A large group of Vanderbilt nurses attended the 2015 National Magnet Conference, which took place earlier this month in Atlanta.
Vanderbilt’s representation at the conference included 12 clinical staff nurses as well as two podium presentations and two poster presentations. The conference is organized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Marilyn Dubree, MSN, R.N., executive chief nursing officer and April Kapu, DNP, APRN, associate nursing officer and VUMC advanced practice director, gave the podium presentation, “Optimized Efficiency and Effectiveness: Impact of an Academic Medical Center APRN Workflow Analysis.”
Margie Gale, MSN, R.N., and Christine Tomes, MSN, R.N., gave the podium presentation, “Green Dot: A Bystander Initiative to Prevent Lateral Violence.”
Jessica Walker, BSN, R.N., gave a poster presentation entitled “Sensory Rooms: Stimulating the Senses to Reduce Stress.” Kapu also gave a poster presentation entitled “Qualitative and Quantitative APRN Associated Outcomes: Implementation of an APRN Professional Practice Evaluation Program.”
Vanderbilt nurses left the conference energized and ready to apply their knowledge across the Medical Center.
“My experience was really fantastic,” said Heather Boyer, R.N., of the Pediatric Medical Acute Care Unit. “I felt empowered and enthusiastic about nursing care again and learned more about the purpose of Magnet designation, which is simply to provide excellent nursing care.”
Tomes, of Perioperative Services, said the conference reinforced that nursing is not only a job. It is a profession. “The Magnet conference pressed this point home as it focused on what is important — quality and safety for our patients,” she said. “When you are busy, it is very easy to forget how important your work is, and when you have obligations outside of work, it is often difficult to make the time to do the research that will help you grow as a nurse.”
Kimi Sells, MSN, R.N., a clinical staff leader in the NICU, said the conference was a highlight of her professional career.
“As nurses, we innately search out ways to do things better,” she said. “We are constantly finding problems and coming up with solutions to those problems. This conference allowed those solutions to be shared and showcased to nursing professionals all over the world. This sharing of information and improvements is what made this conference so impactful.”
Added Anna Zeller, BSN, R.N., “The conference really made me feel empowered as a nurse to seek out solutions on my floor and within the hospital. It made me understand that if I see an issue on the floor, I have the power to change it. The Magnet conference gave me the motivation I needed to advance my nursing education and seek out opportunities for growth.”
