NPacers Quarterly Virtual Conference: June 9-11, 2021

The June NPacers Quarterly Virtual Conference is packed with primary care and pharmacology topics from Diabetes and Dyslipidemia to Asthma and Orthopedics. You’ll hear the latest best practices and take-home clinical pearls from acclaimed speakers including Alison O. Marshall, RN, MSN, FNP-C; Jay Gupta, RPh, MSc, MTM Consultant, C-IAYT; Michael Zychowicz, DNP, ANP, ONP, FAAN, FAANP; and Gary Graf, MSN, ARNP-C.

Patricia Sulak, MD, will open the conference with her Keynote session, "Wellness: Creating a Life of Health and Happiness," addressing burnout and the epidemic of self-induced disease giving you strategies for greater well-being. 

The 3-day event features a **BONUS** Pre-Conference day on June 9, with NPACE Partner sponsored CE and Non-CE programs on topics such as Diabetes, Influenza, Kidney Disease, COVID, and more. The **BONUS** partner day is followed on June 10-11 by NPACE’s accredited content sessions, more partner-sponsored options and, for your personal pleasure and relaxation, morning yoga! 

Participants of the NPacers Quarterly Virtual Conference may watch sessions live or return, when convenient, to view sessions missed. Up to 19.5 hours of CE is available with your registration. This is a don’t miss event.

Virtual Conference Summary

All NPACE sessions will be recorded and available for on-demand viewing. 

(Session recordings are typically added to the platform within 24-48 hours of the original broadcast date. Some partner sessions may have restricted viewing options so remember to check course details for full information.)

If you register for a virtual conference, and in-person conferences then return, you may transfer your registration without penalty up to one week before the virtual conference.

Conference Agenda

The NPacers Virtual Conference is comprised of a bonus Pre-Conference day featuring our exhibit hall grand opening as well as partner-sponsored CE and non-CE sessions followed by the main Primary Care and Pharmacology Conference delivering three days of quality, evidence-based educational content presented by some of the most highly sought-after, top-notch speakers. 

Schedule-at-a-Glance

View Full Conference Agenda

Virtual Conference Registration

$295.00

$275.00 - If registered by Monday, May 24, 2021

Registration Closes: June 4, 2021 @ 11:59 pm ET

Your Registration Includes

• Access to session recordings and the ability to earn contact hours as follows:
  • All NPACE sessions and ePosters until September 8, 2021.
  • PCEC PARTNER PROGRAM: Chronic Kidney Disease Clinical Decisions: The Role of SGLT2 Inhibitors until July 9, 2021.
  • DKB MED PARTNER PROGRAM: COVID-19 Special Populations until July 9, 2021.
• The main two-day Primary Care and Pharmacology Conference contains relevant and up-to-date sessions presented by some of the most sought-after experts in the NP community. Sessions will focus on quality education that meets your needs in areas including health/wellness, diabetes, orthopedics, dermatology, and so much more! 
• Supplement your learning and earn even more credits by attending the bonus Pre-Conference day, Wednesday, June 9th, featuring sponsored CE and non-CE sessions.
• Full access to all special events, activities, and sessions during the live, three-day virtual conference.
• Earn up to 20 contact hours (of which 7.75 is pharmacology) of continuing nursing education credits through NPACE and partner-sponsored CE sessions as well as virtual ePosters. 
• Multiple opportunities to build meaningful connections with your peers through interactive features in our Virtual Conference platform.
  
• An interactive exhibit hall where you can meet with pharmaceutical reps and industry suppliers to learn about the latest advances and products.
• Access to additional events and perks to be announced soon! 

Cancellation/Refund Policy

Refunds will be provided if cancellation is received at least 14 days in advance of the event start date. No partial refunds will be provided. 

If you register for a virtual conference, and in-person conferences then return, you may transfer your registration without penalty up to one week before the virtual conference.

NPACE SESSION SPEAKERS

Patricia J. Sulak, MD

Founder, Living WELL Aware LLC; Professor, Texas A&M College of Medicine; Gynecologist, Baylor Scott & White Health

Patricia J. Sulak, MD is a practicing gynecologist, medical school professor, researcher, and international speaker on women’s health issues and wellness for over 30 years. She graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Medicine in San Antonio and was named a Distinguished Alumnus. She is included in Texas Super Docs and Best Doctor’s in American. She was given the Texas State Board of Education Heroes for Children Award and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Community Service Award for her involvement in school health. In addition to her busy clinical practice, she speaks throughout the country of women’s health issues and wellness. She is the founder of Living WELL Aware, a holistic wellness program that incorporates all aspects of well-being.

Michael E. Zychowicz, DNP, ANP, ONP, FAAN, FAANP

Professor & Lead Faculty, Orthopedic NP Specialty, Duke University School of Nursing

Michael E. Zychowicz, DNP is a Professor at Duke University School of Nursing.  Dr. Zychowicz has built a 20-year career in orthopedics as both a clinician, educator, and scholar. He leads the only Orthopedic NP graduate education program at Duke University.  

Dr. Zychowicz is board certified as both an Adult NP and Orthopedic NP.  Dr. Zychowicz is the author of several musculoskeletal book chapters and journal articles.  He frequently presents on various musculoskeletal topics at national and international conferences.

Maryann Woody, MSN, APRN-BC, DCNP, CANS

Nurse Practitioner, Juva Skin and Laser; Aestique Plastic Surgery; MediSpa

Marianne, a Dermatology Certified Nurse Practitioner and Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist Practices Medical and Aesthetic Dermatology at JUVA Skin and Laser in New York City in addition to part-time employment in aesthetics at Aestique Plastic Surgery in Pittsburgh. She has a wealth of experience as both a Family Nurse Practitioner and a Registered Nurse with more than 35 years in the medical profession working in hospitals, corporations, and with academic institutions as a researcher and educator. 

For the past 12 years, Marianne has developed a special interest in early skin cancer detection using a Dermatoscope as well as all aspects of dermatology. Her experience includes specialization in aesthetic procedures including aesthetic injectables, sclerotherapy, the use of PRP, and energy-based procedures. Marianne holds a BS degree in Nursing and an MSN as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Pittsburgh.

Gary Graf, MSN, ARNP-C

Family Nurse Practitioner (BC), Cotton-O'Neil Diabetes and Endocrinology Center

Gary Graf has been a Family Nurse Practitioner since 2000 working in the field of Family Practice for his first 3 years and Diabetes and Endocrinology for the past 16.  He has continued to work in urgent care one shift per week. 

He has been the Sub-Investigator on over 200 clinical trials in the fields of diabetes, devices, chronic kidney disease, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, erectile dysfunction, and hypertension.

Barbara P. Yawn, MD, MSc, MSPH, FAAFP

Adjunct Professor, University of Minnesota Family and Community Health

Barbara P. Yawn, MD, MS, MSc, is the Chief Science Officer of the COPD Foundation, a national COPD educational and advocacy organization. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, and in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of South Dakota Medical School.

Dr. Yawn is a longstanding member of numerous professional societies and committees. She has contributed to 15 practice guidelines, including the WHO international asthma symptoms-based guidelines (IPAG) and the NHLBI 2007 Asthma Guidelines update. She has published over 400 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including approximately 70 articles on asthma and COPD. She has presented over 1000 professional papers and talks.

Dr. Yawn is Editor-in-Chief of Respiratory Medicine Case Reports and Section Editor for Respiratory Medicine and the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. She has served on the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Family Practice, Journal of Asthma and Allergy, Journal of International Respiratory Group, and Allergy Management in Practice, among other journals. Before joining the COPD Foundation, Dr. Yawn spent 20 years as founder and director of the Olmsted Medical Center and HealthSystem’s department of clinical research after completing 15 years of rural primary care practice.

Amy Bruno, PhD, ANP-BC

Primary Care Provider, Galileo Health; Lecturer, MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing

Amy Bruno is currently a nurse practitioner providing virtual primary care with Galileo Health, Inc. She also is a term lecturer at MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing and teaches in the Adult-Gero Primary Care NP Program. Amy has previously worked in the neurology field for over 10 years providing care to clients in the inpatient and outpatient settings.  In 2016 she completed her Ph.D. in nursing at UMASS Dartmouth and her research interests include symptom management and quality of life in individuals with movement and headache disorders.

Alison O. Marshall, RN, MSN, FNP-C

Faculty, Sylvie Ratelle STD/HIV Prevention Center of New England; Clinical Instructor, Boston College Connell School of Nursing

Alison Marshall is a board-certified, practicing Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). She earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Sociology with Honors from Boston College in 2000, and her Master’s in Nursing from Yale University in 2005. She is currently matriculating in the Ph.D. program at Boston College, with expected graduation in 2023. 

Alison’s nursing practice is based in Massachusetts. Alison has practiced at the South Boston Community Health Center since 2005. She is a full-time Clinical Instructor at the Boston College Connell School of Nursing. Alison is Faculty at The Sylvie Ratelle STD/HIV Prevention Center of New England, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded national training organization for practicing providers. She engages in clinical research regarding sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and lectures to practicing clinicians nationally and internationally about the identification, treatment, and prevention of STIs.

Alison lives happily in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and their French bulldog, Jarvis.

Jay Gupta, RPh, MSc, MTM Consultant, C-IAYT

President, RxRelax

Jay Gupta is the Director of Pharmacy & Integrative Health at Harbor Care and President of www.YogaCaps.org and www.RxRelax.com. An international speaker, he is recognized by Cardinal Health, by the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA), and by Next Generation Pharmacists/Pharmacy Times for excellence in medication education and integrative therapies.

He is a leader in the deprescription movement and a trailblazer in the therapeutic use of seated yoga for persons who experience physical and mental health challenges. In 2020, he completed a clinical trial studying the effects of therapeutic telehealth yoga for healthcare professionals during a pandemic in collaboration with Antioch University. He is Faculty Chief of the “Therapeutic Telehealth Yoga for Healthcare Professionals” course.

SPONSORED SESSION SPEAKERS

Michael C. Zlupko, MD

Physician, Altoona Lung Specialists 

Altoona, PA

Dr. Michael C. Zlupko joined the Altoona Lung Specialists in 2013. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA.  Dr. Zlupko received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He performed his internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA., and completed his pulmonary and critical care training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, OH.

Dr. Michael C. Zlupko is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Critical Care Medicine.  He is licensed to practice medicine by the State of Pennsylvania with privileges at UMPC Altoona, Tyrone Hospital, the James E. VanZandt Veterans Memorial Hospital, and J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Michael C. Zlupko was trained in the bronchoscopic technique of endobronchial ultrasound during his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic; a technique he brought to the local community utilized for biopsy and staging of lung disease.  

Dr. Michael C. Zlupko was born and resides in Altoona, PA with his wife, Erica, who is also from Altoona, and their two daughters.

Davida F. Kruger, MSN, APN-BC, BC-ADM

Certified Nurse Practitioner, Henry Ford Health System Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Bone and Mineral Disease, New Center One 

Detroit, MI

Davida F. Kruger has been a certified nurse practitioner in diabetes for more than 30 years at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan. Her role includes both clinical practice and research. She is board certified by the American Nurses Association Credentialing Center in Primary Care and by the American Association of Diabetes Educators in Advanced Diabetes Management. She is past Chair of the American Diabetes Associations Research Foundation and has served on the American Diabetes Association's Research Policy Committee. She is also a past president, health Care and Education of the American Diabetes Association. She served as editor of Diabetes Spectrum from 2005-2008. She served as the Editor In Chief of Clinical Diabetes from 2011-2016.

Ms. Kruger has been a principal investigator on numerous research projects and has written widely on diabetes care, authoring the book The Diabetes Travel Guide 2nd edition (2006). Her awards include the Florence Nightengale award for excellence in research, ADA’s Rachmeil Levine Award for Distinguished Service, ADA’s Award for Outstanding Service in Diabetes Research Funding, The ADA Wendell May’s Award, The 2014 Clara Ford Award for Nursing Excellence in Research and Education and Wayne State University School of Nursing 2014 Alumna of the year.

Ruth Carrico, PhD, DNP, APRN, CIC, FSHEA, FNAP 

Professor, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases 

Louisville, KY

Dr. Carrico is a Professor and Family Nurse Practitioner with the University of Louisville School Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases Dr. Carrico is widely published in the area of infection prevention and control and has worked with acute care hospitals, long term care facilities, outpatient surgery centers, and clinics, and physician and dental offices. At present, Dr. Carrico is responsible for clinical operations at the University of Louisville’s Global Health Center focusing on interprofessional practices and outcomes that represent infection risk for patients, healthcare personnel, and communities worldwide. In addition, she serves as the Director for the Research Internship Program for the University of Louisville’s Center of Excellence in Research in Infectious Diseases (CERID). Dr. Carrico has been an invited speaker for national and international conferences and is well recognized for her expertise and ability to convey practical approaches to infection prevention and control challenges.

Charles P. Vega, MD, FAAFP

Health Sciences Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine 

Director, Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community

Assistant Dean for Culture and Community Education, University of California, Irvine 

Irvine, CA

Stephen Brunton, MD, FAAFP

Adjunct Associate Professor, Touro University California, College of Osteopathic Medicine

Vallejo, CA

Dr. Brunton is Executive Vice President for Primary Care Education Consortium. He works in a group practice in suburban Los Angeles and holds the faculty rank of Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Touro University in Vallejo, California. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief for ‘Clinical Diabetes’, the ADA’s primary care journal, and as the Executive Director of the Primary Care Metabolic Group. Previously, he served as the Director of Education for the American Academy of Family Physician.

Alisa Allen, PA-C

Alisha Allen is a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) covering AstraZeneca's cardiovascular and metabolic portfolios in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming. Alisha has over 20 years of healthcare experience in Utah, including roles as a Certified Nursing Assistant, Dialysis Tech, Registered Nurse, and Physician Assistant. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Utah, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies. In April of 2021, Alisha completed the Doctorate of Medical Science program at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. She has clinical experience/expertise in emergency medicine, hepatology, liver transplant, cardiology, and diabetes. 

Tracy Burch, RDN, CDN, CNSC, CCTD

She serves and has served in the following roles, Clinical Dietitian Senior, Liver & Multivisceral Transplant/Intestinal Rehabilitation, Indiana University Health –University Hospital, Indianapolis, IN,

She is a Certified Nutrition Support Clinician, Adult Weight Management, Clinical Transplant Dietitian, Certified SafeServManager

Her Education and Academic Activities include completing her Undergraduate at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN –BS, Dietetics, Registration: American Dietetic Association –Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Preceptor: Indiana University –Dietetic Interns and Students and Research and Professional Activities She has published an article in Transplant International; authored text chapter in “Organ and Tissue Transplantation” (Springer, 2017), was an invited Peer Reviewer of the ASPEN Handbook on Intestinal Failure and Transplant, has presented at virtual LIFT-ECHO (2021); NATCO (2018, 2014) and at local and regional symposia and grand rounds.

She is Past President and current Treasurer of the Indiana American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ISPEN), Member of ASPEN, and The OLEY Foundation

CE Information

Virtual Conference Objectives

By attending this NPACE continuing education activity, Nurse Practitioners will self-report:

• An increase in their primary care knowledge and skills including pharmacotherapeutics in managing patients with acute and chronic problems.
• A change in their clinical practice performance is based on new evidence-based information learned.
• An increase in patient quality outcome measures.
• That they received a positive return on their investment in regards to increased knowledge, skills, and patient outcomes.
• An increase in their professional development skills.

Obtain Your Credits

NPACE Sessions

Based on the ANCC Accreditation Standards, attendees are required to complete an evaluation to receive CE credit for online or enduring activities. All NPACE sessions that award CE credit will require the passing completion of an evaluation before a certificate of completion is awarded. You may retake the post-test until a passing score is achieved, at which point you will be able to view/print a copy of your certificate of completion. This online certificate will also be saved within your profile dashboard transcript for future access.

Partner-Sponsored Sessions

Participants must complete the requirements for each of the sessions. Each of the Partners (PCEC, Vindico, and DKB MED) will email the certificate of completion to you directly. 

Designation Statement

Available are up to 15.5 contact hours of CE available, specifically for NPACE sessions and NPACE ePosters. Participants should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

An additional 4 contact hours can be earned via our partner-sponsored CE sessions. Certificates for these sessions will be issued directly from the sponsor.  

Accreditation Statement

Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education (NPACE) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC).

In addition to ANCC, NPACE is approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing by: the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP8720 and Florida CE Broker #50-1476.

For More Information on these sessions including descriptions, learning objectives, speaker(s), etc. view the conference agenda.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Digital ePosters

NPACE’s ePosters are digital research poster presentations developed by current and future nurse practitioners. This new, interactive format allows viewers to read the full abstracts, learn about the poster authors, review the poster research, participate in surveys, and enhance learning through videos and additional online resources. 

NPACE is pleased to offer 0.5 contact hours per ePoster -> Complete all 7 of these featured ePosters and earn up to 3.5 CE credits.

These ePosters will be available prior to the start of the conference as well as on-demand access until September 8th to earn your credits.

Featured ePosters

• The Role of a Primary Care PNP in the Care of a Childhood Survivor of ALL
• Best Practices in Identifying and Managing Giant Cell Arteritis in Primary Care Settings
• Identification of Pediatric Obesity with the Use of a Motivational Interviewing Screening Tool in a Rural Pediatric Healthcare Clinic
• The Impact of an Online Educational Intervention on Attitudes of Primary Care Clinicians toward Patients with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs)
• Promoting Palliative Care Referrals for Patients with COPD: An Educational Intervention for Primary Care Providers
• Enhancing Hepatitis C Virus Screening and Diagnosis using a Risk Screener
• Diabetes Management through Health Coaching in Patients with Serious Mental Illness