As the leading professional voice for neonatal nurses, NANN continues to deliver high-quality education and association opportunities for their members.
NANN experienced a very successful year in 2014 in terms of education and membership engagement. Here are some of the highlights of 2014.
MEMBERSHIP
In 2014, NANN reached a milestone. Through the support of the members, the NANN of Directors, the NANNP Council, and NANN chapters, NANN increased membership to 8121 as of September 30, 2014.
NANN thanks all members for sharing the value and benefits of the association with their peers, especially those who referred new members and renewed their own membership. NANN hopes to continue growing and provide additional resources for members in 2015.
Thank you for being a NANN member.
LEARN. MEET. SEE. BE THERE.
More than 650 attendees-traveling from as far away as Australia-gathered at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on September 10-13, 2014, for NANN's 30th Annual Educational Conference.
Attendees had the opportunity to experience a content-rich meeting packed with exciting clinical and research sessions. The educational program included 24 concurrent sessions, 15 paper sessions, 4 interprofessional sessions, and 3 general sessions. Fifty attendees experienced the first annual speed networking event, a spin-off from the popular speed dating concept. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with 8-10 peers during an entertaining hour-long session.
This year, nearly 140 exhibitors provided attendees access to state-of-the-art products, services, and information pertinent to the demands of neonatal nurses. Attendees and exhibitors posted their conversations and photos about the annual conference to Facebook and Twitter. Followers were encouraged to use #NANN14 in their posts when referencing the annual conference. We hope you will continue to share your conference photos and thoughts with us through social media.
NANN hopes to see you and your colleagues at next year's conference in Dallas, Texas, filled with big ideas and opportunities, October 22-25, 2015.
CONNECTING
In an effort to better connect with neonatal nurses, NANN launched a blog, "Neonatal Connection," in August.
"Neonatal Connection" provides readers with personal stories, advice, and nursing inspiration for members and the younger generation of neonatal nurses. Readers got an inside look of conference attendees' experiences during NANN's annual conference. Those writers who attended conference shared their "day in the life" perspective with readers, including thoughts on educational sessions and free time.
NANN bloggers include Courtney Prewitt, Carrie-Ellen Briere, Kristin Howard, Kristina Johnson, and NANN President Pam Spivey. The blog will also feature guest bloggers on occasion. Since launch, the blog has had more than 2000 page views and continues to reach audiences through Facebook.
Read "Neonatal Connection" at http://neonatalconnection.weebly.com.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
To remain a primary resource for evidence-based products, NANN and NANNP released 3 new resources in 2014. NANN continues to provide education through various new delivery systems such as webinars and interactive online learning modules.
The Discharge Pathway
In August 2014, NANN released Baby Steps to Home, which provides nurses with a standardized discharge pathway for their patients. The free, online, evidence-based resource was created to standardize the discharge pathway and parent teaching that happens during the baby's stay in the neonatal intensive care unit and after the family is sent home. Baby Steps to Home provides parents with information appropriate to their baby's condition and progress toward discharge. The learning module includes 10 steps of discharge covering 25 topics, downloadable evidence-based PDFs for nurses, and parent handouts in English and Spanish. Learn more at http://www.babystepstohome.com.
NNP Competencies
The expanded second edition of Competencies and Orientation Toolkit for Neonatal Nurse Practitioners debuted at NANN's annual conference. The 90-page toolkit establishes consistent expectation concerning competencies for NNPs at varying levels of experience. This edition also offers methods of evaluating competencies to ensure that NNPs possess the knowledge, skill, and clinical judgment required for providing safe and effective care. It includes downloadable documents, including a full PDF of the book and Word documents of all the appendices. Purchase your copy today at http://www.nannstore.org.
Pharmacology Education
To address the need of pharmacology education, NANN introduced the Pharmacology Webinar Series in May 2013. The Webinar series allows speakers to present on relevant and hot topics in the pharmacology spectrum. Attendees can earn continuing nursing education and pharmacology credit for each Webinar. Topics include rapid sequenced intubation, safe use of controlled substances, national drug shortages, and antimicrobial use and stewardship. The recordings of these Webinars are available for purchase. Learn more about the Webinar series at http://www.nann.org/pharmacology.
NANN will continue to provide evidence-based resources for neonatal nurses in 2015. To purchase NANN products, visit http://www.nannstore.org.
THANK YOU!
NANN thanks those members who have contributed their time supporting NANN as a volunteer in 2014. NANN would not be as successful without you!