2023 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES
The importance of professional development is that high-performing organizations recognize the significance of professional development plans for new and incumbent nurses as well as nurse educators.
Creating a Culture of Workforce Safety
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This virtual workshop will be facilitated by Mel Cortez, RN, BSN
Founder/CEO of Cortex Gold. Objectives:
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Mel Cortez graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. As a Critical Care Travel Nurse for over 10 years, she has been in many facilities across the country. In addition to Nursing Supervision roles in acute care, Mel has held various management positions within Home Health, Hospice, and Long-Term Care prior to returning to the bedside to serve as a Critical Care Traveler in the Northeast in March of 2020.
After 2 pivotal years caring for patients in the Covid 19 Pandemic, she then chose to launch the Cortex Brand, a solution-based business. Cortex’s latest project, Cortex Gold has a primary focus on creating a Gold Standard for Healthcare Security while reducing the rising violence at the bedside through tactical, practical innovations in the realms of product, training and research. She is a content expert in regards to Healthcare Workforce Satisfaction and Retention, Workplace Violence Reduction and the implementation of systems-wide training programs that are both cost effective and delivered efficiently during operational tempo, Mel holds licensure in North Carolina and Texas and is a member of the TNA, ANA and IAHSS (International Association of Healthcare Security). |
Innovative Pathways to Clinical Nursing Student Competence
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This virtual workshop will be facilitated by Meredith Wallace Kazer, PhD, APRN, FAAN and Audrey Beauvais, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN.
Objectives:
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Dr. Meredith Wallace Kazer earned an MSN with a specialty in geriatrics from Yale University and a PhD from New York University.
Dr. Kazer is an adult and gerontological primary care nurse practitioner whose work has been disseminated in 13 books and over 100 peer-reviewed journal publications. She is the Dean of the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies at Fairfield University and maintains a clinical practice in Connecticut with a focus on chronic illness in older adults. |
Audrey Beauvais is an Associate Dean and Associate Professor at the Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies at Fairfield University. She completed her BSN degree from Fairfield University, MSN/MBA degrees from Sacred Heart University, and DNP degree from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Beauvais was recently been appointed to serve a three-year term on the National League for Nursing Board of Governors. Dr. Beauvais is an Editorial Board Member for the journal Nursing Education Perspectives (NEP). She was a guest editor for NEP in the 2017, ’20 and ’22 for special issues on the Future of Nursing Report and Educating during Times of Crisis. Dr. Beauvais is the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters. She published two books, Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: An Interpersonal Approach 3rd edition (Jones & Beauvais, 2023) as well as Leadership and Management Competencies in Nursing Practice: Competencies, Skills, Decision Making (2019) that was awarded first place for the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year award in the Nurse Management and Leadership category. She has been the recipient of several honors and distinctions including the Connecticut Nurses Association Diamond Jubilee Josephine A. Dolan Award for Outstanding Contribution to Nursing Education, the Connecticut League (CLN) for Nursing Ruth M. Olson Excellence in Nurse Education Award, CLN President’s Award, CLN Leadership Award, and Sacred Heart University’s Dean’s Leadership Award. Prior to her time in academia, Dr. Beauvais worked in various leadership positions at Stamford Hospital including nurse manager of the pediatric and psychiatric units, case manager, and performance improvement coordinator. Dr. Beauvais was the Magnet Coordinator that successfully led Stamford Hospital to be recognized as a Magnet hospital. The "Magnet Recognition Program" is a prestigious designation administered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for excellence in nursing practice.
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Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice Simulations: Third Time's the Charm
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This virtual workshop will be facilitated by Valorie MacKenna, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE & Dawn Sarage, MSN, RN, CNL, CMSRN, CHSE.
After attending the session, participants will be able to:
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Valorie MacKenna is the Director of Simulation-Based Education and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing. With over 27 years as a Registered Nurse and 12 years’ experience working in simulation, Valorie lends her expertise to provide educationally sound learning experiences for UCONN nursing students using high-fidelity simulations across four regional campuses. Valorie is a certified healthcare simulation educator (CHSE), a certified nurse educator (CNE), and holds a graduate certificate in healthcare simulation from the University of Central Florida. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing from UCF in Orlando, Florida. Her dissertation research focused on self-debriefing and depth of reflection in UG nursing students. Valorie’s research appears in leading, peer-reviewed nursing and simulation journals. She has also presented her work at international and national conferences. Valorie is an active member of Society for Simulation in Healthcare and serves on the SSH Technology Committee. She is also an active member of the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning, the National League for Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau.
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Dawn Sarage, RN, MSN, CNL, CMSRN, CHSE is a Clinical Instructor at the University of Connecticut, School of Nursing in Storrs, CT, as well as a medical-surgical nurse educator at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. Her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing is from the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT and she obtained her Master's degree in the Clinical Nurse Leader track from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.
Dawn is a Certified Medical-Surgical Nurse (CMSRN) and a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE). Versatile in her simulation mastery, Dawn teaches across all specialties including obstetrics, pediatrics, behavioral health, and medical-surgical nursing at the undergraduate level. Dawn's research interests are simulation education and escape room pedagogy. |
