Nursing leadership conference aims to address today's health-care challenges

When Dr. Lorelli Nowell, RN, PhD, read last year about The Nightingale Challenge — Nursing Now’s response to the declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) naming 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife — she saw it as an opportunity for UCalgary's Faculty of Nursing to play a role.

“The Nightingale Challenge is focused on encouraging nurses and nursing organizations globally to assist the next generation of young nurses to become leaders and advocates for health,” says Nowell, who accepted the challenge on behalf of the faculty. “I immediately saw a connection with our new graduate stackable certificate in leadership.”

Guided by the new strategic plan and its underpinning of leadership, the idea of a targeted conference began to take shape. Nowell now leads a committee of 12 planning a virtual event, The Leader in All of Us, to be held Friday, Nov. 27 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“With the pandemic and everyone in health care doing their part, we wanted to hear about — and celebrate — the various forms of nursing leadership that are helping to address today’s health-care challenges,” says Nowell.

The day will start with an opening keynote, delivered by Sean Chilton, Alberta Health Services' vice-president of people, health professions and information technology, followed by four panels focused on leadership in education, leadership in practice, leadership in community and international settings, and leadership in entrepreneurship and innovation. A session on leadership self-care will be offered by UCalgary Nursing dean Dr. Sandra Davidson. 

“The goal is really to come away from the day with a personal understanding of yourself as leader,” says Nowell, “and given today’s complex and uncertain health-care environments, how to nurture and grow your leadership skills.”

Find more information on the conference.

Nursing Now is a global campaign to improve health by raising the status and profile of nursing, operated in collaboration with the WHO and the International Council of Nurses and supported by a board made up of nurses and non-nurses around the world.