Pee Dee AHEC Sponsors Monthly Advanced Practice Nurse CE Meetings

Pee Dee AHEC is pleased to report a recent collaboration with advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) from the Pee Dee region. An assessment was conducted in early 2014 to determine and develop programs to address the needs of APRNs. Recognizing the busy and diverse schedules of the practitioners, Cheryl Neuner, Pee Dee AHEC Nursing Education Coordinator, makes the programs available to others via statewide videoconference using the South Carolina Health Occupations Outreach Learning System (SCHOOLS). The programs are broadcast the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30-8:30pm. The APRN programs are also being recorded, archived, and available on www.scahec.net/schools as enduring materials that can be accessed at the learner’s convenience from their own device or computer.

At the May meeting, Billy Heckle, Pharmacist and Addictions Counselor with the McCord Adolescent Treatment Center in Orangeburg, SC, presented “Common Drugs of Abuse." Additional presentations through the summer have included “Oral Contraceptives” and “Hormone Therapy of Menopause” conducted by Kelly Jones, Pharm.D., Associate Professor of Family Medicine with McLeod Regional Medical Center. Dr. Jones will present “Andropause: A Pharmacotherapy Course for APRNs” at the August 19 meeting. The program will offer pharmacotherapy hours for nurses.

Deborah Hopla, DNP and Assistant Professor Coordinator of the MSN/FNP Track at Francis Marion University, has been instrumental in the identification of learning needs critical to these monthly meetings. Dr. Hopla writes:

We have found your speakers to be dynamic and the topics timely. In practice, it is an ever-evolving search for the best evidence available to improve patient care. Pee Dee AHEC provides us the opportunity to stay current by having topics pertinent to practice at a low cost. I have found it a wonderful adjunct for our University FNP students. I look forward to a continued relationship with Pee Dee AHEC.

It is the goal of Pee Dee AHEC to make this education known and available to practitioners across the state on a monthly basis. For more information on upcoming APRN meetings and topics, please contact Cheryl Neuner, BSN, RNC, Nursing CE Coordinator with Pee Dee AHEC at 843-777-5347 or cneuner@mcleodhealth.org.

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