7:15am – 8:00am

Conference Registration & Networking Breakfast

8:00am – 8:15am

Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

8:15am – 9:00am

Nurse Leadership's Impact on Reimbursement Strategies in Healthcare

Nurse leaders play a critical role in navigating complex reimbursement systems and optimizing financial sustainability for healthcare organizations. This session will explore the intersection of nurse leadership and reimbursement strategies, focusing on innovative approaches and best practices. We’ll also discuss the importance of nurse leaders in fostering a culture of fiscal responsibility, promoting transparency, and engaging staff in cost-saving initiatives.

9:00am – 9:45am

The Looming Nurse Leadership Shortage: Are You Prepared?

The combination of an aging nursing population and not enough new nurses coming in to fill those roles plays a large part in today’s nursing shortage. According to the American Nursing Association, registered nurses who are less than 30 years old represent only 10 percent of the total working nurse population. With this nursing shortage there will come a shortage of nurse leaders. The roles served by nurse leaders are critical to the health of the enterprise and ultimately, in driving positive outcomes for the patients receiving care. Given the continuing need for future nurse leaders, it is essential to develop the next wave of RNs to be well-prepared to assume leadership roles. This session will examine competencies that are vital to shaping future nurse leaders.

9:45am – 10:15am

Networking & Refreshments Break

10:15am – 11:00am

Enhancing Nurse Retention: Approaches and Strategies

Nurse retention is a critical concern for healthcare organizations, given its profound impact on patient care quality, organizational stability, and staff morale. This session will explore approaches and strategies to enhance nurse retention. We’ll identify multifaceted factors influencing nurse turnover, including workload, burnout, job satisfaction, organizational culture, and career development opportunities. We’ll also explore evidence-based approaches aimed at addressing these factors, such as implementing flexible scheduling options, fostering supportive work environments, offering professional development programs, providing mentorship and leadership opportunities, promoting work-life balance initiatives, and enhancing recognition and reward systems. We’ll also discuss the role of effective leadership, transparent communication, and data-driven decision-making in successful retention efforts. By adopting a holistic and proactive approach to nurse retention, healthcare organizations can mitigate turnover rates, enhance staff engagement, and ultimately, improve patient outcomes.

11:00am – 11:45am

Addressing Problematic Employees

In every healthcare setting, the presence of problematic employees can pose significant challenges to organizational culture, patient safety, and staff morale. Nurse leaders, entrusted with fostering a cohesive and productive work environment, play a critical role in addressing and resolving issues related to problematic employees. Nurse leaders must navigate these complexities with empathy, professionalism, and a commitment to upholding patient care standards. This session will explore strategies and ethical considerations nurse leaders employ to effectively manage and, when necessary, remove problematic employees from their teams.

11:45am – 12:30pm

Addressing the Lack of Upper Management Involvement in Nurse Leadership

Nurse leadership is integral to the delivery of high-quality patient care and the overall success of healthcare organizations. However, the lack of upper management involvement in nurse leadership can pose significant challenges, hindering effective decision-making, resource allocation, and staff support. This session will explore the implications of inadequate upper management engagement in nurse leadership roles and offers strategies for overcoming this barrier. Topics to be discussed will include:

- Strategies for enhancing upper management awareness and engagement in nurse leadership

- Fostering a culture of shared governance

- Recognizing the value of nurse leadership in driving positive outcomes

- Leveraging the full potential of nursing leadership to enhance patient care quality, staff satisfaction, and organizational performance.

12:30pm – 1:30pm

Luncheon

1:30pm – 2:15pm

Nurse Leadership in Ambulatory Care: Navigating Complexity, Promoting Excellence

In ambulatory care settings, nurse leadership plays an important role in ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care within dynamic and often fast-paced environments. Ambulatory care encompasses a diverse array of healthcare services, including outpatient clinics, community health centers, and specialty practices, where patients seek preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic services without the need for overnight hospitalization. Nurse leaders in ambulatory care settings are tasked with managing multifaceted responsibilities that span clinical, administrative, and operational domains. They collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to streamline workflows, optimize resource utilization, and enhance patient satisfaction. This session will explore, how through their guidance, advocacy and commitment to excellence, nurse leaders contribute significantly to the success and sustainability of ambulatory care practices, ultimately improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities they serve.

2:15pm – 3:15pm

Panel: Elevating Patient Experience

Patient experience stands as a crucial measure of care quality, directly impacting outcomes and organizational reputation. Nurse leaders, positioned at the forefront of care delivery, wield significant influence in shaping and enhancing patient experience. This session will explore strategies nurse leaders can employ to elevate patient experience through transformative leadership practices. We’ll discuss key themes such as fostering a patient-centered culture, enhancing communication and collaboration among healthcare teams, leveraging technology to streamline processes and improve accessibility, and implementing evidence-based care practices.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

3:15pm – 3:45pm

Networking & Refreshments Break

3:45pm – 4:30pm

The Role of Nurse Leadership in Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Strategies and Implications

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have emerged as critical components of high-quality healthcare delivery, necessitating proactive efforts to address systemic disparities and promote a culture of belonging within nursing practice. This session will explore the pivotal role of nurse leadership in driving DEI initiatives within healthcare organizations. We’ll explore strategies for cultivating a culture of inclusion through education, training, and dialogue, fostering empathy, cultural competence, and allyship among nursing staff. We will also examine the role of nurse leaders in advocating for healthcare policies that address social determinants of health and promote health equity in marginalized communities. By embracing their role as change agents and advocates, nurse leaders can leverage their influence to dismantle barriers, foster diversity, cultivate equity, and foster an inclusive environment that enhances patient care quality and staff satisfaction.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

4:30pm – 5:15pm

Nurses’ Role in the Opioid Epidemic

Nurses are often the first point of contact for patients seeking support for substance use disorders, which are often the result of prescription medications for pain or surgery. Their skill in navigating the healthcare system, combined with their ability to serve as compassionate patient advocates, makes nurses critical in addressing the opioid crisis. Nurses have always been their patients’ most important advocates. As the healthcare professionals who spend the most time with patients, they have a unique opportunity to help prevent opioid abuse and addiction. This session will explore what nurses can do to ease the opioid epidemic.

5:15pm

End of Day One

7:15am – 8:00am

Networking Breakfast

8:00am – 8:15am

Navigating the Horizon: Envisioning the Future of Nurse Leadership

The landscape of healthcare is rapidly evolving, driven by technological advancements, shifting demographics, and changing patient needs. In this dynamic environment, nurse leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping the future trajectory of nursing practice and healthcare delivery. This session will explore emerging trends and challenges that will define the future of nurse leadership, underscoring the need for ongoing professional development, mentorship, and organizational support to empower nurse leaders to navigate the complexities of the future healthcare landscape effectively.

9:00am – 9:45am

How Nurse Leaders Can Make a Difference in Mental Health

Mental health – or the lack of it – is one of the most serious challenges facing the healthcare system. The scope of the problem is staggering. In the face of this, is there an opportunity for nurse leaders to make a difference? Are there areas in which nurses can have a unique impact? This session will identify areas in which there is an opportunity for nurses to provide leadership: nursing practice, continuity of care, technology and innovation, stigma and patient partnerships. Gain insights and perspectives on why these areas are particularly important and the opportunities for nurses to make a difference in mental health.

9:45am – 10:15am

Networking & Refreshments Break

10:15am – 11:00am

The Nurse Manager Role in Recruiting Staff

The costs of high staff turnover in healthcare can be considerable. Not only are there direct financial costs of replacing staff, but other repercussions such as the loss of key skills, knowledge and experience, and the negative effect on workforce morale, just to name a few. In addition, high turnover represents a substantial burden both on human resources and nurse leaders, as they're constantly recruiting and training new staff. With today's nursing shortage as rampant as it is, these incidents are more widespread than we'd like to admit. Also, high staff turnover in healthcare, particularly in rural areas, poses significant challenges, including financial costs, loss of expertise, and diminished morale. This session will explore successful recruitment strategies as well as those tailored to rural settings.

11:00am – 11:45am

Engaging Nurses in Quality Improvement

Nurses engaged in research and quality improvement projects report higher levels of job satisfaction, wellbeing, perceived higher levels of care in their workplace, with lower levels of unscheduled time off work. Additionally, first-line nurse managers are central to quality improvement work when changing work practices into better patient outcomes. Leading quality improvement efforts requires a knowledge of quality improvement principles, methods, and tools.   Learn how to use a quality improvement methodology in your daily management as well as how to coach and support nurses at the bedside to engage in improvement collaboratives.  This session will provide nurse leaders with practical examples illustrating how they can embed quality improvement in their daily management of their teams which can lead to higher quality and safer care.

11:45am – 12:30pm

Nursing Leadership and Population Health

Nursing has been the most trusted profession in America. Known for their honesty and high ethical standards, nurses have worked hard to gain public trust, and they are increasingly asked to help modernize the nation’s approach to population health. This renewed urgency for public health reform comes amid a global pandemic and many other challenges still looming, like improving primary and preventive care access and managing a growing and diverse patient population with high levels of chronic illness. For decades, nurses have formed the backbone of public health initiatives. Their cumulative knowledge should be mobilized to guide new policies, improve patient engagement, and enhance the health of individuals and communities. This session will explore all this and why nurses should spearhead population health initiatives.

12:30pm

Conference Concludes

12:45pm – 2:45pm

Workshop

Bridging the Communication Gap: Strategies for Front Line Staff Nurses and Nurse Executives

Effective communication between front line staff nurses and nurse executives is paramount for delivering quality patient care, ensuring organizational efficiency, and fostering a positive work environment. However, communication gaps often exist between these two groups, hindering collaboration and impeding the achievement of organizational goals. This session will explore strategies aimed at closing the communication gap between front line staff nurses and nurse executives. We’ll identify key barriers to effective communication, including hierarchical structures, differing priorities, and limited opportunities for interaction. We’ll also highlight the importance of organizational commitment and leadership support in facilitating successful communication initiatives. By adopting these strategies, healthcare organizations can enhance communication channels, promote mutual understanding, and ultimately, improve patient outcomes and staff satisfaction.