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(Washington, DC) The District of Columbia Nurses Association (DCNA) and Saint Elizabeths Hospital are sponsoring a leadership training conference for nurses on Thursday, May 8, 2008, in the Chapel of Saint Elizabeths Hospital, 2700 Martin Luther King Avenue SE. The conference, entitled “Nursing Leadership: Challenges for the Future”, takes place during National Nurses Week, started by the American Nurses Association to honor the Nation's nearly 2.9 million registered nurses.
Participants will attend sessions on strategies for developing nursing leaders in clinical practice, leadership models, and best practices in leadership skills development. The conference also will feature national leaders in the nursing field, including Ms. Barbara Nichols, CEO, Commission on Graduate Foreign Nurses, and Ms. Rebecca Patton, president of the American Nurses Association, as well as nurse leaders from <?xml:namespace prefix = st2 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>Bowie State University, Children’s School Services and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas:contacts" /?>Saint Elizabeths Hospital.
“This conference is the first step in developing a strong training partnership between DCNA and the Department of Mental Health”, said Stephen T. Baron, Director of the District Department of Mental Health which operates Saint Elizabeths Hospital. “It also gives us the opportunity to highlight the long and rich history of nursing at Saint Elizabeths Hospital.”
The DCNA represents approximately 2,000 registered nurses in the District. “The shortage of registered nurses poses a real threat to the Nation’s health care system and the public’s health, and this conference will help encourage current nurses to continue in their careers,” said Joan Greaves, R.N., President of DCNA. “We are committed to improving the quality of health care and working conditions of nurses.” DCNA is dedicated to advocating for a workplace environment that will promote high quality patient care, and inspire young men and women to consider nursing as a profession.
For more information about the conference, contact: Edward J. Smith, Esq., DCNA Staff Attorney on (202) 425-8022 or [email protected].