Nurse engagement correlates to patient safety, quality of patient care, and patient outcomes. Nurse engagement within the organization is critical, and should be the focus of hospital leadership to increase quality of patient care. Through the development of supportive organizational programs such as a Conference Assistance Scholarship Program, bedside nurses are empowered to be leaders on their unit in disseminating the latest evidence based practice (EBP) obtained at their specialty conference.
Purpose:
The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate how one facility created and implemented a conference assistance program, engaged staff, and brought EBP to the bedside.
Implementation
With the help of designated organization foundation funds, a proposal for a conference assistance scholarship program was created and presented to clinic and hospital leadership.
The proposal of the program consisted of the purpose of the program, details such as dollar amount awarded, travel time to the conference, and education time at the conference. Other details outlined in the proposal included the application requirements, dates of the application period, the review committee, completion project, and financial logistics.
The application form was developed to determine level of engagement on professional development, servant hood, and excellence. A scoring rubric was developed to evaluate the application form. Content validity of the application form and the rubric was assessed by a panel of nursing professional development (NPD) specialists and a nurse scientist. Reliability of the rubric was measured by interrater reliability. A review process of the application and the rubric is repeated after every application cycle with the NPD team.
As a result of conference attendance scholarship program, nurses can apply to the program twice per year, with a commitment to complete an EBP/QI project on their unit or present at a Nursing Grand Round within 1 year of attending the conference of their choice.
Conclusion:
Through the development of supportive organizational programs such as a Conference Assistance Scholarship Program, bedside nurses are empowered to be leaders on their unit in disseminating the latest evidence based practice (EBP) obtained at their specialty conference. This presentation will demonstrate how one facility created and implemented a conference assistance program, engaged staff, and brought EBP to the bedside.