Nursing Professional Development (NPD) Week is a time for NPD practitioners to celebrate their many accomplishments, be recognized for their work, and both reflect on and look to the future of the specialty. NPD practitioners are often praised for thinking unconventionally as they create learning opportunities that are engaging and meaningful to learners. In addition to generating educational opportunities for nurses and other members of the healthcare team, it is important that NPD practitioners seek out and create learning opportunities for themselves.

In an effort to create an innovative, collaborative learning opportunity for NPD practitioners during NPD Week this year, the Baylor Scott & White Health and Novant Health planning committee created an avenue where NPD practitioners from two hospital systems could talk to, learn from, and network with each other. The authors spent weeks planning and coordinating this joint venture. This event, held during NPD Week, allowed NPD practitioners to meet to discuss their most burning NPD questions. As we planned the event, we incorporated the NPD Practice Model, particularly the NPD roles: Advocate for NPD Specialty, Learning Facilitator, Mentor, and Leader. NPD practitioners, representing like service lines, from Novant Health Greater Winston-Salem Market (GWM) and Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) Greater Austin Region (GAR), participated in this joint venture networking and collaboration opportunity.

In this article, we share how we put this event together and the results of the event, as inspiration for fellow NPD practitioners wishing to do something similar in 2025.

Planning Our NPD Week Event

In preparation for this event, we held meetings every other week to discuss the purpose, concepts, and learning objectives of the session. Two months before the event, we sent a survey to both hospital systems’ NPD team members asking, “What question(s) would you like to ask someone who is in your same role/position, but works in another hospital system?” From the RSVPs to the event and the 19 responses to the survey, we separated the NPD practitioners into service line groups and compiled a list of burning questions to use as prompts for discussion. Microsoft teams was utilized to facilitate the meetings for the service line NPD groups. All participants were given access to the groups and question list before the event via a QR code. The consensus among the planning group was that one hour would be an adequate timeframe to allow meaningful discussion and to allow all participants the opportunity to provide input.

A Successful Opportunity for NPD Practitioners

The event attracted the participation of a combined 37 NPD practitioners from both hospital systems. Our planned concept for the event included stimulation of discussion surrounding the “Big Six” throughputs within the NPD Model: Education, Role Development, Collaborative Partnerships, Inquiry, Onboarding/Orientation, and Competency Management.

The collaboration between the hospital systems was mutually beneficial, fostering new friendships and an exchange of knowledge among colleagues. Questions were pre-prepared to prompt discussion between colleagues (see Table), but spontaneous discussion was encouraged. The energy and enthusiasm following the one-hour session were remarkable, marking the start of a collaborative journey towards enhancing NPD growth within their teams. Reflections on the event's outcomes highlighted the participants' growth through mutual learning and their openness to embracing change and new ideas for further success in their roles.

 

The event ended on a high note, with participants sharing the following positive feedback:

• “Networking with other NPD professionals from diverse healthcare systems allowed us to exchange best practices and gain valuable insights on enhancing participation and attendance.”
• “I enjoyed discussions about gaming. Adam discussed a game called Spooky Sepsis for Halloween. It is an interactive Zoom game that seems really cool to do with our team members.”
• “It is refreshing to hear the same challenges are shared across the globe.”
• “Through our collaboration with NPD practitioners from Novant Health, I learned that we share similar difficulties in reaching certain parts of our staff. During our partnership, we were able to share some creative ways to improve our outreach to these critical members of our team.”
• “The BSWH/NH event was a big hit! It was great connecting with other educators, learning they shared the same challenges, and sharing innovative solutions!”
• “It was so refreshing to talk to another NPD who shares my struggles and who faces the same challenges. The connection we made, even for that short time, helped me professionally and was fulfilling personally as well!”
• “It was an encouraging experience where we were able to share about our struggles and successes and learn that we are more alike than we ever thought.”

Participants on Zoom posing for a group photo.

A Challenge for Readers

At the conclusion of the one-hour event, it became clear that such initiatives could benefit other organizations as well. To promote growth and development, Baylor Scott & White Health and Novant Health are challenging organizations—like the ones readers may belong to—to step out of their comfort zones and organize a networking event with another organization within the next year, possibly during NPD Week 2025. This could also extend to ANPD affiliates, many who now meet online. Connecting with other NPD practitioners, sharing challenges and successes, and supporting each other's growth is a fantastic way to celebrate NPD Week and to also continue the effectiveness of the work we do. Despite different workplaces, we all serve the same population: our team members.