Cast Your Ballot
The AAPPN Board of Directors invites Clinical, Emeritus, and Out-of-State Members to participate in the 2021 AAPPN election.
Elect our 2022 association leaders and decide upon a proposed Bylaws revision to meet the changing circumstances impacting our profession.
Please take a few moments to read the candidate statements and Bylaws Motion and cast your vote at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AAPPN2021election. Be sure to vote by 4 p.m. Pacific on Friday, December 24, 2021.
Elected Board officers will assume their offices on January 1, 2022. If approved, the Bylaws revision will take effect on January 1, 2022.
Candidate Statements
President-Elect: Nikki Behner, DNP, MPH, ARNP
Statement: As a long-term member of AAPPN, I have been proud to be a member of such an active and progressive specialty organization. Now, more than ever, I believe it is important to highlight and market the skills that psychiatric ARNPs bring to our complex healthcare environment. As psychiatric and medical practices begin to collaborate and align in joint practice affiliations, having the support, expertise, and strength of AAPPN membership has the potential to strengthen those alliances. If elected, I anticipate continuing to promote the expertise of independent psychiatric nursing practice through documentation of members’ activities as our practice continues to expand into new healthcare opportunities.
Biographical Information: I have been a Psychiatric ARNP for 30+ years in a variety of practice settings. Following graduation from the University of Washington with my Master’s Degree, I got an excellent immersion into advanced practice psychiatric nursing while employed for six years at Western State Hospital. My initial experience with acute psychiatric care has resulted in a career that has involved positions in involuntary care facilities, two large jail facilities, and a long period of employment in community mental health where my experience has culminated in a fulfilling career which is representative of my journey as a Psychiatric ARNP. I am most proud of receiving my DNP from the University of Washington with a focus on improving medical and psychiatric access to care for persons re-entering the community from a correctional facility.
Member-At-Large: Ginni Buccola, DNP, PMHNP
Statement: AAPPN has been a part of my professional growth and development as a PMHNP from the very beginning of my graduate work at the University of Washington. What I have appreciated the most is the opportunity AAPPN provides for us to nurture relationships between one another as Advanced Practice Nursing professionals, connecting our different practices and geographic locations under one lovely umbrella. I would be honored to have the opportunity to support my fellow AAPPN members by serving as an At-Large Board Member.
Biographical information: I have been a Nurse since 1994, working first as an RN in Public Health and then in Mental Health. I completed my MSN in 2012 and DNP in 2013, both through the University of Washington. I am currently working in Primary Care as a Psychiatric Consultant. Prior to this, I worked in Community Mental Health and maintained a small private practice. I have a special interest in Perinatal Mental Health and Infant Mental Health, but enjoy working with people of all ages. I live in Tacoma with my partner and our daughter.
Member-At-Large: Steven Pline, DNP, ARNP, PMHNP-BC
Statement: Thank you for engaging with AAPPN through this election process. It has been a privilege to learn from and with so many of you through the listserv, at conferences, in the CAYA specialty group, as an Education Committee volunteer, and as the Student Member of the Board. My objectives for a board tenure extension are to (1) Contribute as a volunteer to help maintain and sustain this incredible organization; (2) Encourage student and new member engagement as our profession grows (3) Advocate for equal pay for equal work by healthcare providers.
Biographical information: I am a graduate of the UW’s School of Nursing DNP and ABSN programs and Foster School MBA program. Before becoming a nurse, I worked in strategic business management at a high-tech company for thirty years. My practice in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood is focused on patients ages 5 to 35 and their families. My practice dream is to establish an intensive outpatient program for adolescents living with substance use and co-occurring disorders in King County.
Bylaws Revision of Clinical and Out-of-State Membership Parameters
The AAPPN Board of Directors is asking the membership to approve changes in the parameters of our Clinical and Out-of-State membership categories. If approved, the change will take effect on January 1, 2022.
Why is the Board of Directors proposing a change?
The past two years have brought about many changes in our field, including the emergence of telehealth.
A growing number of practitioners who do not live in Washington State are fully licensed to practice in Washington using telehealth. These practitioners benefit from AAPPN advocacy efforts in Washington and also benefit from access to AAPPN programs, which are increasingly available online.
This Motion will adjust the language in our Bylaws to differentiate Clinical and Out-of-State membership by whether a practitioner is licensed to practice in Washington State. The current Bylaws differentiates the two member categories according to whether a practitioner lives in Washington.
What is the exact wording that will be changed is the revision is approved?
The changes involve two lines in the Bylaws.
The first change is within the definition of Clinical Members, changing “Lives in the state of Washington” to “Is licensed in the state of Washington.”
The second change is within the definition of Out-of-State Members, changing “Lives outside the state of Washington” to “Is not licensed in the state of Washington.”
You can view the revision as part of the entire Bylaws. The changes are on page two.
What is the impact on members?
Current Out–of–State Members: If a current Out-of-State member is licensed to practice in Washington State at the time of their next renewal date after January 1, 2022, they will renew as a Clinical Member. If a current Out-of-State member is not licensed to practice in Washington State, they will continue to renew as an Out-of-State Member.
Current Clinical Members: The revision will not impact the vast majority of current Clinical Members. In the rare instance of a Clinical Member who lives in Washington but is not licensed to practice in the state (for example, a member who lives in Vancouver, WA, but is only licensed in Oregon), their membership would change to Out-of-State status at their next renewal.
Thank you for considering this change to our Bylaws.
Please be sure to vote by 4 p.m. Pacific on Friday, December 24, 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact Kirk Roberts, Executive Director, at gro.n1695811250ppaa@1695811250krik1695811250 or 360-734-3166.
Thank you for participating in your professional association!