Recharging Your Professional Battery
This was originally published in the Q4 2023 issue of Med-Surg Nurse Life Magazine.
This issue of Med-Surg Nurse Life Magazine focuses on mental health nursing and a recap of the 2023 AMSN Annual Convention in Las Vegas. These articles provide insight into how behavioral health and medical-surgical nursing intersect on a daily basis and tips for keeping that convention high going until we meet again in Toronto!
As we reflect on the convention, my heart is filled with excitement and gratitude for all the amazing connections people made throughout their time in Las Vegas! Approximately 966 attendees, 81 posters, 33 in-person sessions, 46 vendors, and an undisclosed number of Fanilows showed up and represented the best of what medical-surgical nursing was, is, and will continue to be. Our Program Planning Committee and Smithbucklin partners worked tirelessly to ensure we had a dynamic and inclusive event where our members could use their voices to own and shape the identity of the medical-surgical nurse. Speaking of members, we recently hit an AMSN membership total of 11,000! Our family is large and widespread, and I am confident that is only going to continue to grow.
Stepping away, networking with peers and new friends, and engaging in collaborative conversations about the future of our practice is such a gift. What do we do with that gift? I am not afraid of bucking tradition, so I pose a challenge to what is associated with our convention location … what happens in Vegas should not stay in Vegas! How do we take this energy we used to recharge our professional batteries and recharge those around us? How do we take our recharged batteries and shed light on the opportunities around us so we can develop innovative strategies for complex problems where the nursing voice is at the forefront?
Complicated questions, but I see a simple answer. We show up. Nurses at the table get things done. Don’t believe me? Just look at all the amazing posters, podium presentations, panels, and Q&As we had. Our town hall focused on the identity of the medical-surgical nurse. I have never been more confident in the future of our specialty than I was when the courageous voices of our members spoke about the truth in their practice, their hopes for their future, and the work they were reinvigorated to do after being surrounded by their AMSN family. I am grateful for the work we all did at convention and excited as we enter our next chapter of our practice. Time to get to work!