Approximately 700 nurses from across Australia will come together in the Northern Territory (NT) next week for the profession's signature leadership and education event at the Darwin Convention Centre from August 17-19.
The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) National Nursing Forum (NNF) provides an invaluable opportunity for nurses and nursing students to connect with and learn from the experiences of their peers nationally. The 2022 event examines the theme of 'Nursing Leadership Unmasked' across keynote addresses, research presentations and networking events.
The event will also discuss nurse-led solutions to Australia's most pressing health challenges including maintaining and growing a sustainable workforce, violence against nurses and the impact of climate change on health.
"For the last three years, the nursing profession has stood tall to lead Australians through an unprecedented pandemic and series of devastating natural disasters," ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN said.
"Exerting all our physical and emotional energy into caring for others has left little time to focus on our own personal and professional development.
"It has also made it harder to reflect on the incredible acts of leadership and innovation demonstrated daily by my nursing colleagues across the country.
"Every nurse is a leader, regardless of their official position or title.
"Next week's National Nursing Forum aims to 'unmask' these stories of leadership that my nursing colleagues shared with me daily throughout the pandemic.
"The event is an important time for colleagues to connect with each other, either in Darwin or by attending virtually, and share the innovations and learnings from their local area to a national audience.
"This makes each story of nurse leadership throughout the pandemic unique and special.The experiences of graduate nurses' in a major metropolitan centre are very different from those of primary care nurses in rural and remote Australia.
"ACN's National Nursing Forum provides a physical and virtual space for these stories to be shared within the profession and to the broader general public."
