NOVA Webinars

Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ

Chair, NOVA Education Committee

              NOVA provides live webinars every month and the webinars are available on the NOVA website after the presentation.  The webinars provide information on veteran healthcare topics to help VA nurses care for veterans, and to help NOVA nurses with professional advancement.  They are especially helpful for new nursing graduates and nurses new to the VA.  These webinars should be included in all nursing orientation and transition to practice programs. 

              In the next few months NOVA is presenting webinar topics specifically designed for VA nurses.  If you can’t see it live, watch it on the NOVA website.  Webinars are scheduled at 12:30pm ET. On February 25, Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ will present “Evaluating Your Self-Assessment for promotion to Nurse III.” On March 25, Rachel Sprunger BA MSW LCSW will present “Anxiety.”   On April 22, Julie McLendon DNP RN will present “Clozapine Initiation Protocol.”  These webinars will be on the NOVA website after the presentation, and can be presented as in-service programs in your facility.  As a NOVA member, you can register for the webinar, and then schedule a room in your facility to show the webinar.  You can send an email from your private email address to VA nurses with information about the webinar.   You can also post flyers on bulletin boards to let people know about the webinar.  Have people sign an attendance sheet, and send it to nova@vanurse.org after the webinar so people who attend can receive an evaluation and a continuing education certificate as NOVA is also an accredited provider of nursing continuing development credits (NCPD).  

              Remember that you can always access webinars on the NOVA website https://www.vanurse.org/page/memberonlywebinars.  Webinars currently available include:  Advocacy:  Congress 101-Who and What You Need to Know to Advocate Successfully, A Look into VA Community Care; Acute Pain Management; Adjustment Disorders; Addressing Homelessness and the HUD-VASH Program; Aromatherapy in Nursing; Breast and Cervical Screening Updates; Caregiver Support Program; Caring for Veterans with Rehabilitative Needs; Eligibility for VA Care, Compensation, and Pension; Empowering Seamless Transitions:  Enhancing Care Coordination Through the VA Consult Toolbox; Evaluating Your Self-Assessment for Promotion to Nurse II with Educational Waiver, Gulf War Illness; Guarding the Frontline:  A Powerful Approach to Preventing Workplace Violence; Hospice and Palliative Care; Managing Holiday Stress; Military Sexual Trauma/Intimate Partner Violence; Nurse Safety Proactive Personal Protection; Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation; Phototherapy; Primary Care Virtual Diabetes Clinic; Providing Equitable Healthcare for LGBTQ+ Veterans; SAAs, SAPs, and Cash Awards; Safe Patient Handling; Substance Use Disorders; Suicide Prevention Strategies; The Power of Advocacy – NOVA Caring for Veterans and Fighting for VA Nurses for 45 Years; Understanding Depression:  Recognizing, Treating, and Supporting; VA Community Care Quality Improvement Program Train the Trainer:  Veteran Specific Population; Veterans Justice Outreach; Visually Impaired and Blind Veterans and Blind Rehabilitation Services; Waking  Up to New Science on Why You Can’t Sleep and What You Can Do About it; What is PTSD and How Do You Address it with Veterans?; Whole Health; and Wound Care.

Phoenix NOVA Chapter Outreach
Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ
Nurse Emeritus

              I had the wonderful opportunity to round with the night shift Phoenix Assistant Nurse Managers as they visited every unit on Friday night, January 30^th.  The Phoenix Assistant Nurse Managers on the night shift do a terrific job of engaging with night shift staff, regularly rounding with a cart of goodies for staff members, such as frozen treats to let them know they are not forgotten.  Thank you for your leadership and outreach to nursing staff members!  I was able to accompany them on visits to each unit, and presented a brief in-service including information on some of NOVA's legislative victories for VA nurses. NOVA was instrumental in obtaining legislation passed that included the Nurse Pay Act which established locality pay, Saturday premium pay, eliminating restrictions on VA nurses working outside the VA, permitting nurse managed clinics, improving promotion processes requiring input from nurses, inclusion of sick leave as part of the calculation for retirement for FERS employees, ensuring the Nurse Executive is included in decision making at the facility and VISN, authorization of alternate work schedules including 12 hour shifts, and recognition for Cadet Nurses from World War II.

Dear Colleagues and Fellow Advocates,

It is a profound honor to address you as your incoming President of the Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs (NOVA). As we embark on this journey together, I am reminded of the unique bond we share—not just as nurses, but as the specialized backbone of the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system.

Our Mission: More Than a Profession

The NOVA mission is clear: to educate, communicate, and advocate for the Department of Veterans Affairs nurse professionally, personally, and legislatively. We exist to ensure that every VA nurse has the resources, voice, and support needed to deliver the world-class care our nation’s heroes deserve.

The Critical Need for Membership

Our strength lies in our numbers. We are currently navigating a landscape of significant change, including the largest VA reorganization in 30 years and ongoing challenges to nursing staffing levels. Now, more than ever, we must increase our membership to remain a powerful, independent voice.

A larger membership means more weight behind our Legislative Priority Goals, such as securing sufficient funding for staffing and protecting the VHA from policies that could fragment Veteran care. I urge each of you to reach out to a colleague today; remember, through our Member-Get-A-Member campaign, recruiting five new members can even cover your own annual dues.

Advocacy: Our Crucial Mandate

Advocacy is not just something we do; it is who we are. Our 2026 goals focus on:

• Nurse Advocacy: We are fighting for competitive salary assessments, expanded tuition support, and full practice authority for our CRNAs.
• Veteran Advocacy: We are standing firm against legislation that shifts the VHA from a provider of specialized care to a mere payer for private services, ensuring our Veterans don't lose the high-quality, integrated care they’ve earned.

I invite you to join us for 2026 Hill Day on March 19 to bring these issues directly to Capitol Hill. Together, we will ensure that the future of VA nursing—and the health of our Veterans—is guided by the expertise of those who know it best: you.

Thank you for your tireless dedication. Let’s make this year a turning point for our profession and our heroes.

Michelle Salazar-Rodriguez, NOVA President 

Dear NOVA nurses,

In October NOVA held the 45th Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, which was another great success! While we may have been a small group , we were a mighty group. I would like to recognize and thank the Chairpersons of the NOVA Annual Meeting Planning Committee: Michelle Salazar- Rodriquez and Rockne Jacque as well as all the committee members. Over the past year they worked diligently to ensure that an informative and memorable two-day event took place to educate nurses.

A recent proposal to remove nursing from the list of professional degrees has angered nurses across the U.S. Rightfully so! The potential changes may remove some loans reserved for professional degrees, make it more expensive for nurses to attend educational institutions as well as increase the nursing shortage. These proposed changes also included physician assistants, physical therapists and social workers - all which impact the nursing care that we deliver. I want to take a moment to remind all nurses what it means to be professional. Professionalism in nursing is not just a degree. It is ingrained in our core values such as integrity, compassion and accountability that you demonstrate through your dedication, advocacy for Veterans and commitment to improving care. I ask that you consider attending NOVA Hill Day March 18-19, 2026 and advocate for nursing to remain a professional degree so that we can ensure the next generation of nurses are ready to care for veterans. This is your opportunity to speak up about the impact that this change would have on nursing and patient care!

As the year comes to a close my term as President also comes to an end. It has been my honor to represent VA and NOVA nurses over the past two years. We have faced an ever-changing landscape in how we deliver care to the Veterans. Representing NOVA legislatively has been a fulfilling part of my Presidency. But it does not end there. As the Immediate Past President, I will continue to work diligently to represent NOVA nurses and to ensure that your ability to provide quality care to the Veterans continues.

As the past year has been difficult to say the least and we do not know what the upcoming year has in store for all of us, remember the work you do every day is rewarding and makes a difference in the lives of the Veterans you care for!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season

Cathy Giasson

NOVA President

Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ

Chair, NOVA Education Committee

NOVA provides live webinars every month and the webinars are available on the NOVA website after the presentation.  NOVA is in the third year of our three year Caring for Veterans Program.  The webinars in this program provide information on veteran healthcare topics to help VA nurses care for veterans.  They are especially helpful for new nursing graduates and nurses new to the VA.  These webinars make excellent additions to nursing orientation and transition to practice programs. 

In the next few months NOVA is presenting webinar topics specifically designed for VA nurses.  If you can’t see it live, watch it on the NOVA website.  Webinars are scheduled at 12:30pm ET.  On December 9, Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ will present “The Power of Advocacy – NOVA Caring for Veterans and Fighting for VA Nurses for 45 Years”  at 12:30pm ET.  This webinar will be on the NOVA website after the presentation.  This is a great webinar for an inservice in your facility.  As a NOVA member, you can register for the webinar, and then schedule a room in your facility to show the webinar.  You can send an email from your private email address to VA nurses with information about the webinar.   You can also post flyers on bulletin boards to let people know about the webinar.  Have people sign an attendance sheet, and send it to nova@vanurse.org after the webinar so people who attend can receive an evaluation and a continuing education certificate as NOVA is also an accredited provider of nursing continuing development credits (NCPD).   This webinar is helpful for chapters and members to share what NOVA has done for VA nurses and encourage VA nurses to join NOVA.

Remember that you can always access webinars on the NOVA website https://www.vanurse.org/page/memberonlywebinars.  Webinars currently available include:  A Look into VA Community Care; Acute Pain Management;  Adjustment Disorders; Addressing Homelessness and the HUD-VASH Program; Aromatherapy in Nursing; Breast and Cervical Screening Updates; Caregiver Support Program; Caring for Veterans with Rehabilitative Needs; Eligibility for VA Care, Compensation, and Pension; Empowering Seamless Transitions:  Enhancing Care Coordination Through the VA Consult Toolbox; Evaluating Your Self-Assessment for Promotion to Nurse II with Educational Waiver,  Evaluating Your Self-Assessment for Promotion to Nurse III Gulf War Illness; Guarding the Frontline:  A Powerful Approach to Preventing Workplace Violence; Hospice and Palliative Care; Managing Holiday Stress; Military Sexual Trauma/Intimate Partner Violence; Nurse Safety Proactive Personal Protection; Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation; Phototherapy; Primary Care Virtual Diabetes Clinic; Providing Equitable Healthcare for LGBTQ+ Veterans; SAAs, SAPs, and Cash Awards; Safe Patient Handling; Substance Use Disorders; Suicide Prevention Strategies; Understanding Depression:  Recognizing, Treating, and Supporting; VA Community Care Quality Improvement Program Train the Trainer:  Veteran Specific Population; Veterans Justice Outreach; Visually Impaired and Blind Veterans and Blind Rehabilitation Services; Waking  Up to New Science on Why You Can’t Sleep and What You Can Do About it; What is PTSD and How Do You Address it with Veterans?; Whole Health; and Wound Care.