All Rehabilitation Nursing News

ARN's journal, Rehabilitation Nursing, has complied a collection of 8 articles regarding family caregiving to offer rehab nurses a chance to expand their knowledge of care and perspectives while earning CE credit.

These freely accessible articles cover topics on identifying stroke caregiver concerns, using websites to reduce caregiver burden, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, caregiver engagement, quality of life of family caregivers, information needs of family caregivers, and assessment of the preparedness of family caregivers.

If you are an ARN member or a Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) subscriber, you should soon receive your September/October 2020 issue in the mail. Check out a preview of three great articles that will be gracing the pages of this issue, or visit the journal online to read the full issue.

How do you make a difference? What do you hope to see in the future of nursing? The World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in recognition of the contributions made, and the risks associated with, nursing shortages. Help us continue our vision for the future of rehab nursing. A donation to ARN's $2,020 in 2020 fund will help facilitate the development of new programs and drive the rehabilitation specialty foreword. 

Let's show how strong we are by raising $2,020. Learn more and donate today.

In March 2020, the Garnet Health Medical Center (GHMC; formerly the Orange Regional Medical Center), received notice that it had earned Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation based on CARF's recent survey. The 3-year accreditation is for the medical center's inpatient rehabilitation program and the report identified no recommendations—an accomplishment achieved on only 3% of CARF surveys.

We spoke with ARN member Carmella Pistone-Halpern, MA NEA-BC CRRN, nursing director of inpatient rehabilitation at the medical center, to learn more about this incredible achievement.

Read the latest in health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses.  

CHICAGO—August 13, 2020: The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) is proud to announce that the ARN Annual Conference, REACH 2020, will be held virtually October 20–22, marking the first time ARN has offered this important event in an entirely online format. 

The Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) contains educational content that focuses on contemporary rehabilitation nursing practice across the continuum of care and the lifespan. The journal is published every other month and provides opportunities for professional development, as well as a forum for the dissemination of information pertinent to practice, education, research, and administration. RNJ editors strive to provide a journal that disseminates timely information and new trends in practice each issue.

In this issue of RNJ Corner, RNJ Editorial Board Member, Leslie Neal-Boylan, PhD APRN CRRN FAAN, provides tips for honing in on your manuscript submission process—starting with the planning.

Contribute to your specialty and gain leadership experience by volunteering with ARN! ARN members are qualified to participate in the open Call for Volunteers. You don't have to be an expert – you just need to dedicate some time! There are many ways for you to get involved, based on your expertise and the amount of time you wish to commit.

For many, it was a manager or colleague who introduced you to rehabilitation nursing certification and your first thought might have been, "Why would I want to spend the time or money to get certified?" Your life was busy with family, work, friends—who needs another "to do?" Eventually, you succumbed to encouragement and cajoling, and then took the exam. When you passed, you felt a sense of pride and accomplishment because becoming a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN^®) is a tangible validation of your professional standing as an experienced rehabilitation nurse with a documented level of knowledge and a commitment to patient care.

ARN members are invited to participate in the First Annual Pediatric Orthopedic Symposium, which will be presented virtually by Hackensack Meridian Children's Health on September 15, 2020, 3-8:15 pm CT. This pediatric orthopedic symposium was designed collaboratively to provide physicians, rehabilitation therapists, PAs, APNs, RNs and other healthcare providers with an increased understanding of treating musculoskeletal challenges in the pediatric population. This course will provide participants with an appreciation of prompt diagnostic identification, new surgical interventions, and best practice intervention management.  

ARN will host a virtual Q & A with rehabilitation nursing expert Michele Cournan, DNP RN ANP-BC FNP CRRN, to answer questions from ARN members and the rehab nursing community about the COVID-19 healthcare crisis. This may include discussion on various topics such as caregiver training, guidelines for COVID-19 testing, team management strategies, etc.

When registering, you also will have the chance to suggest questions you would like to hear addressed during the live event.

We're recording! If you miss the live event, you can catch up on demand. 

On July 15, the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation (CPR, of which ARN is a member) submitted a letter to Congress requesting that the next COVID legislative package include a "reset" of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act. The IMPACT Act, enacted in 2014, requires that CMS work to implement a unified payment system for all four settings of post-acute care (SNFs, IRFs, HHAs, and LTCHs). Due to the recent implementation of new individual payment systems and policies in PAC settings and the ongoing impact of the COVID pandemic, CPR and other stakeholders have requested that Congress reset the timeline of the IMPACT Act and reevaluate whether a unified PAC payment system is appropriate for beneficiaries in need of post-acute care. Read the full letter.

Last week the U.S. reported the largest single-day spikes of new COVID-19 cases in any country since the pandemic started, with 41 out of 50 states reporting rising infections over the past several weeks. More than 60,500 new cases were reported on Thursday July 9 alone, according to reporting by Reuters.

The Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) contains educational content that focuses on contemporary rehabilitation nursing practice across the continuum of care and the lifespan. The journal is published every other month and provides opportunities for professional development, as well as a forum for the dissemination of information pertinent to practice, education, research, and administration. RNJ editors strive to provide a journal that disseminates timely information and new trends in practice each issue.

In this issue of RNJ Corner, RNJ Editorial Board Member, Laura Dzurec, PhD PMHCNS-BC ANEF FAAN, provides tips for conducting manuscript reviews.

If you are an ARN member or a Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) subscriber, you should soon receive your July/August 2020 issue in the mail. Check out a preview of three great articles that will be gracing the pages of this issue, or visit the journal online to read the full issue.  

 Tackling a manuscript review can seem like a daunting task. Through preparation and up-front organization, though, you can simplify the review process. Here are some tips that have been helpful to me.

To celebrate the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale on May 12, 2020, we invited you to make a donation to honor a nurse or organization for their outstanding work. Thank you to the following honorees, that have clearly made an impact both on their patients and on those who donated in their honor.

Thank you to ARN member Jennifer Riccobono-Nichols, BSN RN PHN CRRN, for sharing this powerful reflection. Jennifer is a proud rehabilitation nurse who currently works in Monterey, California - at the William R. Lewis, MD Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit - Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. ARN members can connect with Jennifer in Member Circle.

 Read the latest in health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses.

Last May I was privileged to visit the Florence Nightingale Museum in London. Walking through Florence's era of nursing was fascinating and thought-provoking. During that month there was a special exhibit about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918–1919. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a pandemic in 2020.

 The ARN Fellowship Program launched in 2019 to celebrate the Association's 45th anniversary. The inaugural class of fellows included 15 long-standing members of ARN. The ARN Fellow Designation (FARN) is the most distinguished level of membership, as well as a public hallmark of professional esteem.

ARN members are invited to a town hall event on June 23 with the association's President Barbara J. Lutz, PhD RN CRRN PHNA-BC FAHA FAAN. Barb will address the latest updates and answer your questions about REACH 2020, COVID-19's ongoing impact on practice, and more.

ARN understands that its members have varied schedules and shifts. To make this town hall event accessible to as many members as possible, Barb will present and answer questions on Tuesday, June 23, at 7:30 am CST/8:30 am EST and again at 4 pm CST/5 pm EST. To sign up in advance and get access information sent directly to your inbox, complete this registration form. When completing the form, you will also have the chance to suggest questions you would like to hear addressed during the live event. 

As the COVID-19 health crisis continues, many post-acute rehab facilities are preparing for, or are actively managing, an influx of COVID-19 admissions to their facilities. This expected increase in admissions will impact patient care, staff safety, and discharge protocols in a significant way.

​ARN and MedBridge co-hosted a free webinar, "Prep for COVID-19 Admissions & Patient Care in Rehab Facilities: Panel Discussion," on June 4. If you missed attending the webinar, you can still access the recording completely free!

Visit the Medbridge site for the free recording.

The following message was issued by ARN leadership to members on June 5, 2020. 

Read the latest in health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses. 

If you are an ARN member or a Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) subscriber, you should soon receive your May/June 2020 issue in the mail. Check out a preview of three great articles that will be gracing the pages of this issue, or visit the journal online to read the full issue.

This year, things are going to look a bit different. We still want you to be able to show off all your hard work without the extra worry. For ARN REACH 2020, you will not be required to physically attend the conference to present a poster, paper, or case study abstract.

 ARN publishes Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) six times each year using an external publisher, currently Lippincott Williams & Wilkins in Philadelphia. The journal is provided to all ARN members as a benefit of membership; it is also sold on a subscription basis to individuals, organizations, and libraries in the United States and foreign countries.

We're so grateful for you—you're putting yourself at risk to care for your patients and providing essential medical support and the company and care isolated patients need to have a positive quality of life.

Please join us in congratulating Maureen Musto, MS RN APRN-CNS ACNS-BC CRRN, on her recent appointment to the Development Group for Traumatic Brain Injury and Parkinson's Disease, a carefully selected group of clinicians from around the world working on the World Health Organization (WHO) Package of Rehabilitation Interventions (PRI)! 

Thinking about your next career move? Now you can earn the CRRN credential virtually!

Read updates on health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses. This issue is dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) contains educational content that focuses on contemporary rehabilitation nursing practice across the continuum of care and the lifespan. The journal is published every other month, and it provides opportunities for professional development, as well as a forum for the dissemination of information pertinent to practice, education, research, and administration. RNJ addresses current healthcare topics relevant to nursing, other professions, and rehabilitation. Your RNJ editors strive to provide a journal that disseminates timely information and new trends in practice each issue.

 Sixty percent of American adults live with at least one chronic condition, according to a Rand study. These conditions range from diabetes and asthma to arthritis, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and more—and they require daily management.

We sat down with Crystal Saulsberry, MSN, Assistant Academic Chair for Nebraska in the School of Nursing at Purdue University Global, to discuss how rehabilitation nurses can teach patients how to manage a chronic condition.

If you are an ARN member or a Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) subscriber, you should have received your March/April 2020 issue in the mail. Check out a preview of three great articles that will be gracing the pages of this issue, or visit the journal online to read the full issue. 

 One in four American adults is living with a disability that affects their major life activities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. Rehabilitation nurses play a vital role in helping these people live happier, healthier lives.

We sat down with Lisa Riecke, MSN, faculty member in the School of Nursing at Purdue University Global, to discuss how acute care nurses can make a difference in their patients' lives.

The Rehabilitation Nursing Certification Board (RNCB) is pleased to announce an exciting new feature for CRRN certification—digital badges. Digital badges allow CRRNs to immediately display a secure and verifiable digital badge on social networks, resumes, email signatures, and websites. It will also allow CRRNs to more easily share their certified status with employers.

In today's digital world, professionals want the option to share their credentials online. Digital badges are used in professional and social networking environments to recognize achievements and establish credibility in real time with a single click.

The digital badges—supported by BadgeCert Inc.—are third-party verifiable icons that are packed with information, or "metadata," about the issuing organization as well as when and how the credential was earned and when it will expire. They can represent accomplishments such as knowledge competency, attendance, participation, or the completion of a professional credential.

Learn more about digital badges, including how to share your badge on social, on our "What is Digital Badging?" page.

In light of the unprecedented public health challenge, ARN has extended deadlines for conference abstract submissions and applications to become a fellow of ARN, as well as waived the late fee for upcoming CRRN renewals.

Do you want to advance your professional development and practice? ARN offers financial assistance scholarships to member nurses who are interested in advancing their education.

Do you have an exceptional peer who goes above and beyond to advance the practice of rehabilitation nursing and enhance the care of rehabilitation patients? Recognize a rehabilitation nurse by nominating them for an ARN Role Award!

Peer review is the foundation of publication in scholarly journals. The quality of an article is only strengthened through a rigorous double-blind peer-review process. Double-blind peer review means the reviewers don't know who the authors are, and the authors do not know who the reviewers are. The editor is the only one who knows both the author(s) and the reviewers. Rehabilitation Nursing Journal (RNJ) reviewers number close to 100 and are most likely to be Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) members. In addition there are a fair number of reviewers who are not ARN members who are experts in their fields and volunteer their time to RNJ.

The 2020 ARN Annual Conference, REACH, will take place October 21–24 in San Antonio, TX. We are accepting abstracts for papers, case studies, and posters, reflective of quality improvement, evidence-based practice, research, education, leadership, and/or program evaluation until May 1 (new, extended deadline).

Have you been reading the Rehabilitation Nursing Journal? If not, pick up your copy today to get up-to-date on the industry insights and dynamic data that is influencing the practice of rehabilitation nursing today! ARN Members receive a free subscription.

I can't believe it's February already and the groundhog didn't see his shadow, so spring is right around the corner. We've been very busy at ARN!

ARN's 2020 Conference is in the Works

The Conference Planning Committee is well underway developing an exciting and engaging annual conference program for REACH 2020. We hope to include content that many of you have suggested on your past conference evaluations. If you'd like to be a part of the education, please consider submitting an abstract to present a paper, poster, or case study in San Antonio this coming October. The REACH call for abstracts is now open. You are all doing fantastic work in your rehab settings, and presenting at REACH is a great way to showcase your innovative work.

Strategic Planning

Last month, the board, a few members-at-large, and ARN staff met to engage in an energetic and forward-looking strategic planning session led by a nationally renowned consultant, Mary Byers. We participated in 2 days of discussion, exploration, and visioning for our future. We hope to have the final version of the plan available later in the spring and are excited about our opportunities on the horizon. More to follow!

Leadership Development

We are also re-energizing the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee, led this year by our past-president extraordinaire, Michele Cournan. We are striving to implement leadership development for those elected and create a leadership pathway for those interested in getting more involved with ARN. If you are looking to get more involved with ARN, keep an eye out for the annual call for nominations and volunteer opportunities later this year. Our current committees are underway. With the new strategic plan, new committees or volunteer opportunities may arise. We want to ensure we utilize our best resources–you, our members, to reach our goals.

ARN is excited to invite submissions to the 2020 Fellow Designation program—the most distinguished level of membership and a public hallmark of professional esteem!

This honor can be achieved by nurses who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in rehabilitation nursing, provided notable contributions, have notable service to ARN, and demonstrated commitment to the specialty of rehabilitation nursing.

Applications are being accepted February 1 through July 1, 2020 (new, extended deadline). The 2020 FARN class will be honored at the ARN REACH Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, October 21–23.

A recent U.S. News & World Report's Second Opinion blog post has provided an update about key changes introduced in this year's upcoming Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation rankings, in which they plan to debut objective quality measurement of rehabilitation. This post previews the methodology for the rankings that will be published July 28, 2020.

U.S. News and its data contractor, RTI International, invite feedback from hospitals, professional associations, and other stakeholders. As noted in the blog post, stakeholders are welcome to submit comments or recommendations to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by March 10, 2020. While they may not be able to provide detailed responses, RTI will acknowledge and carefully review with U.S. News all feedback received.

The final methodology and embargoed rankings will be disseminated to hospitals via the U.S. News Dashboard on July 9, 3 weeks before publication of the 2020-21 Best Hospitals rankings on usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report will also share the final methodology via email with key rehabilitation associations at that time. 

Read the full blog post on the U.S. News website.

Encompass Health recently announced a new membership with the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN), and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunities this will bring to our nurses. Not only does it allow us to provide ARN membership to individual nurses at each of our hospitals across the country, as well as attendance to the 2020 REACH conference, the alliance of our organizations shows commitment to enhancing the expertise of rehabilitation nursing.

Are you a robot? Tomorrow, December 5, ARN is adding reCAPTCHA security to ARN payment screens. 

CHICAGO (November 27, 2019): The Rehabilitation Nursing Certification Board (RNCB) announced the recipient of the very first RNCB Advocacy Award at REACH 2019, ARN's Annual Educational Conference, held November 6 - 9 in Columbus, OH.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) was founded with the goal of improving care for every person, and from our founding, transparent measurement has been recognized as a powerful lever to advance patient-centered care and empower consumers. Our mission and vision rely on collaboration to address priorities common to diverse stakeholders. Bringing all voices together at the same time to discuss key issues is central to driving measurable health improvements. 

CHICAGO (November 6, 2019): The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) just released the 8^th edition of The Specialty Practice of Rehabilitation Nursing: A Core Curriculum. The latest edition of the Core has 25 chapters of content from across the breadth of the specialty compiled and reviewed by 66 experts. There is no more comprehensive reference on the specialty of rehab nursing.  

The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) applauds the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for advancing S. 1399, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2019, out of committee and to the Senate floor. The bipartisan bill strengthens the profession of nursing by aligning Title VIII with current trends and ensures that important programs addressing nursing workforce demand, including education, practice, recruitment, and retention, have a five-year authorization. The Nursing Workforce Development Programs (Title VIII of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 296 et seq.]) are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration.

The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) awarded Chris MacDonell, CARF International's managing director of medical rehabilitation and international aging services/medical rehabilitation, with the 2019 John Stanley Coulter Award. As the award recipient, Chris will present the award plenary, An Around the World Perspective: Moving the Needle on Rehabilitation Medicine and Research on November 5 during the opening session of the ACRM Annual Conference in Chicago. 

The International Council of Nurses' Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Howard Catton as the ICN's permanent Chief Executive Officer.

ICN Board President Annette Kennedy, announcing the decision, said, "The Board and I are delighted with Howard's appointment. He has the vision, tenacity and commitment to maximise the opportunities ahead for the ICN, its members and partners, not only in 2020, the Year of the Nurse, but for the years to come. Howard has been a great support for me during my presidency and a wonderful colleague for many years, and with him, ICN will have stability and a really great future."

Alcohol and substance use disorder has been around for centuries, but is a growing concern in the United States today with significant effects on economic, social, and healthcare systems. The estimated cost of addiction to illicit drugs alone in the U.S. is over $600 billion per year (Herman & Roberto, 2015). Short term use can cause changes to blood pressure, heart rate, and mental status, while cardiac arrest or stroke has been known to occur even after just one use (NIDA, 2017). Not everyone who partakes in alcohol or drug use will become addicted, but when addiction does occur, it is due to changes in normal brain activity which ultimately leads to long-lasting drug-induced neuroplastic changes. 

This fall, November 6-9, rehab nurses from across the globe will convene in Columbus, Ohio to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses and the 35th anniversary of the CRRN certification! 

ARN is partnering with Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation. Start preparing now to participate in Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation to lead into lots of fun activities at the ARN annual conference, REACH 2019!

There's more than one way to avoid burnout. One approach to burnout prevention is ensuring that your personal agency never drops to a low level. For the purpose of this blog, personal agency is defined as your ability to get things done. ​Burnout ​is the perception that you cannot change your environment, thus you have no personal agency.

The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) – Past-President Stephanie Vaughn, PhD RN CRRN FAHA, and current ARN President Michele Cournan, DNP RN ANP-BC FNP CRRN – have been asked by the World Health Organization (WHO) to participate as the only designated nurse members of WHO's recently organized Competency Framework Steering Group. 

ARN is partnering with Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation. Start preparing now to participate in Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation to lead into lots of fun activities at the ARN annual conference, REACH 2019!

You spend so much time caring for others that you put yourself last. Your mind and body deserve some me-time.

H.R. 3030, the "Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Extension Act of 2019" was introduced into the House last week by Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA). This bill would reauthorize Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) for another 10 years. 

​Recently, my 11-year-old son and I visited an Urgent Care about what I suspected was a urinary tract infection. The doctor asked my son basic questions related to his symptoms, including something about pain in his testicles. My son looked at me quizzically and I explained to the doctor that my son doesn't have testicles. He's transgender, born with female anatomy. To my great relief, the doctor nodded his acknowledgment and continued the conversation. My son, too, breathed a sigh of relief. We'd gotten through the tricky part.

Each year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid releases prospective payment system proposed rules for various healthcare settings, including all post-acute care (PAC) settings. 

Tune into ARN's next live webinar, Essential Steps in Using & Training Apps, on June 13. Michelle R. Wild, MA, will show you how apps can be used as a cognitive resource in rehabilitation, as well as how to use apps to conduct systematic instruction training.

During the first quarter of this year, the Rehabilitation Nursing Certification Board (RNCB) announced the RNCB Advocacy Award. The purpose of the award is to recognize healthcare organizations that advocate for certification for rehabilitation nurses, providing support to and recognition of certified staff. 

In recognition of Stroke Awareness Month, ARN wants you to know about President-Elect Barbara Lutz, PhD RN CRRN PHNA-BC FAHA FNAP FAAN, for the Stroke Article of the Year Award she received at the American Heart Association International Stroke Conference, in Hawaii, in February earlier this year!