If there’s one thing I know about healthcare providers it’s this: we love to socialize! What happens on any occasion at work? We eat. What happens when your work team reaches a goal, satisfies the requirements for a survey, or has a meeting? We eat. We gather together, talk, socialize, and eat.

I’ve seen this among nurses too. Walking groups, specialty conferences, gatherings among friends: we love to get together, have fun, and party.

In my (few?) years as a nurse thus far, I’ve been to quite a few conferences of my own: American Psychiatric Nurse Association, Sigma Theta Tau, Magnet, American Holistic Nurse Association, and the International Nursing Management Conference (my favorite since it was at Antalya, Turkey!).

Conferences are awesome, if you ask me.

We get to gather with like-minded professionals from all over the nation, sometimes the globe. We get to learn new things, exchange ideas, and build new relationships. We get to hear how others have done it so we can come away with fresh perspectives, new insights, and bring enthusiasm back to our own workplaces.

We also get to have a lot of fun. The last conference I was at had a drum circle, daily Yoga, sharing groups, and a kick-ass dance party on the last night. How great is that!

Sometimes being in our own little silos can get pretty old. We get bored, dissatisfied, or find ourselves stuck in a rut. Have you ever heard the response: “because this is how we’ve always done it here…”?

Going to a conference can totally boost your energy levels. Hearing about how others have figured out answers to challenges you are having can be inspiring. Figuring out ways to change outcomes and get the results you are looking for can be exciting.

And of course, as care givers- we also ALL love to help each other.

How many times do you meet someone and tell them what you’re struggling with and they listen? They understand and can relate. They empathize with you and then offer some solutions. It is a great way to re-charge yourself with new life.

Well… ALL of the above are reasons as to why I sat down one day in the winter of 2011 and started to map out how I wanted the RejuveNation Collaboration to run.

I wanted it to be:

• A place where it’s not just me, it’s not just the presenters, it’s everyone participating that brings something to the event;
• A tool for learning useful information, generating ideas, and exchange of resources;
• A venue for support, networking, and relationship building that lasts a lifetime;
• A place of refuge where you can go and have some fun, meet cool people, and be yourself!

Now I know we don’t ‘meet’ in person like we do at a conference. But there are many ways to ‘meet’ and get to know each other more. We have a secret community on Facebook. I’ve been told by colleagues that they’ve made new connections and have new partners for projects they are working on. Participants have posted how energizing and uplifting they find the positive group space.

We also have the actual live calls. On the calls there is a chat box function and believe me… that is HIGHLY utilized, sometimes so much so that the presenters get side-tracked with all of the awesome conversation.

And we have a follow up group open to six people. This has proved to be valuable beyond belief. I see the participants showing up from one time to the next- looking for each other, asking about each other, and helping each other out.

So join us this year! Come have some fun, build new relationships, and be yourself. We can’t wait to get to know you! Grab your General Admission Ticket by clicking here.