Texas Nurses Association (TNA)

The Texas peer assistance program for Nurses (tpapn) is an approved peer assistance program under chapter 467 of the Texas health and safety code. Tpapn's mission is to safeguard patients by providing early identification, support, monitoring, accountability, and advocacy to Texas Nurses who have an identified substance use and/or mental health condition or related incident, so they may safely practice nursing. Tpapn is a voluntary program that may serve as an alternative to Texas board of nursing discipline. Additionally, tpapn provides education and outreach to the community to address stigma and promote early identification and intervention for Nurses experiencing mental health and/or substance use issues. During the 2022-2023 fiscal year: 1,118 Nurses were served 642 Nurses were referred 230 Nurses signed participation agreements 166 Nurses completed tpapn 128 peer support partners tpapn holds peer support partner workshops quarterly and a new training program that allows peer support parnters to train either via virtual courses or on-demand was started.

Tnf's education programs include: Texas team action coalition, care for the caregiver, and district scholarships. Texas team action coalition, in collaboration with the robert wood johnson Foundation, exists to advance health through nursing. Texas team projects include a Nurses on board program that prepares Nurses for board service through educational programming, works to facilitate transitions in nursing practice role, and provides other educational resources to Nurses. The care for the caregiver project was made possible by a gift from johnson & johnson and involved the development and dissemination of resources for Nurses to build their resilience in dealing with disaster situations. Tnf provides administrative support to local district organizations who raise money for nursing student scholarships.