Toronto is “poutine” in the effort to be an A+ host city for the 2024 AMSN Annual Convention! On Friday, Sept. 13, #AMSN2024 participants gathered for another day filled with education and networking activities. No matter if you are joining us in person or watching the virtual access livestream, read on for the day-two highlights.

Agents of Change

After breakfast, networking with exhibitors, and learning about the latest research from poster presenters, attendees celebrated the AMSN President’s Award recipient: Caroline Ashman, MSN, RN, CMSRN. Caroline was recognized for her many years of contributions to AMSN, including leading certification review courses and serving as a founding co-host of Med-Surg Moments Podcast. (Pro-tip: Keep an eye on your podcast feed over the next month, as the podcast welcomed back a few special guests while recording live from Toronto!)

After celebrating the President’s Award, AMSN Board of Directors Emerging Professional Marie Mullins, BSN, RN, CMSRN, introduced the AMSN Town Hall, titled “The Medical-Surgical Nurse as a Change Agent: Problem Solver, Innovator, Transformational Leader, Advocate.” AMSN Board of Directors members Kristi Campoe, PhD, RN, CPHQ, CMSRN, sMBA, and Michael Szeliga, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CMSRN, CPHQ, presented the town hall, focusing on the medical-surgical nurse as a:

• Problem solver, who thinks critically
• Innovator, who drives change
• Transformational leader, who inspires leaders
• Advocate, who champions care and outcomes

Then, the speakers opened the floor for member feedback and discussion. Mark Lee, MS, BSN, RN, CMSRN, shares his favorite part of the town hall in the video below: 

Session Key Takeaways

Review some quick-hits from today’s sets of concurrent and general sessions:

• Establishing a more standardized reportwith pre-populated data points for patient handoff not only takes the burden off nurses who are coming off of a tough shift and sharing their post-shift report, but also better empowers and prepares the oncoming nurse. (Boosting Handoff Conversations: Increasing Efficiency with a Standardized Nurse Handoff Shift Report, Meredith Kulhmann and Olawunmi Obisesan)

• Implementation of a new orientation program for new nurses to get them into the medical-surgical nursing pool not only resulted in praise for the skills and professionalism of the new grads, but the new grads self-reported a nearly 40% increase in their overall confidence level in clinical practice and decision making. (Learning to Swim in the Float Pool: Cultivating the Next Generation of Medical-Surgical Nurses, Rajimol Nair and Anna Herbst)

• In his presentation, Nurses as Agents of Change…Making Change Happen: Leadership, Advocacy and Activism in Action, Dr. Ernest Grant, AMSN Founders Award Recipent shared many inspirational quotes and things to remember about your ability to influence change. Including the message that "if you're not at the table, you're on the menu", encouraging everyone to engage in difficut conversations and to remember to always ensure your voice is heard.

Live From Toronto

AMSN Annual Convention participants have a lot to say about their convention experience, their medical-surgical nursing career, and more. Here are the highlights from our conversations with attendees:

• The Digital Content Committee team chatted with a few of our poster presenters to learn about how they are driving forward new knowledge. Read the full article here. 
• “This convention is a great way to network and get to know fellow peers from other hospitals and bounce ideas off of them. Coming into the convention, it’s easy to say, ‘What’s your hospital like?’ Coming here and talking to other people, it’s interesting to be like, ‘Oh, our hospital does a lot of these things already, we just need to continue to use the resources.’ It’s been nice to share ideas with other nurses.” —Comments from first-time attendee Emma Hall
• “It’s good to have that validation and also hear different ideas about how to keep the things we’re already doing in place. It’s great to hear how other hospitals are doing that and making it work.” —Comments from first-time attendee Kayla Gagne

Celebrating AMSN Founders Award Recipient Dr. Ernest Grant.

What's Next?

What was your favorite part of #AMSN2024 Day 2? There’s still more to come tomorrow, as we celebrate the final day of convention. Tomorrow kicks off with the AMSN Morning Walking Club at 6 a.m., followed by breakfast and poster viewing in the Exhibit Hall, general and concurrent sessions, networking, and more.

Want to contribute an inspiring takeaway, comment, or topic you learned about at #AMSN2024? Contact AMSN Content Manager Morgan Manghera at mmanghera@amsn.org for your chance to be featured on the Monitor.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to AMSN Board of Directors and Digital Content Committee members Mark Lee, MS, BSN, RN, CMSRN, and Marie Mullins, BSN, RN, CMSRN, and AMSN Staff members Hannah Durnas and Kelly Hunt, MN, RN, CNL, for contributing to these daily recaps as convention reporters.