Hello SPN Members!
Pediatric Nursing Excellence Award
It’s hard to believe how quickly the summer is flying by – for many of us, it will soon be time to kick off another school year! As our attentions turn back to scholarly pursuits and the routines that the school year brings, it’s a perfect time to call your attention to our exciting new Pediatric Nursing Excellence Award. This award, built on the framework of SPN’s Pediatric Nursing Excellence Model, provides an opportunity for pediatric acute care units to demonstrate how they achieve nursing excellence in one of three levels: platinum, sapphire, or diamond.
Units applying for the platinum level are asked to showcase how they demonstrate the essential components of excellent pediatric nursing care. Units pursuing the sapphire level must address all of the criteria in the platinum level plus additional criteria focusing on values and continuous improvement, two of the domains within the model. Units striving to achieve diamond level are asked to reflect on how they demonstrate excellence in all 16 components across all 5 domains of the model.
We’re excited to create this opportunity for pediatric acute care units to be recognized for the outstanding care that they provide to pediatric patients and families. We’re hopeful that units across the country, regardless of whether they’re part of a freestanding children’s hospital, a children’s hospital within an adult hospital, or even a single pediatric unit within a hospital, will be recognized for how they contribute to pediatric nursing excellence and the health and well-being of children and families. We recognize that submitting applications for awards like this can feel daunting, so we’ve created some helpful resources to support your unit’s journey through the application process, including criteria with built-in examples, a comprehensive application handbook, and FAQs. SPN team members are available to answer questions, and we will be hosting an info session on XXXXX. The first cycle of applications will be accepted August 1-October 31, 2024, so start working on your application now to be one of the very first award recipients!
Virtual ‘Best Of’ Conference
Looking for an opportunity to earn some CE this fall? Disappointed that you missed the annual conference and wishing you had an opportunity to see some of the content? Well, there’s good news: SPN is hosting our first-ever Best of the Annual Conference virtual event on Thursday, September 26, 2024! This one-day virtual conference will feature the highest-rated sessions from our in-person conference held in April 2024. The event will run from 9:00am-2:30pm CT and will feature a wide range of content, from standardization of precepting best practices to research on pediatric nurses’ attitudes and beliefs about weight stigma. There will also be time for networking with colleagues joining from around the country! I hope you’ll join us for this event – we’re excited to bring some of the magic of the annual conference to you in this new format.
Pediatric Nurses Week – Just Around the Corner!
It’s time to start planning those Pediatric Nurses Week 2024 celebrations! This year we’ll be celebrating October 7-11, and it’s an exciting opportunity to recognize the fantastic work that pediatric nurses do to support patients and families across the care continuum. Order your Pediatric Nurses Week merchandise now to join in the fun and to celebrate with your colleagues and check out our website for celebration activity ideas and downloadable resources. We can’t wait to see pictures of all the celebrations!