About 150 nursing students from across Memphis gathered Friday for the inaugural Mid-South Future Nurses Summit presented by the Mid-South Nursing Leadership Collaborative. UT Health Science Center College of Nursing Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, serves as chair of the collaborative, which is made up of deans and directors of local nursing programs and chief nursing officers for area hospitals.
As the community continues to face a nursing shortage, nurse leaders wanted to offer the one-day conference to better prepare students for their transition to the workplace, Dr. Likes said. “We also wanted to create a culture of collaboration across schools and clinical settings that we hope they can carry forward into their careers.”
Keynote speaker Tonya Moore, PhD, RN, offered inspiration to students from her nearly 30 years in nursing during the conference, which was held at Christian Brothers University. Dr. Moore is executive director of leadership and workforce development at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
“Our work is meaningful, important, and impactful. It’s a great time to be a nurse,” she said. But she also cautioned the National Council of Boards of Nursing predicts more than 800,000 nurses will leave the profession by 2027.
“What we do is hard,” she said. “To mitigate that shortage, you need to remember your purpose and the people you come in contact with.” Dr. Moore encouraged students to believe in themselves and be prepared to face adversity.
Juan Morales, a student in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at UT Health Science Center, was inspired by the conference. “She motivated me a lot,” he said. “You have to tell yourself you can do it.”
Morales is the youngest of six siblings. He chose to become a nurse because of his family’s experience with nurses during the death of his mother when he was 4 and during surgery for one of his brothers. “I want to be that nurse that helps and makes a difference,” Morales said. He said he also wants to be able to serve the Latino community through nursing and to set an example to other Hispanic young people to seek higher education.
Halla Rahman, a nursing student from Southwest Tennessee Community College, found the conference encouraging. “Uniting nursing students from different facilities helps build connections. And seeing future employers can help you visualize what it will be like after graduation.”
In addition to the keynote, the conference offered a panel of new and experienced nurses, a panel of nursing practice leaders, lunch, prize drawings, and an optional NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) review session from Hurst Review Services.
Jennifer Hitt, PhD, RN, is the director of nursing programs for Christian Brothers University. She said nurse leaders wanted to give students a conference experience “to help them build their professionalism and to emphasize the importance of professional development and networking.”
Sponsors of the summit included Hurst Review Services, Tenet Healthcare, the Tennessee Hospital Association, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, West Cancer Center, Sigma Honor Society, Post University, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Lakeside Behavioral Health System, the Tennessee Nurses Association, and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.