UF conference to explore vision for future of health care
As the 2008 presidential candidates debate the future of health care, a conference hosted by the University of Florida this week will explore how changes in education and practice can improve the health-care system.
As the country's population continues to age, so grow the worries of many who lack faith in the quality and safety of the U.S. health-care system. 2020 Vision for the Future of Health Care, The Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Conference will take place Jan. 17? at the UF Health Professions/Nursing/Pharmacy Complex at the north side of the UF Health Science Center.
The UF College of Nursing will bring together national experts and leaders in nursing and health-care administration who will focus on issues affecting health care's future, specifically patient safety and the quality of patient outcomes, two of the most significant topics in nursing and health care today. In addition, the conference will focus on the future of health professions education and how innovation in education can influence patient care.
The conference is presented by the college and the Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust, and co-sponsored by Florida Hospital.
The conference will feature nationally known speakers such as Joanne Disch, Ph.D., R.N., director of the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing; Linda Aiken, Ph.D., R.N., director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania; Bobbi Kimball, M.B.A., R.N., health-care management consultant and senior fellow at the Center for the Health Professions at the University of California San Francisco; Melanie C. Dreher, Ph.D., R.N., the John L. and Helen Kellogg dean at the College of Nursing at Rush University; and C. Fay Raines, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and president-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Bruce Kone, M.D., dean of the UF College of Medicine, and Kathleen Long, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the UF College of Nursing, will jointly present on challenging the status quo in health professions education, introducing ideas for innovation in education that will prepare the next generation of physicians and nurses who can address our growing health-care problems.
Leaders in health care, nursing educators, scholars, 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 continuing education credits, speaker and topic descriptions, and registration information, visit the conference Web site at http://www.conferences.ufl.edu/nur.