The Windy City was host to this year's National Conference for Nurse Practitioners (NCNP), which took place at the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, IL, April 23-26. Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer Health, the conference covered a wide variety of healthcare topics and offered continuing-education activities to approximately 1,200 nurse practitioners (NPs) in attendance from around the country.
Professor and adult-gerontology acute care NP Carol L. Thompson, PhD, DNP, ACNP, FNP, FCCM, FAANP, began the event with her keynote address: Awesome Practiced Daily! She discussed "the five Cs of awesomeness," which include competence, caring, coordination, collaboration, and compensation-both challenging and motivating NPs to strive for greatness.
Conference Chairperson Margaret A. Fitzgerald, DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C, FAANP, CSP, FAAN, DCC presented the NP of the Year Award to Tom Bartol, APRN, from Richmond, ME. Bartol was recognized for his contributions in the practical use of electronic health records, emphasizing lifestyle changes/personal goals, and implementing a "star program," in which participating patients have lost over 13,000 pounds along with decreasing the use of unnecessary medications. In addition to presenting topics on healthy living, Bartol hosted an early-morning yoga class for participants of all skill levels.
Dr. Fitzgerald discussed the evidence-based practice of vitamins, herbs, and minerals, NP certification exam preparation, case studies in lab diagnosis, vaccine-preventable diseases, and resistant pathogens throughout the remainder of the conference.
Participants attended interactive workshops, breakout sessions, and skill-building courses led by expert speakers covering numerous topics, including drug updates; complexities of chronic pain; lab diagnosis; health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons; managing drug-resistant organisms; heart failure; and many more. The expert-led workshops covered basic suturing, common office and dermatologic procedures, orthopedic assessment, and principles of splinting.
Monica N. Tombasco, MS, MSNA, FNP-BC, CRNA, held a session on optimizing outcomes with preoperative assessment, which discussed age-appropriate guidelines on lab, ECG, and diagnostic testing. She also hosted a workshop on orthopedic assessment, providing attendees with a hands-on, didactic learning experience. Participants were able to practice joint and soft tissue injection and aspiration on simulation models.
Cliff Ashley, MS, LATC, taught the principles of splinting in a two-part workshop designed to help participants identify and understand indications that require splinting, common splinting techniques and precautions, various splinting materials, and hands-on experience applying splints to upper and lower extremities.
We would like to thank everyone who attended and took part in this year's conference. We hope to see you again at NCNP 2015, which will be held at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown Hotel in Philadelphia, PA, May 6-9.