Celebrating a Successful Convention and the 2026 President’s Award Winner
Dear AMSN Members,
Our recent convention in Palm Springs, California, was a wonderful reminder of why this community means so much to me and how much I enjoy being a part of it! From Sept. 24–26, more than 1,000 medical-surgical nurses came together to learn, celebrate 35 years of AMSN, connect, and enjoy a bit of sunshine in Palm Springs.
The program brought together conversations about healthy work environments, nursing innovation, and the importance of nurses helping shape the technologies that are changing healthcare. Renee Thompson focused on building stronger, more caring teams and gave great practical examples of how to do so. For example, let’s give those floaters to our units some extra support! Rebecca Love challenged nurses to question the status quo and recognize our role as innovators and as those who advocate. Amy McCarthy reinforced why nurses need a seat at the table as artificial intelligence becomes part of healthcare. And our podcast hosts recorded the podcast live during our final session! Look for it to come out here on the Monitor, or wherever you listen to podcasts, in the coming weeks.
Those themes remind us of the importance of making sure our voices help shape the future of our work. If you don’t already, give them a follow on your social media pages! They have great and interesting things to say!
And then there was everything that happened between the general sessions. Great conversations that continued into the hallway and the chance to hear someone describe a challenge and think, “Yes! We are working through that, too.” The education matters, and so does the experience of being with people who understand the work you do. These events and any places where nurses come together are where nurses are reminded that nursing is more than one job or one role. It is a community to which you belong.
For me, one of the most meaningful moments of this year’s convention was presenting the AMSN President’s Award to my longtime mentor and friend, Dr. Summer Bryant. Being able to recognize her service to AMSN, in front of the community we both care about so deeply, was incredibly rewarding. I want to share with you why she was the clear recipient of this year’s award.
Dr. Bryant's involvement in AMSN began as a mentor for the AMSN Nurses Nurturing Nurses initiative in 2006. She was selected for AMSM’s Clinical Leadership Award in 2010 and has been an extraordinary contributor to the success of AMSN ever since. I had the privilege of volunteering with her as part of the AMSN PRISM Award Task Force in 2012, my first volunteer role here, and she has served as an exceptional mentor to me in my AMSN path. Dr. Bryant was at the helm of AMSN during its most challenging years including through COVID and canceled and transitioned conventions. Her leadership style of steady, measured decision-making and forward-thinking analysis of the association and the positioning of medical-surgical nursing was and is critically important to AMSN’s future. And she hasn’t stopped giving to this organization. Summer once again answered the call to service during the 2025 term when she transitioned back into the Immediate Past President role to cover a leadership need. Without her years of service as AMSN President-Elect, President, and Past President, this organization would not be as strong or secure today.
Summer has a storied 25-year nursing career spanning acute care and industry leadership. She began as a frontline medical-surgical nurse at the University of Kansas Health System before advancing to nurse manager for trauma, general surgery, and plastics, where she led a 27-bed unit. In 2019, she transitioned to industry as a senior managing consultant at Berkeley Research Group, leveraging her experience to mentor national nursing leaders in healthcare performance improvement. Summer joined The Chartis Group in 2023 and is now an associate partner, where she continues to help organizations achieve sustainable, optimal clinical outcomes.
What an amazing representation of different things medical-surgical nurses can do!
And that award was just part of the fun! See all our new Fellows of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses here.
Congratulations to these nurses!
- Dr. Summer Bryant, DNP, RN, CMSRN, CENP, FAMSN
- Charles Westley Foster, MSN, BA, RN, CMSRN, OCN Emeritus, FAMSN
- Dr. Golda Manalili, DNP, MSN, RN, RN-BC, PNAP, FAMSN
- Colleen McCracken, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CHPN, OCN, NPD-BC, FASMN
- Dr. Maritess Quinto, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CMSRN, FINE, FCN, FAMSN
- Dr. Angela Simmons, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAMSN
Recognizing Summer and our new fellows, and all our award recipients, also brought into focus something I have felt throughout these last two years: None of us does this alone. Whatever we contribute as individual leaders is strengthened by the people who encourage us and help us see what is possible.
With that, as we start to get into the fall season and think about our year, I hope you have found your nursing community, whether that is here at AMSN or in your local environment, or in a good mentor or one who has become a friend.
As always, reach out with any comments or questions at President@AMSN.org!
Sincerely,
Kristi