielsen has also precepted several UCI FNP students at the Anaheim UC Irvine Family Health Center and UCI Student Health Center. She was the recipient of AACN’s Novice Faculty Excellence in Didactic Teaching Award, 2018-19, as well as UCI School of Nursing Dean’s Honoree for Teaching Excellence Award, 2021. Nielsen previously served as the Simulation Coordinator for UCI’s School of Nursing and has a passion for health care simulation, interprofessional education, and clinical teaching. She currently serves on CANP’s Board of Directors and as Co-Chair of the Educational Affairs Committee; she is the Immediate Past President of CANP Orange County Chapter. 

Connections: 
What is the role of the CANP Educational Affairs Committee?

Trinh: 
We look for opportunities to further education for our NPs in the organization, whether it’s access to CME, webinars or other events. Recently, we rolled out a new graduate program to assist our members in furthering their education and knowledge of our profession, as well as enhancing their clinical education, which is required by the Board of Nursing. A lot of committee members are either professors tied to an academic institution or educators in another setting.

Nielsen: 
I see our committee as the hub for standard of practice, so we’re able to filter and evaluate information and educational opportunities presented to us. We’re able to provide to the membership evidence-based practice, standards and current guidelines. We serve as a place for NPs to make sure they are getting information that is accurate that they can rely on and follow in their personal practice. Right now, as CANP is fighting for full-scope authority and implementing AB 890, it’s really important that we practice at the top of our license, and in doing so we are using the current evidence and following current standards of practice.

Connections: 
Has the Educational Affairs Committee evolved over the years?

Nielsen: 
We have targeted NP students more in the last couple of years. They have a strong presence in our membership. We know that if they become active as students, they remain loyal members once they become NPs. We recognize the need for them to be able to participate in educational activities and disseminate their research and projects. They need support as they transition from being students to becoming NPs.

Connections: 
The committee is responsible for putting on the annual Education Conference. This year’s conference was entirely virtual. How did members respond?

Nielsen: 
Evaluations on our virtual conference were overwhelmingly very positive. Attendees were really happy with the program and the platform it was delivered on. Speakers prerecorded their lectures, so we didn’t have any technical difficulties, but the speakers were there live to answer questions after the presentations, so it was the best of both worlds. Virtual meetings do not allow for the same kind of engagement, but we used the chat feature to keep it organized and it created an opportunity for networking and connection you might not have otherwise. We also created specialty lounges so members could meet within their specialties or interest groups and network that way.

Connections: 
What is on tap for the 2022 Educational Conference?

Nielsen: 
We are planning a hybrid conference in Pasadena March 31-April 3. The conference will balance the challenges of COVID and still create events that meet members’ needs and desires to network and be social but also to be safe and respectful of the current pandemic and changing conditions. Right now, we are looking at the some of the safety measures we will be implementing for the in-person conference activities in Pasadena, and a hybrid option so that members who don’t feel comfortable meeting in person can participate virtually and watch the recorded sessions at their own leisure. 

Trinh: 
COVID is not going away, so having people attend the conference in person and remotely will be one of the hurdles we will need to balance out in the future. When we run a conference, we need to have a minimum number in attendance to break even, and so we have to determine how much we will charge to attend in person and to participate virtually. 

Connections: 
The annual education conference is chock full of great posters and presentations. How do you select them?

Trinh: 
We email out a call for abstracts and CANP members submit them. We review each abstract to make sure it is relevant, up to date and of value clinically and professionally. Each is ranked and rated to determine if it should be used for the symposium or for a poster presentation.

Nielsen: 
We also create opportunities for NPs to showcase their scholarship, their research, their specialties so that they can share their knowledge and expertise with the membership. It’s an opportunity for our presenters to enhance their scholarship within their practice or institution. DNP students can showcase their projects through their poster presentations.

Connections: 
Are there other ways the committee supports NP research?

Nielsen: 
We are starting a research portal so that DNP and PhD NP students can disseminate their research or recruit participation in their studies. We get a lot of requests from students and researchers to send out surveys of members for their research. It’s not fair to our members to send out email after email and bombard them with requests. So we thought we would create a portal where students could submit surveys for a small fee. A subcommittee will review each to make sure it is appropriate and then members will get a quarterly email allowing them to choose whether they want to participate in a given survey. It streamlines the process and makes it less burdensome but also allows students to access our entire membership.

Trinh: 
This was an idea brought on by a past CANP president. We have NP and master’s degree students who are required to complete a research project prior to graduation. Because CANP has more than 4,000 NPs, we are a good source of information if members are willing to take a survey. This will allow students to submit their project details. The portal also may be a good data collection source we have not before tapped into.

Connections: 
Are there other committee initiatives you’d like to mention?

Trinh: 
We recently updated our program that helps NPs fulfill Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requirements for prescribing schedule II drugs. There has been an increase in mortality rates linked to prescription pain medications. With that coming to light, there was a need for further education. 

The new California Controlled Substances Utilization, Review and Evaluation System (CURES) allows providers to pull up information under a patients’ date of birth and name to see if other providers are prescribing controlled substances for the patients or other drugs that may interact with controlled substances. The system also alerts providers to patients who have a substance abuse problem and allows providers to determine if they are doctor shopping. The program is designed to curb the epidemic of patients who are not doing well or dying from abuse of controlled substances. 

Nielsen: 
Because of the increase in overdoses, the DEA and California have really cracked down on how much we prescribe controlled substances as providers. Prescription rates have declined significantly because of the CURES program, and registration of patients using these drugs. But there is also a big push to distribute Naloxone and Narcan to counter overdoses and Suboxone for opioid dependence. The modules we created are online and free for CANP members. They were developed as part of a collaborative process with multiple specialists from geriatrics, psychiatry, pian medicine, pediatrics, policy and legislation. 

Connections: 
You mentioned that the committee has developed a new graduate student workshop, as well? 

Nielsen: 
We found that a lot of new graduates had all these questions and were hungry to hear from NPs who had experience navigating these issues and were looking for advice. This program is where they can go to get all those questions answered. 

Trinh: 
We created about 15 modules on different topics for NP student graduates who may need this knowledge to transition from academics to practice. We talk about standardized procedures, how to apply for DEA, telehealth, how to interview, how to find a job, how to negotiate contracts – a lot of things students may not have been taught in school but are necessary for transition to practice. The program, which launches this month, does not qualify for CME credit, but graduates who purchase the program get free CANP membership for the year. The modules are $125.

Nielsen: 
The modules are not interactive, but we’re talking about putting together a panel of the NP instructors two times a year. This will give the graduates who have completed the training an opportunity to ask the panelists questions network with other students.

Connections: 
Do you have any other information or advice to share?

Trinh: 
Join CANP if you are not a member. Tiff and I were members as students, which is why we have taken leadership roles. These relationships have enabled us to understand our practice and the walls that wrap around our profession. Being a CANP member really opens that up to you.

Nielsen: 
I would encourage members to get involved, whether in their local CANP chapter or on the state committee level. If anyone is passionate about education, we are always looking for additional members on the committee and would love for you to be involved.