This past June, I took another mind changing conference with the National League for Nursing at their headquarters in Washington DC. I had a great experience at the previous summit, so I thought, this is a good investment in myself and will help prepare me more for the role as clinical instructor/educator at my new job. I wasn’t wrong.
In the weeks heading up to this event, I had really pushed my management to let me go to this event. I needed approved vacation time, and I didn’t have it. I talked to my assistant nurse manager and then I talked to my manager… and then I had to talk to them again. It frustrated me that I had to work this hard for something that was supposed to be an investment in myself. I don’t know that I’ve ever fought for something like this before, and it helped me realize that I don’t always need to back down. If I want it to happen, I can make a way.
From the get-go, I was blown away just by the participants in this workshop. I was surrounded by doctorally prepared DNP’s and Ph.D’s – many were deans and directors at their prospective universities and I literally felt like a baby. We had to do many group activities and I was so thankful that they all were patient and receptive to my input and even valued it. At the end of the day, I felt that not only were these people my colleagues, but they were also my comrades and role models in nursing education. They want the same thing I want – many of them are already making change, and all of us definitely want to create that change.
At the end of the workshop, I lingered around the conference room as I spent a little time reflecting on everything that had happened that week and all the thing I learned. I wanted to speak to the coordinator of the event and thank her, so as she finished her conversation with the other attendees, I went up to her… I told her I was a new educator and this workshop was perfect and more than I expected it to be. I shared that I had reservations about pursuing a post-graduate degree and that this workshop provided the clarity I needed to realize that not only could I do it, but that I could be part of the paradigm shift that needs to occur in nursing education. My voice quivered as I said this because I was so nervous to be around someone who has done so much of what I can only hope to achieve in my profession. It also shook because it was the first time I realized that there was something bigger I wanted to achieve in my life than to just be a really awesome nurse.
So again, Molly and Sue, while you may never ever even see this, I want you to know that this workshop was a pivotal moment in my career and anything that may happen in the future is because I met leaders like you. As Dr. Malone so eloquently stated, “let’s be educators that co-create and implement transformative strategies with daring ingenuity for the next generation of nurse.”