University of Florida College of Nursing to host conference addressing the nursing shortage and solutions

This January, the University of Florida will break new ground to respond to the growing nursing shortage.

The UF College of Nursing will bring together national experts and leaders in nursing and health-care administration to discuss causes of and possible solutions to the nursing shortage and the critical role of nurses in patient care. The Critical Link: Nursing and the Future of Health Care, The Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference will take place Jan. 29-30, 2004, at the new UF Health Professions/Nursing/Pharmacy Complex at the north side of the UF Health Science Center. The conference is presented by the college and the Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust, and co-sponsored by the Florida Center for Nursing and the Florida Nurses Association.

The conference will feature internationally known speakers such as Linda H. Aiken, Ph.D., R.N., UF College of Nursing alumna and director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania; Sue Hegyvary, Ph.D., R.N., a professor and dean emeritus, University of Washington School of Nursing; and Margretta Styles, Ed.D., R.N., past president, the American Nurses Association and the International Council of Nurses, and dean emeritus of the University of California at San Francisco School of Nursing, Wayne State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio School of Nursing.

UF College of Nursing Dean and American Association of Colleges of Nursing President Kathleen Ann Long, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., also will be among the expert speakers.

Also planned is a panel discussion with leading health-care administrators and policymakers on how they will respond to the nursing and patient care crisis, encouraging an interactive dialogue among these administrators and attending nursing professionals.

Leaders in nursing and health-care administration; nursing educators, scholars and clinicians; and students in the health professions will be among those expected to benefit from the conference.

For more information on the Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference, including schedules, available CE credits, speaker and topic descriptions, and registration and travel information, visit the conference Web site at http://www.doce-conferences.ufl.edu/NUR or call 352-392-1701.