2025 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.

​​2025 Workshops

• Race, Racism and Research to Reduce Perinatal Health Inequities | March 26, 2025
• Black Nurses in White: A Historical Account of Black Nurses in the U.S. | February 20, 2025
• Thriving in Nursing - The Vital Role of Self Care | January 21, 2025

Race, Racism and Research to Reduce Perinatal Health Inequities

Lunch & Learn Workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 26th featuring facilitator Veronica Barcelona, PhD, MSN, RN, PHNA-BC, FAAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Scholarship and Research,
Columbia University School of Nursing

Learning objectives:

• Describe how racism explains disparities in perinatal health outcomes.
• Define stigmatizing language and how it may result in harm to marginalized people in healthcare settings.
• Identify ways to change potentially harmful words, policies and practices to reduce health inequities through patient-centered, respectful language.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
via Zoom

Free to attend.  Registration Required.

REGISTER

The CT Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc. is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Connecticut Nurses’ Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Veronica Barcelona, PhD, MSN, RN, PHNA-BC, FAAN

Dr. Veronica Barcelona earned degrees from the University of Michigan (BSN), Johns Hopkins University (MSN/MPH), and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (PhD). Her NIH-funded research interrogates mechanisms and risk factors underlying adverse pregnancy outcomes, with the goal of achieving healthy and safe birth outcomes for all. 

Black Nurses in White: A Historical Account of Black Nurses in the U.S.

Lunch & Learn Workshop was held on Thursday, February 20th featuring facilitator Vivienne Pierce McDaniel DNP, MSN, RN, FADLN, Inclusive Excellence Ambassador and Consultant, James Madison University School of Nursing 

By attending, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the significant contributions of Black nurses in the United States; and
• Understand the reason for Black nursing organizations in the current climate

Held on Thursday, February 20, 2025
via Zoom

The CT Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc. is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Connecticut Nurses’ Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Vivienne Pierce McDaniel DNP, MSN, RN, FADLN

Dr. Pierce McDaniel is a servant nurse leader and change agent with almost two decades of leadership experience advancing health equity, and inclusivity in healthcare. She is an executive nurse consultant, adjunct nursing professor, and the ambassador and consultant for Inclusive Excellence at James Madison University School of Nursing. She served as interim executive director of the National Black Nurses Association, Inc. (NBNA) from September 2023 to March 2024.

Dr. Pierce McDaniel is the immediate past president of the Central Virginia Chapter NBNA and is the vice chair of the NBNA Health Policy Committee. She was the inaugural chair of the Virginia Nurses Association and Virginia Nurses Foundation (VNF) Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council and served on the VNF’s Board of Trustees for five years as the health equity ambassador. She currently serves on the Henrico, Parham, and Retreat Doctors’ Hospitals’ Board of Trustees, and the Brightpoint Community College Nursing Advisory Board. A prolific advocate for justice, Dr. Pierce McDaniel also chairs the Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action Council for Climate Justice. In addition, she chairs the Governance Committee of the Sigma Theta Tau Chi Alpha at-Large Chapter Board of Directors.

​In 2021, Dr. Pierce McDaniel became a Fellow of the inaugural American Association of Colleges of Nursing Diversity Leadership Institute, and in 2024 she was inducted into the inaugural Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing. Recognized for her outstanding leadership and contributions in nursing, she is the recipient of the VNF 2020 Year of the Nurse Award, the 2022 American Nurses Association’s Leadership in Ethics Award, and the 2024 NBNA’s Presidential Founders Spirit Award. 

Thriving in Nursing:  The Vital Role of Self Care​

Lunch & Learn Workshop was held on Tuesday, January 21st featuring facilitator Nickia Jackson, MSN, RN, Self-Care Coach, Holistic Health Coaching with Nickia RN LLC.

By viewing Webinar, attendees will learn how to:

• recognize that self-care practice looks different for everyone, and that true self-care goes beyond physical pampering and involves addressing emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical needs, which are essential to their ability to care for others. 
• gain practical tools to incorporate self-care strategies that nurture all aspects of their well-being, foster resilience, and enhance their overall performance in the workplace

View Slides

The CT Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc. is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Connecticut Nurses’ Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Nickia Jackson, MSN, RN

Nikia is a passionate well-being advocate dedicated to helping nurses overcome burnout and rediscover joy through self-care. With over 25 years of nursing experience, including critical care and patient safety roles, she combines clinical expertise with her holistic health knowledge as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. A proud alum of Syracuse University (BSN) and Quinnipiac University (MSN in Forensic Nursing), Nickia's firsthand understanding of nurses' challenges fuels her mission to empower them to thrive personally and professionally.

As a sought-after speaker, workshop facilitator, and wellness coach, Nickia inspires nurses to prioritize their well-being without guilt, using practical mind-body-spirit strategies to build resilience and vitality. Guided by her mantra, "Until you are good to yourself, you can't be good to anyone else," she equips nurses with the tools to lead fulfilling lives with harmony while setting a powerful example for their patients, loved ones, and peers. Through her work, Nickia is transforming the nursing culture and shaping a healthier, more sustainable future for the profession.