About the PMH APRN Council The Council of Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurses in Advanced Practice conducts business under the auspices of the North Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA) and all members of the council are NCNA members. The council has been active for over 25 years representing psychiatric nursing and advocating for mental health services in North Carolina. The council: Our members are Clinical Nurse Specialists and Nurse Practitioners who specialize in psychiatric and mental health care delivery and belong to NCNA. Meetings are held in local/regional groups. Statewide general meetings of the council are held at least annually in varying locations. Members belong to the council list-serve and receive regular email briefings in addition to the Tar Heel Nurse and the American Nurse which are NCNA member benefits. The council is open for membership to any PMH APRN that is a member of NCNA. Non-members are encouraged to join NCNA and then select the PMH APRN as a preferred council membership. To join, go to Membership on menu above. Or, email NCNA for an application. All Executive Committee Officers are elected by the council members. They serve on the Council Executive Committee and serve a two year term of office. The Executive Committee serves as the hub for official council business and solicits participation in discussion and decision-making from members in all regions of the state. The Executive Committee meets at least bimonthly and more frequently as needed. Meetings are held either in person or by phone conference. These meetings are open to all members and meeting minutes are circulated via this site. The council is strengthening its local/regional groups. There may be as many groups as needed; provided there is leadership for each and members are active. Activity may be face-to-face meetings, phone conferences and/or in responses to emails and other inquiries. Members may select any region with which to affiliate; for example, one closer to home, closer to work, or one in which they feel most comfortable. The purposes of the local/regional groups are to increase communication flow among members, to and from the Executive Committee, and to and from NCNAs Commission on Standards and Professional Practice and the NCNA Board of Directors. In addition to networking, local/regional participation provides members with opportunities to discuss PMH APRN practice, regulatory, and reimbursement issues and to participate in the development and implementation of contstructive solutions. Local/regional meetings may combine business discussions with continuing nursing education activities for contact hour credit (to start this process contact [email protected]). Each regional group determines its own leadership by a vote of the regional group members and decides on a schedule of meetings.