Leading a symposium at the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing education conference was an “invaluable experience,” say two graduate students who joined professor Michelle Freeman for the May 27 presentation.

In “Teaching Improvement Science to Graduate Nursing Students: Preparing the Quality Improvement Leaders of Tomorrow,” Tomasina Malott and Conrad Lauko, along with Dr. Freeman, discussed their work partnering with local hospitals to complete quality improvement projects. Participants were provided with a list of practical steps and potential pitfalls that could be used when designing a QI course for graduate nursing students.

“Presenting at the CASN conference was an invaluable experience,” says Malott. “We as graduate students at the University of Windsor are very fortunate to have faculty who support and collaborate with students to help them further develop as nurse leaders.”

Their symposium noted that educators need to provide future nurses with the competencies to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare system. Such preparation is essential for all nursing students, especially those seeking advanced degrees, who will assume leadership roles in practice and education.

Lauko says the conference was “a real eye-opener.”

“The response we had from attendees just reinforces that the University of Windsor is on the forefront of nursing scholarship and innovation,” he says. “It was great to see the interest in our presentation.”

Linda Patrick, UWindsor dean of nursing, says the questions and feedback from the audience shows members were very impressed with the course and its outcomes: “It was very innovative to have the students present with their professor and share their experiences with this audience of nurse educators.”