This year's National Nursing Staff Development Organization (NNSDO) convention, held in beautiful San Diego, had to be one of the best. As I have attended all of the NNSDO conventions, that's saying something. But there were a lot of very special moments in this year's convention that were not present in others I have attended. Let me describe a few.
I arrived on Wednesday and spent a lovely afternoon with a friend and colleague, Sandy Holmes. You may remember that Sandy was the first Treasurer of NNSDO. We had lunch and caught up on each other's lives as friends do. We talked about how far NNSDO has come since its launch in 1989 and how much more sophisticated nursing professional development (nee staff development) has become.
On Wednesday afternoon, I was lounging in my room (reading the Journal for Nurses in Staff Development [JNSD] manuscripts) when suddenly the entire room shook. The bed vibrated as did the clothes in the closet. Because it was California, I immediately surmised it was an earthquake, and being from Florida, I only know how to deal with hurricanes, so I stayed put. Only later did I learn that it registered 5.4 on the Richter scale.
On Thursday morning, I taught Writing for Publication to the best group I have ever encountered. We had such a good time laughing and learning, and the ideas for manuscripts offered by participants were breathtaking. Again, I realized how much nursing professional development has grown over the years and how advanced its practitioners have become.
In the afternoon, the JNSD Editorial Board held its annual meeting, and again ideas were flowing as members brainstormed ways to improve the journal to meet readers' needs. Everyone at the table was eager to participate and was committed to making the journal the information resource for professional development specialists.
On Friday, I was present at the Awards Ceremony to present the Helen Tobin Writers' Award. The presentation was particularly meaningful to me this year because Helen died in February. She was a role model and a mentor and always a staunch supporter of NNSDO and JNSD. She was so proud to have contributed to the specialty, although she always insisted that she could not have done what she did without the support and assistance of others. The award was given to Rosemary Strickland for her article, "The Clinical Nurse Educators' Perceptions of Research Utilization: Barriers and Facilitators to Change" with co-author Colleen O'Leary-Kelley. Rosemary was present and is the first member of the Editorial Board to receive the award, selected from all the articles published in the journal in the previous year.
Next, I participated in presenting the Belinda E. Puetz Award for Excellence in Staff Development to Dora Bradley, PhD, RN-BC. It was a distinct honor to do so because Dora has contributed immeasurably to the specialty. Staff from the healthcare system at which she is employed attend the NNSDO convention, participate in NNSDO activities, and write for the journal-all with her encouragement and support. She personifies the nursing professional development roles of change agent, mentor, leader, educator, and consultant, among others.
Throughout the remainder of the convention, I attended sessions that were impressive in their scope and depth. The variety of topics was outstanding; truly there was something for everyone, from the novice to the most expert among us.
Unfortunately, I had to leave before the closing brunch, which always features really good food-and lots of it-and a dynamic closing speaker. On the trip home, I thought about how far NNSDO has come in its 21 years of existence. From the number of participants at the general sessions to the caliber of educational offerings to the highly developed products and services in the exhibit hall, the transformation over the years has been amazing. What has not changed, however, is the openness and friendliness on the part of both members and staff. NNSDO has always been a welcoming organization, and I continue to be pleased to be a part of it as the Editor of its official journal.