RNAO celebrates National Nursing Week (May 6 – 12, 2024)
Keeping with tradition, RNAO and its chapters, regions without chapters and interest groups offered a wide variety of events to commemorate National Nursing Week from May 6-12, 2024. This year’s Nursing Week theme was Celebrating Successes, Solving Challenges. RNAO and guest speakers addressed a wide range of topics and offered events throughout the day, evening and night shift.
The events reinforced how nurses are at the forefront, leading clinical excellence, continuously advancing their professional practice, and taking action to tackle challenges and improve outcomes for our profession and the people we serve.
Celebrating successes:
At the start of Nursing Week, RNAO released its long-anticipated best practice guideline (BPG), Clinical Practice in a Digital Health Environment. A media conference took place in Humber River Health’s command centre, and paid tribute to the late Dr. Vanessa Burkoski, who identified the need for this guideline and served as its expert panel co-chair.
Two other media events featured Ontario Health Teams that participate in RNAO’s Best Practice Spotlight OrganizationÒ (BPSOÒ) program. Both teams – North Western Toronto and Archipel – showcased how they’re collaborating across different sectors to implement RNAO’s BPGs and improve health outcomes in their communities.
Student nurse excellence was also spotlighted during the First Look: Global Student-Led BPSO Conference, where nursing students from around the world shared their plans and launched a social media campaign.
The fifth annual Nursing Now Ontario Awards (NNOA) ceremony, co-hosted with the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, celebrated this year’s three recipients – one NP, one RN and one RPN – for their extraordinary commitments and contributions to the nursing profession and health care. Congratulations to the 2024 NNOA recipients: NP Rosanra (Rosie) Yoon, RN Amanda MacDonald and RPN Thatparan Vinayagamoorthy.
Nursing career advancement:
For nurses looking to advance their careers, there were several offerings, including one-on-one support for resume review, guidance on using RNCareers.ca, networking tips, and webinars addressing legal issues related to nursing documentation and protections available through RNAO membership.
Dr. Doris Grinspun offered a drop-in session from 2 - 4 a.m. ET to connect with nurses working the night shift. She had candid conversations with nurses and listened to questions, stories, concerns and solutions.
Nurses also had the opportunity to explore various nursing career pathways, hearing what nurses from various roles and sectors love most about nursing and their current (and past) roles. Experienced fellows and mentors who have transformed their career and workplace through the Advanced Clinical Practice Fellowship shared their insights during a special session.
Addressing challenges and taking action:
For nurses interested in learning about and addressing challenges at the community, organization and system levels, RNAO hosted multiple events. This included:
- a panel discussion, titled Courage Amidst Crisis, to address nurses' psychological health and safety using an equity lens
- an RNAO interest group panel discussion on equity, diversity and inclusion that outlined efforts to combat discrimination and stigma in the workplace and within the profession
- a webinar that featured experienced RNAO policy and political action network officers who shared strategies on how to effectively communicate health issues to family, friends, colleagues or political representatives
- a presentation with nurses who have run for public office in various ridings and political parties about how they use their nursing knowledge to advance evidence-informed policy decisions
On the final day of Nursing Week, policy and political action was on display during a media conference that addressed the toxic drug supply crisis. During this event, RNAO’s executive leadership, two RNs and a person with lived experience shared evidence, stories and RNAO’s demands to address the crisis, specifically the urgent funding of supervised consumption services sites. They also addressed questions from various media outlets.
Thank you for celebrating Nursing Week with RNAO. Wear your nursing pin to show pride for our one-of-a-kind profession. #RNAOProud
