PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Independence Blue Cross Foundation (Foundation) and the National League for Nursing (NLN) will cohost a national conference, Paradigms in Nursing Leadership, on Tuesday, November 10, drawing more than 550 leaders in health care to the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Participants will focus on the evolving role of nurses in today's fast-changing health care environment, their growing executive presence and the effect this has on improving patient care.
Experts from a range of industries -- including health care, government, insurance and education -- will share their perspectives on the transformation of leadership in nursing, the transferability of nursing skills to fields beyond traditional practice settings, and strategies to advance health and wellness in nontraditional settings. Featured speakers represent the National League for Nursing, American Academy of Nursing, American Nurses Association, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and American Organization of Nurse Executives, along with chief nursing officers from CVS Minute Clinic and IBM Healthcare Global Business Services. Olenda Johnson, PhD, professor of strategic leadership and leader development at the United States Naval War College, will deliver the keynote address.
"As the largest sector of the health care workforce, nurses have a unique perspective and play a critical role in not only caring for patients, but also improving the overall health and wellness of a community," said Daniel J. Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Health Group. Hilferty will be speaking at the conference on the topic of leadership and the evolving health care landscape. "We believe the insights shared at the conference will better equip nurses from all over the country to advance to leadership positions and successfully drive needed change in health care."
"We are thrilled to partner with the Independence Blue Cross Foundation to offer this opportunity for health care leaders to gather and examine how nursing and nursing education can not only advance quality care at the bedside, but also prepare nurses to function as leaders in the C-suite or the board room. The knowledge, skills, and experience nurses have to offer are invaluable in nearly every sector connected to health care, and yet, as a community, we're not leveraging that expertise as much as we could," observed NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. "It's to address gaps like these that we jointly designed this conference."
Complementing the Paradigms in Nursing Leadership conference is a pre-conference workshop on Monday, November 9. Nurses on Boards: Opening Doors to Leadership will focus on board and executive development, a key recommendation of the Institute of Medicine's 2011 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The workshop is being co-hosted by the Nurses on Boards Coalition, launched earlier this year by the NLN, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and AARP.
Both the IBX Foundation and the NLN have long prioritized leadership development for nurses. For more than a decade, Independence Blue Cross, and then later its Foundation, have partnered with 22 nursing programs and invested more than $17 million in undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral scholarships, as well as student nurse internships. In 2015, the Foundation deepened its commitment to nursing, launching a nursing leadership lab, a professional and leadership development program for nurse interns; awarding $450,000 in new nursing scholarship grants to seven area nursing schools in support of nurses pursuing doctoral degrees in nursing practice; and committing $600,000 to support eight PhD in nursing students in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Future of Nursing Scholars program.
The NLN Center for Transformational Leadership has a robust program to integrate leadership development across the nursing education curriculum. Aspiring, mid-career, and veteran leaders in nursing education each year apply in a competitive process to participate in one of three tracks in the center's Leadership Institute. These year-long intensive programs combine theory, coaching and mentoring, strategic planning, and skills training to provide a roadmap for nurse educators advancing their leadership roles. More information may be found on the NLN website at: http://www.nln.org/centers-for-nursing-education/nln-center-for-transformational-leadership.
The Paradigms in Nursing Leadership conference is also sponsored by: Gwynedd Mercy University Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, La Salle University School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Neumann University Division of Nursing and Health Sciences, Department of Nursing College of Public Health at Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson College of Nursing, and Villanova University College of Nursing.
Licensed nurses (RN, LPN/LVN) who attend Paradigms in Nursing Leadership will be eligible to receive free continuing education credits for their participation.
About the Independence Blue Cross Foundation
The Independence Blue Cross Foundation is a charitable, private foundation, whose mission is leading solutions for a healthier community. The Foundation targets the following areas of impact:
- Securing the Blue Safety Net: Supporting private, nonprofit community health centers that increase access to quality, affordable healthcare in medically underserved areas.
- Bolstering the Health Care Workforce: Strengthening the nursing, primary care, and allied health workforce through education, career development, and research.
- Addressing Health Priorities: Collaborating with wellness partners to tackle the region's most pressing health challenges; currently combating the obesity epidemic through the Independence Blue Cross Foundation Healthy Futures Initiative.
- Building Healthier Communities: Partnering with community leaders and programs to address community health and wellness needs.
Learn more by visiting our website: www.ibxfoundation.org Connect with the Independence Blue Cross Foundation on Twitter and Instagram at @ibxfdn.
About the National League for Nursing
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its more than 40,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations. Learn more at: www.nln.org.