Coffee, conferences and a new commitment to nursing

Have you ever gone to a nursing conference and felt rejuvenated? As if the problems you experience in your hospital are not unique and therefore more bearable? I just returned from an awesome conference put on by CFED which I highly recommend for all you emergency personnel out there. It is geared towards all emergency services personnel including fire, police, ED RNs and MDs, military and the like. The exhibition hall was pretty fun too! There was a real life helicopter (no free rides though….so sad!), army tanks, intraosseous practice stations, disaster/pop-tent hospitals, and of course, free goodies. I have enough pens and mouse pads now to start my own small office supply store.
The point is, sometimes it is refreshing to get out there and mingle with your colleagues and peers. So often if we aren’t getting paid for it or the class is not a job requirement, we have no interest. But I challenge you to try out a conference soon, at least once a year. Sometimes the speakers are awe-inspiring and sometimes they are just awful. Either way, you get to participate in health care at a fundamental educational level. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, it can be painful to get up so early to go to “school” (reminiscent of hospital orientation or college) but make it an excuse to get your fancy latte and stretch those neurons.

If any of you have any experiences with great conferences, I would love to hear about them! Oh, and by the way, a perk to attending job related conferences? It can be a tax write off too!!!