2026 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.
2026 Workshops
- Psychological Safety and the Conditions That Shape Clinical Judgment: A Nurse Authority Shift™ Framework | June 25, 2026
- The Important Role of Nurses in Patient Safety | May 14, 2026
- Addressing Barriers and Motivating Factors Influencing Connecticut LPNs’ Advancement in Nursing Education: Designing a Program That Meets Workforce Needs and Overcomes Current Challenges | March 10, 2026
- Understanding and Navigating the CT Board of Examiners of Nursing (BOEN) | January 29, 2026
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Psychological Safety and the Conditions That Shape Clinical Judgment: A Nurse Authority Shift™ Framework. Here from speaker Sabrina Petersen, MSN, RN, Board Certified Holistic Nurse and Educator and Founder, Center for The Integrated Nurse.
Learning objectives:
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SPEAKER
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Sabrina Petersen, MSN, RN
Board Certified Holistic Nurse and Educator Founder, Center for The Integrated Nurse Sabrina Petersen, MSN, RN, is a Board-Certified Holistic Nurse and Educator. She is the founder of the Center for The Integrated Nurse, where she focuses on creating psychologically safe, sustainable healthcare environments that support workforce well-being, clinical judgment, and compassionate care. Her clinical background involves hospice, palliative care, and acute respiratory nursing. These frontline experiences continue to shape her work in supporting the nursing workforce. Sabrina has shared her efforts nationally and internationally, including a poster presentation at the World Health Organization’s Sustainable Health and Care Workforce Conference in Copenhagen. Throughout her approach, she integrates psychological safety, trauma-informed practice, and relational learning to support clinical judgment, communication, ethical discernment, reflective practice, and teamwork in complex care environments. Sabrina developed the Nurse Authority Shift™ framework, an emerging approach that explores the relationship between psychological safety, relational capacity, and the development of clinical judgment in complex healthcare environments. Sabrina serves as Co-Leader of the Southeastern CT/RI Chapter of the American Holistic Nurses Association and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Nursing and Health. |
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Lunch & Learn Workshop was held on Thursday, April 14th The Important Role of Nurses in Patient Safety, featuring Lisa Freeman, Executive Director, Connecticut Center for Patient Safety
Learning objectives for attendees:
Please note that there are no contact hours for this webinar |
SPEAKER
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Lisa Freeman, Executive Director
Connecticut Center for Patient Safety Lisa has been a patient safety advocate for over 20 years. She is committed to making sure that the patient perspective is part of all health care conversations, and by working together with all stakeholders, Lisa is further committed to moving the bar and improving patient safety, patient-centered care and patient engagement across the board. |
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Lunch & Learn Workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 10th Addressing Barriers and Motivating Factors Influencing Connecticut LPNs’ Advancement in Nursing Education: Designing a Program That Meets Workforce Needs and Overcomes Current Challenges, featuring facilitators Salvatore “Sal” Diaz, DNP, MSN, RN, CNE, Director of Allied Health Career Pathways & Academic Partnerships, Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers and Cynthia Jeffrey, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, Director of Nursing Programs, Albertus Magnus College.
Learning objectives for attendees:
Please note that there are no contact hours for this webinar |
Facilitators
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Salvatore “Sal” Diaz, DNP, MSN, RN, CNE
Director of Allied Health Career Pathways & Academic Partnerships Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers Dr. Diaz is a visionary nursing leader and educator with over 20 years of experience in healthcare, academic administration, and regulatory compliance. He currently serves as Director of Career Pathways and Academic Partnerships at Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers and works alongside Dr. Jeffrey, Director of Nursing, as Lead Professor at Albertus Magnus College, where they spearheaded the development of Connecticut’s first LPN-to-BSN program based on Dr. Diaz’s original doctoral research. Dr. Diaz is a published scholar, a member of the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing, and a Certified Nurse Educator dedicated to advancing academic progression pathways and strengthening the nursing workforce. |
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Cynthia Jeffrey, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE
Director of Nursing Programs Albertus Magnus College Dr. Jeffrey brings over 25 years of experience as a registered nurse and more than 14 years of leadership in nursing education. She currently serves as the inaugural Nursing Director for the BSN program at Albertus Magnus College and has held key academic leadership roles, including Associate Director of Nursing at the University of Bridgeport and Interim Chair of Nursing at St. Vincent’s College at Sacred Heart University. A Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) with an EdD in Adult Education and an MSN in Nursing Education, her scholarly interests focus on preventing incivility in nursing education and fostering student engagement. |
Thriving in Nursing: The Vital Role of Self Care
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Lunch & Learn Workshop was held on Thursday, January 29th featuring facilitator Gina Reiners, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC, Chair of the CT Nursing Board.
Participants will be able to:
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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.
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Gina Reiners, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, PMHCNS-BC
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am the Chair of The Board of Examiners of Nursing for the State of Connecticut, having been a delegate to the National Council of Board of Nurses in representing the State of CT in voting for nursing policy changes. I was appointed in 2013 by the Governor of Connecticut. I have a Bachelors (BA) in Psychology and (BSN) in Nursing, Master’s (MA) in Psychology and (MSN) in Nursing and Doctorate (PhD) in Education: Higher Education: Nursing Concentration. I am a certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, licensed as an APRN in the State of Connecticut, with prescriptive rights. I have over 40 years of experience in the psychiatric field as a staff/charge nurse and inpatient hospital director of nurses, PMHNP/PMHCNS manager/director of psychiatric programs in outpatient, inpatient, residential, emergency department, and mobile crisis units with acute and chronic psychiatric patients across the life span. During my career, I have been the administrator of hospital and outpatient based psychiatric programs at free standing psychiatric and acute care hospitals. I created and developed psychiatric programs throughout the State of Connecticut. Additionally, I supervised master’s prepared clinicians, including APRNs, LCSWs, LMFTs, and LPCs. I have been faculty/director and mentor with BSN, MSN, and DNP students at several universities. Currently I am a part-time faculty member in the Nursing Department at Yale University School of Nursing and the University of Massachusetts. I own a private practice specializing in Anxiety and Mood Disorders. Additionally, I developed and created several PMHNP inaugural master’s programs in CT and have presented at several nursing organizations across our nation. Furthermore, I was an expert witness for two legal firms in CT related to malpractice cases. |
