Nursing Education Symposium
Nursing Education Symposium: Leading Excellence and Innovation
The Florida Center for Nursing (FCN) hosted the Nursing Education Symposium: Leading Excellence and Innovation in Florida on March 7, 2025, as a hybrid event in partnership with the University of Florida College of Nursing. The symposium aimed to present critical statewide nursing workforce data analyses, address current trends, challenges, and opportunities in nursing education, and develop forward-thinking recommendations for the future of nursing education in Florida. The event attracted over 800 participants from Florida and beyond, including faculty, nurses, students, executives, and healthcare leaders.
Continuing education credits were available to participants, sponsored by the FCN. A total of 1,282.50 credit hours were granted to 285 attendees. Over 98% of participants that responded to the program evaluation reported that learning objectives were met for the event.
FCN Executive Director, Rayna Letourneau, PhD, RN, began the day with a presentation of FCN research from The State of Nursing Education in Florida 2025 report. Results from this research, including Florida’s rank of 50 out of 50 US states for NCLEX pass rates, provided a foundation for the rest of the symposium.
The Nursing Education in Florida: Overcoming Challenges, Creating Solutions panel discussion covered the difference between collaboration and competition, the importance of care for nursing students, why remediation should start early, and other important topics.
Panelists included
- Michelle Edmonds, PhD, FNP-BA, CNE, Director of Nursing, University of North Florida
- Patricia Gagliano, PhD, RN, Dean of Nursing, Indian River State College
- Patricia Orender, DNP, RN, Director of ASDN and Certificate Programs, Florida Gateway College
- Tony Umadhay, PhD, CRNA, FAANA, Dean of Nursing, Barry University
- Maria Walwema, PhD, RN, MSN-NHCE, Director of Nursing, FVI School of Nursing and Technology
The symposium concluded with a keynote speech from Shakira Henderson, PhD, DNP, MS, MPH, MBA, RNC-NIC, IBCLC, the Dean of UF College of Nursing and Chief Nurse Executive at UF Health, titled The Future of Nursing: Implications for Practice, Research, and Education.
Addressing the threats that nursing and nurses face today in her speech, Dr. Henderson acknowledged the fear of artificial intelligence. Her response: “Only humans can be nurses.”