South Carolina Association of

Rehabilitation Nurses

Email Change

If you need to email Gayle at the national office, please take note of this new email address:
Gayle Elliott, ARN Chapter Liaison
gelliott@connect2amc.com

Role Award Nominations
Do you know exceptional rehabilitation nurses that deserve recognition for outstanding achievement in their field? Now you can recognize a colleague for the following role awards:

• Advanced Practice Nurse
• Case Manager
• Educator
• Nurse Executive
• Nurse Manager
• Masters Prepared Researcher
• Doctorate Prepared Researcher
• Staff Nurse

Role award winners will receive one free year of ARN membership and be recognized at the 33nd Annual Educational Conference in Washington, DC. For more information on role awards or to nominate a colleague, click here. The application deadline is June 1, 2007.

Employment Resource
If you or someone you know is looking for a position in rehabilitation nursing, the ARN Jobmart may be just the resource needed. This service is designed to match professionals in rehabilitation nursing with opportunities available in the specialty. Click here to search the job postings or to advertise an opening.

CRRN Inactive Status Revisions

The CRRN inactive status has been revised to include loss of primary housing due to natural disaster (e.g. earthquake, hurricane, fire, catastrophic flood) as a qualifying event.

Click here for complete details.

2007 CRRN Exam Dates
Gain recognition in the rehabilitation nursing profession by becoming CRRN Certified. The 2007 CRRN exam will be offered during the months of June and December. The candidate application is available at www.rehabnurse.org or by calling ARN at 800/229-7530.

Make sure your members and non-certified colleagues know these important 2007 dates:

Exam dates: June 1-30 Application deadline: April 15

Exam dates: December 1-30 Application deadline: October 15

Examination update
The Rehabilitation Nursing Certification Board (RNCB) regularly consults with experts in the testing field in order to keep abreast of current testing practices and provide a positive testing experience for candidates. Based on recommendations from the testing company, the following changes will take effect in 2007.

Number of questions
The number of questions has been reduced to 175 questions, of which 25 are pretest (not scored) questions. Because of the current test assembly process, a shorter examination can render the same decision consistency as a longer examination.

Time to complete the examination
The time candidates have to complete the examination has also been reduced. Candidates will have 3 hours to complete the examination. Analysis has shown that the majority of candidates do not use all the time allotted and the reduction in time and number of questions will result in slightly more time for each individual question.

Examination content
The job analysis for the CRRN examination has been completed and the RNCB has approved an updated content outline based on the results. The updated content outline will take effect in June. The examination covers four major domains with subcategories for each domain. The four domains are:

• Rehabilitation nursing models and theories
• Functional health patterns: theories, physiology, assessment, standards of care, and interventions
• The rehabilitation team and community re-entry
• Legislative, economic, ethical, and legal issues

Candidates are strongly encouraged to review the content outline as they prepare for the examination. The outline will be available on the ARN website: www.rehabnurse.org

Newly Updated - RNF Research Agenda
The Rehabilitation Nursing Foundation (RNF), the research arm of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN), is pleased to announce the completion of an evaluation and update of the RNF Research Agenda, originally published in 1993.

The process included evaluating the effectiveness of the original research agenda for rehabilitation nursing and placing it in the context of today’s health care system. This revised agenda is consistent with the research goals of the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Nursing Research as well as the national health objectives identified in Healthy People.

Click here for a free copy of the agenda from the ARN Web site.

What is the ARN-CAT?

Are you a Rehabilitation Nursing Nurse Manager, Administrator, Educator or Case Manager looking for a simple way to evaluate staff competency in the basic areas of rehabilitation nursing?

Look no further! The ARN Competencies Assessment Tool (ARN-CAT) can help. The ARN-CAT makes it easy for you to evaluate your staff’s competency and, best of all, it's free!

ARN-CAT is an easy-to-use, online assessment tool that encompasses 12 basic rehabilitation nursing competency areas. Upon completion, your staff will receive instant documentation of the accuracy of their answers. The tool also identifies areas where further education may be needed, and suggested references.

ARN-CAT fits any budget because it’s available to you free of charge. To see for yourself how easy it is to use, click here to go to a sample assessment on the ARN web site. For complete information on ARN-CAT go to http://www.rehabnurse.org.

Purchase PRN Course Materials

Order now while supplies last! Take advantage of this special offer and obtain the PRN course materials for your chapter’s lending library.

This is a great opportunity to promote CRRN certification. Why not purchase the PRN course materials and help members prepare for the exam by arranging a study group, organizing a resource library, or offering a review course.

A complete set of CD-ROMs is now on sale for $575, which includes 41.5 nursing contact hours.

To order, visit the ARN website http://www.rehabnurse.org or call ARN at 800/229-7530.

Continuing Education Review Panel Volunteers Needed

Encourage your members to enhance their rehabilitation nursing knowledge and contribute to ARN’s goals. The Continuing Education Approval Unit (CEAU) is looking for members to serve on the Continuing Education Review Panel (CERP).

What is the Review Panel?
ARN is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to approve education programs for contact hours. Chapters, outside organizations, and individuals seeking contact hours, submit applications for their education programs to ARN for approval. ARN selects members of the review panel to evaluate each application for compliance with the ANCC criteria.

How much time will I be expected to contribute?
About 90 minutes every 4-6 weeks. That’s all! ARN will send you the application and review forms to determine if the program is eligible to offer contact hours.

What are the eligibility criteria?
ARN member, knowledgeable and supportive of ARN’s philosophy and goals
BSN degree (graduate degree preferred)
Prior experience in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating continuing education activities for adult learners
Expertise in one or more areas of rehabilitation nursing

To apply to be a member of the Continuing Education Review Panel, submit a letter of interest with your current curriculum vita to ARN CERP, 4700 W. Lake Ave, Glenview, IL 60025.

ARN Website

Have you visited the ARN website at http://www.rehabnurse.org lately? If not, be sure to log on today.

The Members’ Only section of the website contains valuable information, including the Chapter Handbook and Tools for Success.

Other key features include the ARN bookstore with online ordering capabilities and the Online Membership Directory. Use the directory to search for members by name, city/state/zip, present position held, and current clinical practice interest, and to obtain current chapter membership lists.

Please make sure ARN has your current contact information so that you continue to get updates and new information. Please take 5 minutes now to check your ARN membership profile. To log on to the Members’ Only section of the website, enter your membership number in Web ID field and your last name in the password field. If you don’t remember your membership ID, call ARN member services at 800/229-7530.