The symposium convened expert stakeholders from across the state to examine Maryland workforce data and trends to gain valuable insights into nursing supply, demand, and education.
Analyzing data about education, recruiting, and retention as well as the importance of legislative advocacy for the nursing field were key focus areas of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Center’s (MNWC) inaugural State of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Symposium: Learning from the Past, Valuing the Present, Shaping the Future.
The symposium, held June 6 in Baltimore at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), which houses the MNWC, convened expert stakeholders from across the state to examine Maryland workforce data and trends to gain valuable insights into nursing supply, demand, and education. It also provided a platform for networking and collaboration. Through expert speakers, facilitated discussions, and small-group sessions, participants had the opportunity to connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and strategize for the future.
“Today is an opportunity for us to become acquainted,” Crystal DeVance-Wilson, PhD ’19, MS ’06, MBA, BSN ’00, PHCNS-BC, assistant professor and director of the Maryland Nursing Workforce Center, said in her introduction.
“[The center has] expanded our focus to keep up with the needs of the Maryland nursing community and to better nursing workforces around the country,” added DeVance-Wilson, who also serves as vice chair of UMSON at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland. “Data and reporting is still our core function, and we have been physically collecting data from whoever will share it.”
Maryland state Del. Bonnie L. Cullison, MA, (District 19, Montgomery County) presented the event’s keynote presentation, “The Intersection of Policy and the Nursing Workforce: Leveraging Resources for Stabilization.”