It was a great pleasure to see so many members at CPNP’s 20th Annual Meeting in Phoenix AZ. I am proud to announce that we had a record breaking Annual Meeting in overall attendance and posters presented. For those in attendance, I hope you enjoyed the programming, caught up with old friends and colleagues, and expanded your network by meeting some of the first time attendees. It is truly wonderful to see our meeting, organization, and profession expand to meet clinical needs as well as the needs of our patients. I would like to personally thank Jolene Bostwick (Programming Chair), Sarah Melton (Recertification Chair) and the Programming and Recertification Committees for their hard work in putting together another top notch Annual Meeting.
In case you were not able to make the meeting, I want to briefly recap some of the important messages discussed at the Forum on our Future (recording of entire Forum). The 5 broad topics discussed during this meeting with the membership were Member Input/Survey Results, Financial Health of the Organization, CPNP’s Work in Advancing Practice, CPNP’s Efforts to Lead Within the Industry, and Government Affairs and Policy Activities.
Many of you participated in the Membership survey conducted in the summer of 2016 and gave us great feedback on what you expect from CPNP. We are proud to report that our Net Promoter Score (which gives us feedback on how well we are doing), is well above the healthcare industry standard. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement and we will continue to grow the organization in priority areas such as Government Affairs and Practice Advancement.
Equally as strong is CPNP’s financial health. Our position today is a direct result of the Executive Director and past Board of Directors’ fiscal responsibility to the membership and organization as well as a rebounding stock market. As the organization and profession continues to expand, healthy reserves will make it possible to support new or expanded initiatives as we continue to serve as the voice of our specialty.
In the Government Affairs arena CPNP has contracted with District Policy Group (DPG) to represent and lobby for CPNP and psychiatric pharmacy in Washington DC. Jeremy Scott with DPG provided an overview of the current political climate and the future direction of Government Affairs within CPNP during his segment of the Forum. I am pleased to report that several issue briefs have been developed and our first introductory Hill visits will be held at the end of June.
Finally, in efforts to continue to lead the industry and advancing practice, CPNP has been working with several organizations to expand our reach and form strong coalitions including the FDA, SAMHSA, NASPA, JCPP, CCP, PCSS-O and PCSS-MAT. I am looking forward to continued expansion and working with these organizations and many more as we continue to expand our profession.
As I wrap up my final president column, I would like to personally thank everyone, including the CPNP staff, for their continued support during my presidential term. I really have enjoyed the opportunity to represent you and our profession over the past year. I appreciated the many members who called or emailed me with questions, comments, and/or encouragement. On July 1st, the reins will be turned over to Deanna Kelly who, along with the Board of Directors, will have a very busy year ahead of them in areas such as government affairs and surrounding efforts to expand our organization and profession. I am very much looking forward to their continued leadership in moving our profession forward.
My Humble Thanks
Chris Thomas, CPNP President