May 11, 2026, 10 – 11 a.m.
Fees
No cost

About this event

This session brings together three presentations that explore how nurses build resilience, engage in reflection and pursue renewal amid complex practice environments.

The first presentation, Plan It. Scan It. Learn It, shares the experience of a novice bedside nurse leading a quality improvement initiative to strengthen advance care planning documentation on admission. Through small tests of change, frontline engagement and iterative learning, this presentation highlights both the clinical impact of advance care planning and the realities of early-career nurses stepping into leadership roles without prior quality improvement experience.

The second presentation, Breaking the Silence, examines how lateral violence and normalized harmful behaviours affect new graduate nurses’ transition to practice. Drawing on narrative qualitative research, it explores how workplace culture, hierarchy and psychological safety shape professional identity, confidence and retention while identifying strategies to foster healthier and more supportive nursing environments.

The third presentation, Navigating the Systemic Flood, focuses on the social determinants of health and the moral distress nurses experience when caring for patients constrained by systemic barriers. By reframing language and practice, this discussion offers practical ways nurses can provide more equitable, context sensitive care while influencing change at the bedside, organizational and policy levels.

Together, these presentations invite reflection on how nurses can lead change, name systemic challenges and contribute to more sustainable nursing practice.

Presenters:

Tanya Smith, BScN, RN
Dr. Miranda Bevilacqua, RN, MN, Ph.D.
Rylan Copeman, BScN, RN, MN (c)
Emma Benner, BScN, RN