Hello SPN Members!

A Look Back at 2024

It’s hard to believe the end of another year is already upon us! As the year comes to a close, I hope each of you has an opportunity to take some time away from the busyness of our day-to-day activities to do something meaningful – whether that’s spending time with family and friends, reflecting on the successes/challenges of 2024, or setting goals for the year to come.

I’m particularly proud of all that SPN has accomplished over the past year, guided by our current strategic plan and due to the passion and commitment of our volunteer members. Among many important achievements were the following highlights:

• Enrollment of the first cohorts of our Mentorship Exchange and Leadership Skills Development Programs – based on the excellent response to both of these programs, we are enrolling a second cohort for each!
• Publication of the revised SPN Safe Staffing Position Statement – announced at this year’s annual conference, this is the first version of the position statement to call for appropriate staffing ratios and evaluation of the complex set of factors that may contribute to increased staffing needs on pediatric units. 
• Launch of the Pediatric Nurse Excellence Award – based on SPN’s Pediatric Nursing Excellence Model, this new award enables hospital-based pediatric units to apply for one of 3 levels: platinum, sapphire, or diamond, based on which of the components of the model the unit can successfully demonstrate. We’re thrilled by the incredible response to this initial call for award applications and will begin accepting applications for the next cycle in April 2025!
• Hosting of the 34th Annual Conference – held April 17-29 in Phoenix, AZ, with the theme Blazing the Trail to Pediatric Excellence, this year’s conference was an incredible demonstration of what makes SPN unique as a professional organization – our ability to gather pediatric nurses from diverse specialties and from around the country in one place to learn together, share best practices, and extend our professional networks. 

The coming year is shaping up to be equally exciting, as we celebrate 35 years as an organization and continue to build on the momentum that we’ve developed over the past several years. Our membership is strong and growing, as more and more pediatric nurses see the value that SPN has for their practice and longer-term career development. I’m glad you’ve chosen to be an SPN member, and I hope you’ll help us continue spreading the word about all the amazing work that we’re doing! 

Conference Registration Now Open

Speaking of that 35th anniversary celebration: it’s time to reserve your spot at the place where the SPN magic happens – our annual conference! Registration is now open for the 2025 conference, which will be held in Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) from April 30-May 2, 2025. We have an incredible line-up of keynote and concurrent sessions, as well as a dedicated poster session and optional pre-conference workshops. We’re expecting a fantastic turnout in one of our favorite conference locations, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect in-person with your SPN colleagues and friends!

Thank you to each of you for all that you do to support our pediatric patients and families, whatever role you play within our healthcare system – we know the incredible commitment it takes to work as a pediatric nurse, and we’re proud to help support and advocate for you, your colleagues, and our profession. Here’s to continuing this good work in the year ahead!