Empowering the Nurse
Virtual | Live, April 9-10 | On-Demand thru July 31, 2025
The Virginia Nurses Association and Foundation proudly invite you to our 2025 Spring Conference, Empowering the Nurse, a transformative two-day virtual experience designed to inspire, equip, and uplift nurses in today’s ever-evolving healthcare landscape. This year’s event is more than just a conference—it’s a call to action for nurses to embrace their roles as leaders, innovators, and advocates. Through thought-provoking sessions, expert-led discussions, and actionable insights, we’ll explore the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of nursing.
What to Expect
Get ready for a conference packed with inspiration and practical tools:
- Promoting and Elevating the Nursing Profession: Discover strategies to raise the visibility of nursing, seize leadership opportunities, and position yourself as an agent of change.
- Fostering Healthy Workplace Cultures: Learn how to create collaborative, inclusive, and supportive environments that drive well-being and success.
- Ethics in Action: Unpack the latest updates to the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses and explore their impact on practice, decision-making, and leadership.
- Take the Lead: Develop the confidence and skills to advocate powerfully for yourself, your patients, and the nursing profession.
- Innovative Care Models and Technology: Explore groundbreaking innovations and their transformative potential for the profession.
- Empowering Nurses in the Workplace: Discover how staffing committees, shared governance, and other initiatives can boost decision-making and autonomy.
Why Attend?
By attending, you’ll walk away with innovative ideas, actionable strategies, and a renewed sense of purpose to help you lead, advocate, and thrive in an ever-changing healthcare world. Join us April 9-10 and take your next step toward empowerment and excellence! Register below!
What Our Participants Say
I got more value out of this virtual exhibit hall than I have in previous face-to-face formats! I was able to take my time on the virtual sites and click on the various links that interested me. I viewed various videos and learned
a lot about the schools and healthcare organizations!"
"The content was on-point and valuable to me and my workplace!"
"I had reservations about the virtual format, but loved it and felt like I was able to retain more and interact with the speakers more!"
Pricing
Discounted Pricing for Hospitals & Schools of Nursing
- Hospitals and Health Systems can register ALL nurses that work at their organization for one great price by visiting our Health System Registration Form below.
- Schools of Nursing can register ALL of their students and faculty for one great price by visiting our School of Nursing Registration Form below.
- If you have questions, please email Ashley Henry at ahenry@virginianurses.com!
Cancellations & Refunds
Requests for cancellations must be made via email with the subject line "Cancellation" sent to lmckay@virginianurses.com no
later than 5 p.m. on April 5, 2025. Refunds are subject to a $25 administrative fee.
Substitutions
Substitutions are encouraged. Please make the request via email with the subject line "Substitution Spring Conference Registration" to lmckay@virginianurses.com and
include the name of the registered party and the name of the replacement attendee.
schools of nursing
register all
students & faculty
health systems
register all
organization nurses
Agenda
Join the conference!
Come to the conference page and say hi in the live chat.
A Welcome from the VNA President
VNA President Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FAAN
Keynote Address
Rebellious Curiosity: Practical Steps to Empower Yourself and Lead Change Yemi Penn, PhD
Researcher, Engineer, Leadership & Innovation Strategist This session will empower nurses to embrace Rebellious Curiosity – a bold approach to challenging the status quo and driving meaningful change. Through compelling stories and actionable insights, nurses will identify and question limiting beliefs that may be holding them back. Using the Pyramid of Belief model form liminal thinking, nurses will learn how to deconstruct these beliefs, expand their perspective, and adopt a curious mindset to navigate today’s complex healthcare environment. Attendees will receive practical steps and tools they can implement immediately to: - Challenge limiting narratives and reframe their thinking.
- Enhance personal blueprint and decision-making.
- Fill YOUR cup in order to fill others
There is no box to think outside of. Leave this session equipped with concrete strategies to empower yourself, lead with curiosity, and transform the future of nursing—starting now.
Breaking Barriers: Confronting Ableism in Nursing from Education to Practice Vanessa Cameron MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CEN, CNL
Consultant & Education Specialist
This session will review the foundations of disability in healthcare, focusing on health disparities and professional inequities. We will discuss the importance of language, foundational models of disability, and how to move forward together in a more equitable way to increase disability representation in the healthcare workforce along with reducing health disparities for the disabled community. Aspects of both disability recruitment and retention will be explored, including common barriers faced. This will be approached through a lens of strengths-based assessment and inclusion.
Rapid Fire Best Practice Series Explore rapid-fire and virtual poster presentations that highlight nurses' commitment to Empowering the Nurse and advancing the profession across various healthcare settings. Establishing a Professional Nursing Advocacy Program
Jennifer T. Hall, MSN, RN, CNL & Leanne Fox, MPP
UVA Health University Medical Center
Extending the Tiered Skills Acquisition Model (TSAM®) to Nursing Education
Maureen DeSena, MSN, RN, ACNS, BC, NPD-BC, NE-BC
UVA School of Nursing
Identity Empowerment RN Mentorship Program
Halima Walker, MSN, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC & Nathaniel Ledford, MSN, RN
UVA Health University Medical Center
The Earn to Learn Program: The Student Perspective
Lisa Steeves, MSN, RN, Pablo Limpias, Student, David Burdick, Student, Noorah Youssefi, Student
VHC Health
Closing RemarksVNA President Kathy Baker, PhD, RN, NE-BC, FAAN
A Welcome from VNF PresidentVNF President Mesha Jones, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Keynote Address
From Exhausted to Extraordinary: Fostering a Culture of Well-Being in an Unpredictable World
Diane Salter, MSN, RN, CPAN, NE-BC
Experience the emotional rollercoaster of healthcare, from celebrating life's beginnings to mourning its end. As a healthcare professional, you may leave work with mixed feelings—awe at human resilience and exhaustion from emotional strain. If you're questioning your commitment or feeling depleted, it doesn't have to be that way. Join our engaging presentation to discover practical strategies that can turn exhaustion into fulfillment. Learn the secret to leaving work with a positive impact, even in the face of challenges. Upon completion of this presentation, participants will: - Summarize evidence-based techniques to reduce chronic toxic stress.
- Generalize three evidence-based strategies to improve mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
- Create a plan delineating actions to stop and start, to hardwire and sustain healthy behaviors.
Ethics in Action: Navigating ANA's Revised Code of Ethics Kara Curry, MA, RN, HEC-C, Senior Policy and Ethics Advisor
Liz Stokes, PhD, JD, RN, Director, ANA Center for Ethics and Human Rights The 2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses is the decennial revision of the nursing profession’s code of ethics. As with every successive revision of the Code, it is intended to be responsive to the needs of nurses for a clear articulation of nursing values in ways that anticipate the moral complexities of nursing and the health care needs of society. In this session, we will discuss the revised Code of Ethics for Nurses and explore how nurses can use it in everyday practice.
Rapid Fire Best Practice Series Explore rapid-fire and virtual poster presentations that highlight nurses' commitment to Empowering the Nurse and advancing the profession across various healthcare settings. Innovative Online Bridge Program to Improve Admission and Retention of BSN Nursing Students at a Hispanic Student Serving Institute
Maryann Valcourt, PhD, CPNP, Judith Rogers-Fruiterman, PhD, RN, Melissa Liesen, PhD, RN, Terri Gaffney, PhD, MPA, RN, CNE, and Andrew Wolf EdD, AGACNP-BC, CNE
Marymount University
Building RN Resilience Through Caring Science and Professional Governance: A Pilot Program to Support and Empower Nurses
Lynn Heun, BSN, RNC-IAP, C-EFM & Joy Bell, BSN, RN, CCRN
Inova Health System
Healing Behind Bars: Strategies to Empower and Advocate for Incarcerated Women
Roxanne Harris, MSN, RN, IBCLC, CCE, CBBBE
Augusta Health
Virtual Nursing: Innovation, Integration, and Impact Bonnie Clipper DNP, MA, MBA, RN, CENP, FACHE, FAAN As healthcare evolves, virtual nursing is emerging as a transformative model that enhances patient care, optimizes workflows, and addresses workforce challenges. This session explores cutting-edge innovations in virtual nursing, strategies for seamless integration into clinical practice, and the measurable impact on patient outcomes and nursing efficiency. Join us to discover best practices, real-world case studies, and future opportunities in this rapidly expanding field. Whether you're a nursing leader, clinician, or innovator, this session will equip you with insights to drive meaningful change in your organization.
Closing Session: Rebuilding a Foundation of Trust in Healthcare
Cynda Hylton Rushton, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and the School of NursingTrust is an essential yet delicate human need, especially in complex and uncertain environments. In healthcare, trust is at a historic low—between patients and clinicians, among clinical teams, and with leadership. This session will examine the dynamics of trust-building in healthcare, highlighting the behaviors that either foster or erode trust. Participants will gain practical strategies for cultivating and restoring trust in their professional relationships and healthcare settings.
Closing RemarksVNF President Mesha Jones, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Nursing Continuing Professional Development Disclosures
The Virginia Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Participants can earn up to 10.5 contact hours for participating in the entire conference. Credit will be awarded commensurate with participation in the program with the completion of an evaluation. All conference content will be recorded and available to conference registrants to complete and be awarded nursing contact hours through July 31, 2025. This conference is jointly provided by the Virginia Nurses Association and Virginia Nurses Foundation.
Sponsor & Exhibit
Bonus promotions and new marketing perks are available!
Click the portfolio on the left to view the sponsor & exhibitor options for each of our events!
As a sponsor, we offer the opportunity to showcase your corporate social responsibility, increase brand awareness, and build a positive image within your community. With your sponsorship contribution, we can continue to fund critical programs and services, as well as raise awareness of our mission and impact.
Whether it's by celebrating with us and 530+ nurses at our annual Gala or showing up for important conversations during our conferences and summits, there are a variety of sponsorship options to fit your organization's needs! Top sponsoring organizations are also highlighted in Virginia Nurses Today (circulation 123,000) and VNA's members-only News Brief. These two publications boast an open rate of greater than 50%! Certain sponsorships are limited to a single organization so don't wait!
For sponsor and exhibitor questions, please contact VNA's Sponsor Engagement & Office Manager, Linda McKay, at lmckay@virginianurses.com.
Sign up now!
Thank you to our conference sponsors!Diamond Sponsor 
Gold Sponsor
Submit an Abstract
Are you a nurse leader, innovator, or advocate with groundbreaking ideas, best practices, or success stories to share?
The submission period has concluded. The Virginia Nurses Association and Foundation invites you to submit an abstract for rapid-fire presentations at our 2025 Spring Conference, Empowering the Nurse! Rapid-fire presentations are short, impactful sessions (15- minutes) designed to deliver high-value insights in a dynamic, engaging format. This is your chance to share your expertise, inspire your peers, and make a difference in the nursing community.
We’re Seeking Abstracts That: - Showcase innovative approaches to nursing practice, leadership, or advocacy.
- Highlight strategies for fostering healthy workplace cultures or improving well-being.
- Explore advancements in nursing technology, such as AI or virtual care models.
- Address pressing challenges like mental health, staffing, or workforce development.
- Present creative solutions for empowering nurses in decision-making and autonomy.
- Identify approaches for developing practice ready nurses.
Share your presentation idea by February 28, 2025 by completing our Rapid Fire Presenter Application form and sharing: - Your best practice or idea
- How your initiative aims to revolutionize and improve nursing practice
- Anticipated outcomes or achieved results (if available)
- Lessons learned from challenges or failures
- Opportunities for improvement and scalability
- Suggestions for implementation by other organizations
The Spring Conference Review Team will review all submissions and notify accepted presenters by March 10, 2025. Who Can Submit:
Individuals or interprofessional teams committed to advancing nursing practice and culture are encouraged to submit! We encourage nurses in ALL practice environments, at all levels of practice, and nursing students to submit! However, presentations intended for promoting commercial products or services or not related to the conference theme will not be considered. Important Dates: - Rapid Fire Application Submission Deadline: February 28, 2025
- Notification of Acceptance: March 10, 2025
If not selected to present a rapid fire presentation, individuals may be offered the opportunity to submit an electronic poster. An electronic poster is a digital version of a traditional poster with a 2-minute pre-recorded oral presentation.
The submissions portal has closed
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