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Montana Nurses
1
Association
Provider Newsletter: December, 2013
Happy Holidays!
Greetings from the Continuing Education Department and all MNA Staff! We wish each of you a blessed
holiday season.
Pam, Kathy, Kim, Cathy, Robin, Amy, Heather, and Lori
Outcomes Webinars available in 2014
As we surveyed participants in the nurse planner webinar series offered in the fall, we found a
significant and continuing gap among nurse planners in determining, monitoring, and measuring
outcomes. Part of this is due to new nurse planners coming on board who are not familiar with an
outcomes-based approach to learning, part of it is related to increased awareness of the need to focus
on outcomes because of changes within the healthcare system itself, and part comes from more
providers who have provider applications due. That puts a more “personal” focus on determining and
describing what is happening in your own provider unit.
So – beginning after the first of the year, MNA and ONA will again be offering the 3-part series of
webinars focused on outcomes. If you participated in the outcomes series in early 2013, you do not
need to participate again – changes will be minor. However, if you participated last year and are
interested in participating again, you may certainly do so. The schedule is as follows:
Session
1 – Outcomes for your individual
activities
2 – Developing outcome
measures
3 – Outcomes for your provider
unit
Option 1 date and time
Jan. 9 @ 9 am MT, 7 am AK
Option 2 date and time
Jan. 21 @ 12 noon MT, 10 am AK
Feb. 12 @ 9 am MT, 7 am AK
Feb. 18 @ 12 noon MT, 10 am
AK
Mar. 19 @ 12 noon MT, 10 am
AK
Mar. 11 @ 9 am MT, 7 am AK
The facilitator for all of the sessions will be Pam Dickerson, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN. The fee will be $15 per
person per webinar. Registration will be available soon at http://www.ohnurses.org/events/.
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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Annual Survey Due January 31
Your annual survey is due to the MNA office by January 31. The survey consists of three parts:
 Demographic data – general information about your provider unit, to enable us to keep our files
updated.
 Statistical data – the spreadsheet of your 2013 activities that you have hopefully populated as
your activities have occurred throughout the year. If you haven’t, this would be a good time to
start working on that so it is ready to send after the first of the year.
 Quality monitoring data – evidence of how you have been implementing the criteria during
2013. This year we will be asking you to send one activity file so we can review the pieces and
parts of your planning, implementation, and evaluation processes. We will thoroughly review
every file and provide personalized feedback to your provider unit. In addition, aggregate data
will help to inform the planning committee about issues that need to be addressed in the May
provider update sessions. Please submit the activity file electronically to Kathy. You can send it
separately from the demographic and statistical data, or you can send everything at once. Be
sure all of the components of the activity file are present (the documentation form, the planning
table, bio/COI forms for everyone involved with the activity, marketing material, the evaluation
template, evidence of written disclosures, the certificate, the summative evaluation, and the list
of participants with unique identifiers). If you received commercial support or sponsorship or if
the activity was co-provided, be sure to send those additional documents as well.
THE ANNUAL REPORT FORM IS ATTACHED WITH THIS NEWSLETTER –
PLEASE ADVISE MNA IMMEDIATELY IF YOU DID NOT RECEIVE IT.
Reminder About Fees
There is no annual fee due with your provider application. We have discontinued the annual fee and
rolled that amount into the cost of your provider application renewal. For provider units submitting
provider applications after 1/1/14, the application fee is $1,475.
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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Practice Tip: Test Yourself – Is This a COI?
CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR NOT? OPPORTUNITY TO TEST YOURSELF!
(adapted with permission from ANCC Accreditation Program Director’s Newsletter to
Accredited Organizations, 8/13)
Review first:
The potential for conflict of interest exists when an individual has the ability to control or influence the
content of an educational activity and has a financial relationship with a commercial interest,* the
products or services of which are pertinent to the content of the educational activity. The Nurse Planner
is responsible for evaluating the presence or absence of conflicts of interest and resolving any identified
actual or potential conflicts of interest during the planning and implementation phases of an
educational activity. If the Nurse Planner has an actual or potential conflict of interest, he or she should
recuse himself or herself from the role as Nurse Planner for the educational activity.
*Commercial interest, as defined by ANCC, is any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing
healthcare goods or services consumed by or used on patients, or an entity that is owned or controlled
by an entity that produces, markets, resells, or distributes healthcare goods or services consumed by or
used on patients.
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Employees of commercial interest organizations are not permitted to serve as planners,
speakers, presenters, authors and/or content reviewers if the content of the educational activity
is related to the products or services of the commercial interest organization.
Employees of commercial interest organizations are permitted to serve as planners, speakers,
presenters, authors and/or content reviewers if the content of the educational activity is NOT
related to the products of the commercial interest organization.
Individuals who have non-employee relationships with commercial interest organizations (see
bullet 2 below) are permitted to serve as planners, speakers, presenters, authors and/or content
reviewers as long as the Provider has implemented a mechanism to identify, resolve and
disclose the relationship as outlined in these standards.
Now test yourself! In each of these scenarios, is there a COI?
a. Jane Smith is being considered to serve as a content expert on your planning committee. She is also
on the speaker’s bureau with a commercial entity, which produces drugs for diabetes. The
conference is about the latest research in diabetes management.
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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b. Lisa Taylor is being considered to serve as a content expert on your planning committee. Her
husband is vice president of a company that produces pacemakers. The topic for the conference is
horizontal violence.
c. Jack Williams is a sales representative with a pharmaceutical entity and is being considered to serve
on your planning committee.
d. The individual being considered as the keynote speaker is an expert in the topic of women’s health
and wrote a best-selling book on the topic. The conference is about implementing the latest
research findings on women’s health.
e. The author of a web-based learning activity on special considerations for people with arthritis has
declared no conflict of interest on his biographical data form. When his assistant sends you a copy of
the author’s publicity statement, you discover he wrote multiple books on arthritis and produced a
topical ointment for patients with arthritis.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS!
a. PLANNING COMMITTEE CONTENT EXPERT ON SPEAKER’S BUREAU FOR A COMMERCIAL INTEREST
ORGANIZATION:
According to accreditation criteria, “financial benefits may be associated with employment,
management positions, independent contractor relationships, other contractual relationships,
consulting, speaking, teaching, membership on an advisory committee or review panel, board
membership, and other activities from which remuneration is received or expected from the
commercial interest.”
Based on this definition, Jane Smith has a conflict of interest because she is a member of a speaker’s
bureau for a company that produces drugs for diabetes and the content of the educational activity is
relevant to the products or services of the commercial interest organization (management of
diabetes).
Jane could be a speaker for the conference if the Nurse Planner/planning committee believes she is
knowledgeable in the topic and appropriate to be a speaker. Steps to resolve Jane’s actual conflict of
interest must be taken. For example, the Nurse Planner/planning committee might ask a content
reviewer to evaluate Jane’s presentation for any bias towards the pharmaceutical company and its
products, for balance in the presentation, and for other indicators of integrity. The Nurse Planner or
designee could then monitor Jane’s presentation to ensure no bias is introduced during the session.
The Nurse Planner/planning committee might also include a question on the evaluation form asking
if the presentation was presented free of bias. It might be beneficial to include a definition of bias
on the evaluation form so learners are aware of what to evaluate. For example, rather than, "Was
the learning activity free of bias?" the question could be worded as "Was the learning activity free of
product promotion?"
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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Prior to the start of the presentation, the Nurse Planner/planning committee must also ensure that
Jane’s conflict of interest is disclosed to the learners. This could be done on the advertising, on the
agenda, or on the first page of handouts, or on the first slide of the presentation. Note that it is the
responsibility of the provider to do the disclosure to learners, not the responsibility of the faculty.
b. PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBER WITH SPOUSE EMPLOYED BY A COMMERCIAL INTEREST ENTITY:
The topic for this conference is not related to pacemakers therefore, Lisa would not have a conflict
of interest. (Note: Lisa would have a COI if the topic was related to pacemakers, such as treatment
of cardiac dysrhythmias.)
c. SALES REPRESENTATIVE ON PLANNING COMMITTEE:
There is insufficient information to make a decision about whether Jack has an actual or potential
conflict of interest. Questions to consider include: What is the topic of the CE activity? What is the
purpose of including Jack on the planning committee?
d. KEYNOTE SPEAKER WITH BOOK:
This speaker can influence learners but does not appear to have a financial relationship with a
commercial interest organization related to the content of this educational activity. To be sure, the
Nurse Planner/planning committee should closely evaluate the speaker’s Biographical/Conflict of
Interest disclosure form.
Note: A publishing company does not fit the definition of a commercial entity.
While this particular scenario does not appear to present a conflict of interest in relation to a
commercial interest organization, the speaker does have the ability to benefit financially from
promoting his book. The Nurse Planner/planning committee will need to ensure the presentation is
evidence-based, free from promotion, and advances the professional development of registered
nurses.
Book sales may only be conducted if separated from the educational activity. Sales may not be part
of an educational activity and may not be advertised during any part of the learning activity.
e. AUTHOR AND RELATIONSHIP WITH A COMMERCIAL INTEREST ORGANIZATION:
It appears this author does have an actual conflict of interest related to his production of a topical
ointment for persons with arthritis (not related to his books, for reasons noted in item “d” above).
The Nurse Planner/planning committee must evaluate the discrepancy between the conflict of
interest declaration by the author and the materials forwarded from the assistant. It is the
responsibility of the Nurse Planner to resolve the identified conflict prior to the start of the
educational activity.
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
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How did you do?
Upcoming Activities
January 23rd, 2014 – Integrating New Graduates into Your Organization Webinar: How do you help new
graduates make the transition from student to competent professional nurse? This webinar explores
some of the challenges and offers suggestions for onboarding strategies to enhance retention of new
graduates.
January 26th/27th, 2014 – This event will begin with a reception on the evening of January 26, offering
senior nursing students and newly graduated nurses the opportunity to interact with Montana nurse
leaders. The following day will be a full-day workshop titled “Transition from New Graduate to
Professional Nurse”. It will provide tips, tools and resources to enable senior nursing students and newly
licensed registered nurses to effectively transition from student to engaged professional. Registration
information is available on the MNA web site.
TO BE SCHEDULED: A webinar series on leadership – stay tuned for more information!
March 28th and 29th, 2014 – APRN Pharmacology Conference, Helena
April 13t, 14th, 15th – Labor Retreat, Chico
May 19, 2014 – Alaska Provider Update - Anchorage
May 22, 2014 – Montana Provider Update – Helena
October 1-3, 2014 – MNA Annual Convention – Theme: Nurses: Key Partners on the Healthcare Team
Other events will be scheduled throughout the year. Please let us know if you have a suggested topic!
Contact Information
Pam Dickerson, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, Director of Continuing Education
pam@mtnurses.org
1-406-465-9126
Kathy Schaefer, CE Specialist
kathy@mtnurses.org
1-406-442-6710
Montana Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the
American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.