Lagniappe, or “a little something extra,” is what conference participants received during the two and a half day 7th Annual Versant® Client Conference that took place in New Orleans, LA starting November 8, 2011. The theme was “Nurse Engagement: The Path to Patient Safety & Quality Care.” Not only were participants engaged, the excitement in the air was tangible!
National nursing conference attendees most always come away from their experience with a sense of excitement and engagement. Presentations provide outcomes and data on best practices, evidence-based research, and progressive thoughts on the newest issues facing nursing. A question among conference participants often lingers; “How do I do that?” Often overheard are comments from attendees such as the desire to know the latest and greatest as well as how to implement what was learned when they return home, which is often the challenge. But, what’s different about a Versant® conference? The Versant® Client Conference provides all the excitement and engagement of every other conference with one very big difference; Versant® provides a forum where conference presenters provide a complete tool kit so each attendee can go home and immediately get to work! Conference participants not only shared their project outcomes, they eagerly engaged the audience with their stories, challenges, solutions, best practices, research and contacts.From the welcome, opening remarks, and keynote address on day one to the final client presentation and capstone session, conference attendees were engaged. Patricia Yoder-Wise, RN, EdD, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN provided the resounding take home message: “Engagement isn’t about you, it’s about the other person,” which translated to all of us that we are the important person in the room. We all have the opportunity to act in ways that engage others while they have that same opportunity to engage us. What manifested was a network of nurses at various stages of their careers collaborating and solving problems.
The conference encompassed nursing professionals across the spectrum of Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert model. Have you ever seen a novice nurse who graduated less than one year ago present as a primary investigator of evidence-based research? Not only was there one novice nurse who presented as a primary investigator of research, but there were many! The poster presentations were almost entirely Versant® resident driven. Of the 30 posters, ten provided insight on how individual professional growth and development extends organizational growth and helps change the culture of an organization. Eight specifically engaged nurses to accept the challenge of patient safety through better communication, clinical research, tool development, and teaching. And finally, several poster presentations demonstrated that nurses are naturally accustomed to lagniappe and “pay it forward” through community service, mentoring, and providing invaluable support to one another.
Dr. Pat Yoder-Wise, the keynote speaker, asked if what we do resonates with another person. She elaborated on the Versant® mission of “Developing and Sustaining Nursing Organizations…One Nurse at a TimeTM”. Many heads were nodding in agreement that in order to develop and sustain nursing organizations, we must act with intentionality to develop nurses, nurture their relationships, and make connections. “The determinant of engagement,” she said, “is the perception that one’s work is important.” Dr. Yoder-Wise urged conference participants to thoughtfully engage others in taking leadership for healthcare in this new millennium and value what we do as nurses. As managing partner of Versant®, Charlie Krozek remarked, “Contemporary nursing is about ‘thought leadership’”; Dr. Yoder-Wise reiterated, “Thinking is as valuable as working.”
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