Summary of NONPF 29th Annual Meeting

Faculty, preceptors, doctoral students, and other interested participants convened on April 3-6, 2003, in Philadelphia for the NONPF Annual Meeting. Over several days, participants experienced exceptional educational sessions and valuable networking in a fun and collegial atmosphere.

Plenary sessions offered national perspectives on the key forces of change in health care and health professions education, as well as provided insights into addressing associated challenges. A prestigious program of distinguished speakers generated high-level discussions and consideration of impending changes for nurse practitioner education. Click on a speaker's name to view their slides (Requires the Acrobat Reader to view, which can be downloaded at Adobe's website).

The opening plenary session featured Wendy Everett ScD., who is the first president of the New England Healthcare Institute. Dr. Everett presented to the audience a futuristic look at the our nation's health care and the imposing forces that nurse practitioner educators will need to consider when shaping the curriculum of tomorrow. Her insightful presentation reminded us that it will be imperative to "know" the consumer of tomorrow, and how can we best serve their complex needs.

Panel from the Dialogue with NP Certifying & Regulatory Bodies

On Friday morning, Dr. Joan Shaver, Dean and Professor at the School of Nursing at The University of Illinois at Chicago, returned to our annual meeting to address the upcoming report from the Institute of Medicine, entitled, Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality (The report was officially released after the NONPF meeting and is now available online from http://books.nap.edu/books/0309087236/html/R1.html#pagetop). Dr. Shaver was a member of this committee that was looking at the future of the education of health professionals. She related to us that there are five core competencies identified as necessary for health care professionals. They are: quality improvement, patient-centered care, informatics, interdisciplinary teams, and evidence-based practice. Dr. Shaver presented us with her report card on how she viewed the status of nurse practitioner education in meeting these competencies in our educational programs and offered suggestions on ways that we could move towards achieving these competencies.

Saturday's Box Lunch

The Saturday morning panel discussion addressed challenges that nurse practitioner educators face in light of economic strains and declining resources. Dr. Linda Berlin, Director of Research and Data Services, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, this year shared with us the most recent NP and nursing program data, focusing her presentation mainly on the impending shortage of master's prepared nursing faculty in addition to the doctorally prepared nursing faculty. Dr. Annette Tyree Debisette, Chief, Advanced Nursing Education Branch, Division of Nursing (BHPr, HRSA) provided an update on grants that will be made available through HRSA as a result of the Nursing Reinvestment Act. She also informed the group about the proposed changes to Title VIII funding and encouraged applications for grants within a framework to address advanced practice nursing educational needs. Our final speaker on the panel was Dr. Ronald Phipps, Senior Associate from the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), highlighted the report that the IHEP published a few years ago, entitled "Quality on the line: Benchmarks for Success in Internet-Based Distance Education" and suggested that we familiarize ourselves with the "benchmarks" when designing internet-based programs.

Sally Rankin, Mary Neiheisel, and Mary Anne Dumas

Our final plenary speaker on Sunday morning was Dr. Howard Gardner, the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and chairman of the Steering Committee for Harvard Project Zero. Dr. Gardner spoke about Good Work, a project that has been ongoing looking at how individuals who wish to pursue good work do so in challenging times. The original project studied the field of genetics and journalism. Nurse practitioner educators from the audience encouraged Dr. Gardner to consider studying the field of nursing in his future work; given the impending nursing shortage, it is so important to disseminate that nursing delivers "good work".

NONPF President Diane Viens and Louise Rauckhorst

In the Current Issues Forum, participants engaged in roundtable discussions and an open dialogue to address key areas of activities within the organization. The leadership in NONPF sought input from participants on priority areas and additional key issues the organization should address. During the President's Address, Dr. Diane Viens reported on the outcome of this discussion and the membership e-mail questionnaire that was distributed in advance of the meeting.

Concurrent sessions throughout the meeting showcased individual research, innovations, and experiences by faculty. The combination of workshops, symposia, and single presentations during these sessions provided for added emphasis on select topics and technological applications. One example is a symposium on implementing the core and primary care competencies led by Dr. Katherine Crabtree. Her NONPF colleagues on the primary care competencies project led discussions on the 5 different specialty areas: Dr. Melinda Swenson spoke on the FNP competencies, Dr. Thomasine Guberski spoke on the ANP competencies, Dr. Vaunette Fay spoke on the GNP competencies, Dr. Michelle Beauchesne spoke on the PNP competencies, and Dr. Linda Andrist spoke on the WHNP competencies. Click here for more information on this symposium and to access the speakers' slides.  Poster presentations over three days showcased other significant work by faculty, as well as highlighted the projects of the current community health mentoring cohort.

Fun Runners on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Before the start of the general program, NONPF offered three preconference seminars on focused content. Dr. Shirlee Drayton-Hargrove coordinated a leadership development program as the first offering of the NONPF leadership initiative. The program included a panel discussion by Drs. Catherine Gilliss, Doreen Harper, and Lucy Marion on their own leadership perspectives, and Joan Gurvis then led participants in exercises to assist them in developing their own leadership plan. In another morning preconference, the RWJ-funded Partnerships for Training introduced participants to a Faculty Toolkit to evaluate the student-centeredness of Web-based courses. In a third preconference session, Carolyn Buppert, NP, JD brought her vast experience with billing and coding to the group in the framework for educating students on this important topic.

Attendees from Wright State Univesity

The exhibit hall offered a valuable complement to the educational sessions. Participants were able to browse through the latest books and journals from publishing companies, see demonstrations for electronic tools and simulation products, hear the latest news from accrediting and certifying organizations, and find out the resources available from other professional associations.

Aside from educational opportunities, participants had the chance to relax and have some fun. The Saturday Fun Run/Walk brought out the truly dedicated for the 6:00 AM event that led people towards Boat House Row and ended on the Rocky steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Souvenir T-shirts from the Fun Run/Walk are available for purchase. On Saturday evening, participants joined Ben Franklin for a few historical notes and photo opportunities before enjoying the exhibits and food in the planetarium and Space Command Center of the Franklin Institute.

Ben Franklin speaking at the Franklin Institute.

The NONPF annual meeting experience starts all over again next April 22-25, 2004 in San Diego. Mark your calendar now to be part of this highly valuable event!