This past year, Kathy D. Atkins attended a new UAB School of Nursing leadership workshop not knowing what to expect, but she discovered a path to leadership that helped set her career on a new course.
Atkins, who is director of Nursing Support Services and Patient Placement at Children’s of Alabama, said she discovered a great deal of nursing knowledge in the room and learning opportunities with other nurse leaders that she wouldn’t otherwise get.
The second annual Leadership Practices for Quality and Safety workshop will be held April 30- May 1 in the UAB National Alumni Society House.
“The complexity of the health-care environment creates more demands on mid-level leaders in nursing. Many do not have the academic preparation for these complex roles and need to develop or enhance skills to create safe and meaningful work environments that consistently deliver high-quality care,” said Maria Shirey, Ph.D., assistant dean for clinical and global partnerships, and chair of the workshop planning committee. “This workshop will help develop these skills.”
Keynote speaker Lt. Col. Julie Freeman of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps will discuss the leadership required to make a positive, systemwide change in the delivery of nursing care in the Army Medical Department.
UAB’s Lisle Hites, MEd, PhD, assistant professor of public health, and Angela Jukkala, PhD, associate professor of nursing will present a joint talk about building effective inter-professional teams for high-reliability organizations.
Quality and safety experts also will facilitate group discussions and exercises focused on leadership for quality and safety and building inter-professional partnerships for quality and safety.
| Learn more and register at uab.edu/opd by Feb. 28 for $295; after that date the cost is $350. The fee includes plus all workshop materials and continuing education credit, plus coffee, lunch and snack each day. Space is limited to the first 100 registrants. |
“The group sessions were amazing last year,” said Atkins, who found a mentor who has inspired her and made new contacts. “My experience with the conference has continued to pay dividends.”
Atkins says she can’t wait to attend this year’s conference and has advice for anyone considering attending.
“Go for it,” she said.
Learn more and register at uab.edu/opd by Feb. 28 for $295; after that date the cost is $350. The fee includes plus all workshop materials and continuing education credit, plus coffee, lunch and snack each day. Space is limited to the first 100 registrants.
