ST. PAUL, Minn., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Minnesota Nurses Association’s annual spring educational event promises to lay bare old myths that have influenced health care for ages. In doing so, organizers hope to point nurses and other health care decision-makers on a new path that relies more on evidence and documentation. The program’s theme continues a discussion of a hot issue with the nursing profession and follows a successful MNA-sponsored conference on achieving Hospital Magnet recognition, held earlier this year. Magnet Recognition is a much sought-after status that is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and requires significant commitment to evidence-based practice.
Entitled “Evidence-based Practice: The Power of Proof,” the 9th Annual MNA Nursing Practice Summit is a daylong seminar scheduled for April 21. The program will present new methods of documentation providing quantifiable proof that nursing skills and knowledge make a difference in health care.
“We need to change our habits,” said MNA President Monica Vollmuth, CNP, RN, MA. “Everyday we perform meaningless rituals in health care that neither offer efficiency or efficacy. It’s time we used more fact-based actions that are proven to have positive cause and effect,” she added. Research has proven when hospitals follow evidence-based methods of care that involve nursing quality indicators, positive patient outcomes result.
Two nationally known speakers, highly regarded for their global expertise in nursing practice, will be featured on the program. Leah Curtin, RN, ScD(h) is the editor and publisher of Curtin Calls, a weekly web-based publication that is accessed by nurses all over the world. Ms. Curtin is a former president of the American Nurses Association and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Her presentation will include extensive staffing studies that document the impact of professional nursing on patient outcomes and patient safety. Marita Titler, RN, PhD, FAAN will provide strategies of how to utilize evidence-based practice in daily work life.
Concurrent sessions during the afternoon will provide a range of topics that will explore different tactics and models of using evidence-based practice.
The closing session features popular Twin Cities comedian (who is also a Registered Nurse), Kevin Smith, RN, CSP, MSN.
The MNA’s Nursing Practice Summit will be held on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 from 7:00am - 5:00pm at the Ramada Inn Airport and Thunderbird Conference Center in Bloomington, MN. Registration fees range from $50 - $135 and include luncheon.
With more than 17,000 members, MNA is the leading organization for registered nurses in the Midwest and is among the oldest and largest representatives of RNs for collective bargaining in the nation. Established in 1905, MNA is a multi-purpose organization that fosters high standards for nursing education and practice, and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. MNA is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association and its labor arm, the United American Nurses.
Minnesota Nurses Association
CONTACT: Jan Rabbers of Minnesota Nurses Association, +1-651-646-4807,+1-800-536-4662, ext. 161, or Cell, +1-612-860-6658
