Nursing excellence through leadership, innovation and resilience

On Sept. 2, the Faculty of Nursing held its annual faculty and staff retreat, and for the first time, was held entirely online for the more than 65 participants.

Dean Sandra Davidson kicked off the event by launching into the new UCalgary Nursing Strategic Plan 2021-24. She outlined10 top trends in nursing, what changes are driving the profession forward and how our foundational commitments to sharpen focus on research and scholarship, enrich the quality and breadth of learning and to integrate the university with the community align.

Instructor Melissa Eastveld shared her own reflections on leadership and lessons learned as a student in the first cohort of Leadership Health Systems Transformation, part of the Stackable Certificate MN program.

The morning session continued with an update from Dr. Jacqueline Smith, director UCalgary Nursing Mental Health and Wellness Initiative. Smith shared updates around Jack, our wellness dog, and plans to do pre- and post-sessions with Term 8 sim as well as how a number of faculty members are training for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).

Dr. Andrew Estefan shared updates around the integration with curriculum development and Amanda O'Rae, Undergraduate Curriculum Coordinator, spoke about application of purposeful reflection and mindfulness among students in a spring course setting.

The afternoon session was led by Ila Edgar from Big Change Inc. A Certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator who works with Brene Brown's Dare to Lead book and philosophy, Edgar helps people connect to their values so they can lead with authenticity.

A break-out session gave us all a start on how we can operationalize our values by understanding our behaviours in the workplace.