Nurse academics, clinicians, and students will come together at the fourth biennial conference to share a wide range of scholarly and practice issues, says nursing professor Maher El-Masri.
The conference, entitled “Bridging Evidence and Practice: Shaping the Future of Nursing,” will explore the the importance of research and scholarly evidence to nursing practice. More than 200 nurses from across the country will attend on Saturday, September 29, at the Caesars Windsor Convention Centre.
The conference will feature two keynote speakers and 68 presentations in 12 concurrent sessions. Presenters will share diverse topics on research and practice issues such as nursing education, patient safety, community health and infection control, cardiovascular health, and professional trends in nursing.
“With the shift in healthcare priorities, nurses play a larger role in providing evidence for better primary health care, health promotion, and disease prevention,” says Dr. El-Masri. “A conference like this is a unique opportunity for academics, clinicians, and students to network and exchange ideas. The biennial conference has become a trademark of nursing in our community and we are very excited over the fact that we have been able to present such a world class event.”
Keynote speakers are Sandy Summers and Sean Clarke. Summers, a Baltimore, Maryland native, is founder and executive director of The Truth About Nursing, a non-profit organization which works to counter the damaging portrayal of nurses in the media.
Dr. Clarke will speak about the importance of research to the growth of the profession. He is a professor at the McGill School of Nursing and the Academic Nursing Network and director of the McGill Nursing Collaborative for Education and Innovation in Patient and Family Centred Care.
The conference is organized by the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Windsor in partnership with a number of local healthcare institutions which include:
- Windsor Regional Hospital,
- Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital,
- Chatham-Kent Health Alliance,
- Windsor Essex County Health Unit,
- Erie St. Clair Community Care Access Centre,
- Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario,
- Tau Upsilon Chapter
For more information, including a complete schedule and registration details, visit the conference Web site.
— Chantelle Myers