August 21, 2023
Interprofessional health care providers, presenters and exhibitors convened at Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (NRI) on Aug. 3, 2023 for Texas Children’s Professional Day Summit. The enterprise-wide event led by Nursing Professional Development (NPD) offered opportunities to enhance knowledge and skill application for health care professionals, thereby improving professional practice and patient outcomes.
This year’s theme was Prioritizing Quality Care & Clinician Wellness. Dr. Angie Rangel, Jill Stonesifer and several NPD team members welcomed conference participants by sharing the purpose of the event and its significance to professional practice. System Chief Nurse Executive Dr. Jackie Ward kicked off the event with opening remarks on the value of interprofessional teamwork, lifelong learning and its impact on clinicians and patients. Keynote speaker Dr. Beth Ulrich followed with a presentation on Creating Health Work Environments to Improve Clinician & Patient Outcomes. Conference participants then broke into sessions focused on Pediatrics, Women’s Health and Professional Practice to discuss current issues and health care trends, as well as exchange ideas and share best practices.
Between sessions, registrants networked, explored featured exhibitors, participated in wellness activities and received door prizes. The event was free for Texas Children’s employees and offered continuing education credits to physicians, nurses, social workers and respiratory therapists. Auditorium presentations were also livestreamed to West Campus, The Woodlands and Austin MoPac for those who could not attend in-person. Click here to see the full agenda.
Participants shared their experiences from the summit:
“The theme echoed at TCH Professional Day Summit was ‘learning never ends.’ It was an amazing curriculum that covered a large variety of topics facing our health care industry today…I really enjoyed learning about strategies and quality initiatives from our peers across the organization. I definitely plan to apply the knowledge learned with our department.” – Rachel Gonzales, Assistant Clinical Director (Radiology)
“Every presentation I attended was thought provoking and interactive. All the presenters were engaging, and discussions with colleagues across disciplines and campuses provided fruitful dialogue to make the presentations even more thoughtful. I look forward to attending the next summit!” – Brittany Walters, Clinical Nurse Coordinator (International Office)
“Congratulations on a successful conference! I thought it was a wonderful chance as a physician to learn about a wide variety of topics from the nursing perspective. I was impressed with the keynote as well as the final talk on Nursing Ethics from Dr. Nancy Yuill, and was proud to be part of the program myself.” – Dr. Daniel Lemke, Emergency Medicine
“The topics were not only relevant, but also extremely informative. I particularly appreciated the sessions surrounding the legalities of nursing licensure and how to protect it. Professional Day Summit is an event I would definitely encourage others to attend for NCPD credits!” – Chloe Smith, Staff Nurse (Radiology)
Putting together a successful conference of this scale was possible thanks to the hard work, collaborative planning and ongoing commitment to shared learning from Texas Children’s NPD team: Yaima Aleman, Sonia Alvarado, Jana Broussard, Tori Baker, Jaime Choate, Ronda LeBlanc, Karina Moreno, Tanya Nelson-Hall, Natalie Richards, Jill Stonesifer, Jessica Ramirez, and Gayle Young. The team also extends a special thanks to Education and Professional Development Shared Governance Council partners and volunteers who helped make it happen.
Click here to learn more about this year’s Professional Day Summit, and stay tuned for its return in 2025!