Transformation Advances to New Levels in Armenia: A Measure of Success

Building on the success of the INLI program, a celebration of the ten years of achievement and replication of components of the model resulted in creation of the First International Nursing Congress of Armenia: Transforming Nursing Leadership: self, system and society.  In collaboration with our colleagues from Armenia, the presenters and other international nursing leaders addressed the critical role that nurses play in driving quality, safety and efficiency in health care delivery.   Nurse leaders across the globe are expected to lead, manage change, collaborate with interdisciplinary colleagues and create and sustain positive work environments that produce excellent outcomes. Building a knowledge-based profession requires expansion of critical thinking practices and evidence based initiatives.   In addition, nurses will be expected to partner with other health care professionals and to lead in the redesign of education and practice environments to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing healthcare system and the needs of society. The leadership development program offered in April 2011 in Yerevan demonstrated these achievements and discussed strategies for empowering nurses as they manage their care practices and shape the future of health care delivery models in their organizations and in the larger health care arena.    With the engagement of interdisciplinary partners in this dialogue during the conference, we achieved our goals of partnership and collaboration.   The congress brought together various perspectives about global nursing leadership's development, challenges and direction that impact nurses and their ability to lead and advance the nursing profession.  The presenter will summarize the major outcomes from the conference and describe how these results and recommendations can be used for enrichment of the voice of nurses in advancing global health and nursing leadership.