I recently had the opportunity to create a professional poster for the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) conference in Baltimore, Maryland. CPC+ is a national advanced primary care medical home model that aims to strengthen primary care through regionally based multi-payer payment reform and care delivery transformation. The care delivery ensures practices have the infrastructure to deliver better care, resulting in a healthier patient population.

For my poster, I chose the topic, Utilizing a Collaborative Care Team Approach to Improve Patient Outcomes, so I could highlight two unique teams that I work with. As a Nurse Care Coordinator (NCC), I identify high-risk and clinically complex patients in the outpatient setting of primary care physician practice offices. I have the opportunity in my role to collaborate with Behavioral Health Consultants (BHCs) and Community Social Workers (CSWs) to help advance the care that I provide to these patients and their family members.

This was an action research poster, in which I described the role I play and how the BHCs and CSWs help advance patient care. It is a topic that I am passionate about and wanted to share with others.  Remember, when you develop your own professional poster, select a topic that you are impassioned about, want to learn more about, and want to share your findings with others.

The conference itself was a great experience! I had the chance to interact and network with all types of healthcare professionals – from physicians to nurses to pharmacists and many others. It was interesting to learn about what other healthcare systems outside of Pennsylvania are doing in the realm of primary care. There were keynote speakers and many breakout sessions to learn more about topics that were of interest to me, such as:

• The time to integrate care management is now
• Redesigning care for seriously ill patients
• Delivering care in revolutionary primary care practices
• Working beyond your practice to address health-related social needs.

Overall, presenting my poster was a wonderful opportunity to connect with others in the nursing field, network, and learn about many other topics of interest during conference. I highly recommend to everyone to try your hand at creating a professional poster to present at a conference. There are so many wonderful nursing conferences out there – from local to international – and, once you attend one, you will be hooked and want to attend more! It is a great opportunity to showcase your knowledge and passion about a topic that you love. It’s so rewarding to share that with others!