How does a week in Disneyworld sound? Good, right? Add in two dynamic nursing conferences and you’ve got an amazing week! While it was busy, I’d like to share some highlights and encourage you to make attending a nursing conference a priority. There is nothing like being surrounded by nurses, hearing from nurses, and hanging out with nurses to renew your passion for nursing!

 

LCNC

Lippincott Clinical Nursing Conference (LCNC) was up first. Geared to front-line nurses, this clinical-intensive included skill building sessions related to cardiac, pulmonary, and neurologic assessments. During the opening address, Christine Kessler, MN, CNS, ANP-BC, ADM, CDTC, FAANP gave attendees a choice in what they wanted to learn about – managing patients with diabetes or the impacts of shift work. I don’t know many speakers who can poll the audience and then present based on those results! If you’re wondering, attendees opted to hear about shift work and the session was informative and thought-provoking. While some might think that night shift is the most opportune time for nurses to take care of certain tasks (think baths and other personal care), it’s not always what’s best for patients. 

Another opportunity that presented itself to me at LCNC was the chance to speak myself. It’s been a while since I presented to a large group and it felt good to connect with attendees during the session on adverse drug reactions. I quickly got through my nerves and I think that we all learned some things!  

Nursing Management Congress

Nursing Management Congress (NMC) followed and did not disappoint. Never have I attended a conference session where the opening session ended in a standing ovation followed by silence. I’ve been a fan of Carolyn Jones’ work on The American Nurse Project for several years. I am not kidding that I was somewhat starstruck sitting there in the front row while she presented and then again later when I met her in the exhibit hall. I’m also really looking forward to her new project, Dying in America. I’ve mentioned before about my interested in end-of-life care and after watching the trailer for this new film, I know I won’t be disappointed. 

I also spent time helping out with the New Manager Intensive preconference workshops. Day one focused on finance and day two focused on leadership. Wow! I knew nurse managers have a lot to juggle, but these two days really opened my eyes to the amount of calculations, hiring and firing issues, workplace conflict situations, and so much more that’s involved in their work each day. I’ll be sharing some more from this conference in the next few days, so stay tuned…

Don’t forget to visit Lippincott’s eConference Center to complete your session evaluations and obtain your CE certificates. You can see more photos from these conferences on NursingCenter’s Facebook page!