ÍøºìºÚÁÏ care quality to be addressed at UF conference
An upcoming conference hosted by the University of Florida will address a growing concern for many Americans: the quality of health care.
As our country’s population continues to age, so grow the worries of many who lack faith in the quality and safety of the U.S. health-care system. Quality: the Critical Variable in ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Care, The Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference will take place Jan. 19-20 at the ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Professions/Nursing/Pharmacy Complex at the north side of the ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Science Center. The UF College of Nursing will bring together national experts and leaders in nursing and health-care administration to discuss issues affecting quality in patient care, including the nursing shortage and quality patient outcomes. The conference is presented by the college and the Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust, and co-sponsored by Florida Hospital and Shands at UF.
The conference will feature nationally known speakers such as Linda H. Aiken, Ph.D., R.N., a UF College of Nursing alumna and director of the Center for ÍøºìºÚÁÏ Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania; Audrey Nelson, Ph.D., R.N., director of Patient Safety Center of Inquiry and associate director of nursing service for research at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tampa, Polly Bednash, Ph.D., R.N., executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing; and Susan V. White, Ph.D., R.N., the associate chief for nursing services and quality improvement at the James A. Haley Tampa VA Medical Center.
Also planned is a panel discussion with leading chief nursing officers from medical centers across the state, including those in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Miami, who will discuss outcomes from the magnet status process, an award given to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria designed to measure the strength and quality of their nursing.
Leaders in nursing and health-care administration, nursing educators, scholars, clinicians and students in the health professions will be among those expected to benefit from the conference.
For more information on the Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference, including schedules, available continuing education credits, speaker and topic descriptions, and registration and travel information, visit the conference Web site at http://www.doce-conferences.ufl.edu.