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MEET THE EDUCATORS OF NURSECON AT SEA 2024 SAILING TO MEXICO
NURSECON AT SEA EDUCATORS
The Ultimate Nursing Conference Vacation
By April Rowe, RN
NURSECON AT SEA is not your typical nursing conference. It’s a unique educational experience that combines the ultimate vacation with the opportunity to obtain over 85 continuing nursing education (CNE) credits. The 5-night sailing from Miami on April 9-14, 2024, will venture to the stunning ports of Cozumel, Mexico, and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. The cruise offers a ton of fun activities and plenty of opportunities to simply relax and party with like-minded colleagues. Guests can enjoy the gorgeous ocean views, unforgettable excursions, the hot tubs and pool deck, and all the amazing food and drinks.
Nurse Blake and his staff have crafted something truly special, and the ultimate goal is to deliver a memorable experience to nurses, with a hyper-focus on inclusivity, authenticity, and building connections. This is a conference you will never forget. -ANNA QUON
Not Your Average Nursing Conference!
NurseCon at Sea strives to offer a wide variety of exceptional courses that nurses can choose from based on their own interests and professional goals. You can choose as many courses as you’d like. Some nurses prefer to skip the courses and just enjoy the cruise. That’s the beauty of NurseCon at Sea; you can create your own educational vacation experience!
All of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)-accredited CNE courses will be held during the days at sea and focus on the categories of practice, innovation, leadership, culture, pharmacology, and workshops. The educators come from various nursing, educational, and leadership backgrounds and are experts in their field. Each customized course offers an engaging and interactive experience.
Meet The Vice President Of Education At Nursecon At Sea
Elizabeth Pavlesich, DNP, RN, PMH-BC, and Vice President of Education at NurseCon, was a speaker on the first cruise and is now a full-time employee with NurseCon. Her extensive nursing experience includes mental health and substance abuse, education, safety, and quality. Cruise attendees will see her speaking at the Campfire, where Nurse Blake and other presenters have an intimate discussion about the realities and experiences of nursing.
“The courses are really fun, and we have a ton of different topics for the next cruise. They range from one to two-hour credits. All of the educators work really hard all year to prepare their presentations,” Elizabeth noted.
The topics that NurseCon at Sea offers are based on the feedback from the surveys sent to cruise attendees. Elizabeth works year-round to find presenters to align with the topics requested.
“We have a lot of people who reach out to us and say they want to be a part of NurseCon at Sea. We also use referrals or LinkedIn to find people to present. Every educator and presenter goes through an interview process and background check. It’s really fun to be a presenter, but it’s also a lot of work and preparation,” added Elizabeth.
Meet The Nursecon At Sea Educators
You’ll find different courses and educators every year, but some have been presenting at NurseCon at Sea since the first cruise. These core educators are hard-working nurses who are also dedicated to taking the time to prepare their yearly cruise presentations. They come from different nursing backgrounds and offer varying insightful courses.
ERIN RAIOLO, M.ED., BSN, RN, CNECL, CEN, TCRN
Erin will run the popular Sepsis Escape Room and the exciting and interactive Murder Mystery that will challenge attendees’ critical thinking skills and medical knowledge. Her experience includes being an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)/Paramedic and working as a nurse in gastroenterology and the emergency room (ER).
Erin currently works in the ER as a charge nurse and educator and teaches nursing at her local community college. She also has her own business, Educated Nurse, providing study guides and templates for nurses and first responders.
“The best part about presenting on the cruise is meeting all the different people. The educator group is like a second little family. I love sharing my knowledge with others, but I also like to attend some of the other classes because I love to learn,” mentioned Erin.
Erin truly enjoys being a NurseCon at Sea educator. “The people that come to the classes are very dedicated and really want to be there. They are invested in and excited about the topic you’re teaching and are really engaged in the material. It makes the interactions in the class a lot more authentic. And working with Blake is great. He’s very down to earth and takes the time to get to know everybody,” Erin added.
Educated RN can be found on Instagram at @Educatednurse
ANNA QUON, MBA HM, BSN, RN, AMB-BC, NEA-BC
For 17 years, Anna worked in various nursing roles and settings, including ER, trauma, case management, telehealth, ambulatory clinics, system leadership, and most recently, nursing research. Currently, she is in a Nursing Ph.D. program focusing on reducing health disparities for people with autism and/or intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For the upcoming 2024 cruise, Anna will be hosting a panel on career development for nurses and will co-facilitate a workshop on caring for obstetric patients with mental health concerns. “You’ll also find me at Campfire with Nurse Blake, where we put our guard down and have frank conversations about things affecting nurses today,” said Anna.
Your Nursing Career: Strategies for Lifelong Success — the panel Anna will be presenting — is an empowering session that encourages healthcare providers to build fulfilling and successful careers. She said, “By sharing what I’ve learned from navigating multiple career pathways and by bringing together a panel of people who have carved out unique nursing roles, I’ll provide practical tips to help nurses have a more satisfying career.”
Anna added, “Nurse Blake and his staff have crafted something truly special, and the ultimate goal is to deliver a memorable experience to nurses, with a hyper-focus on inclusivity, authenticity, and building connections. This is a conference you will never forget.”
MATTHEW VIERA-BRIGGS, MSN, APRN-C, AGNP-C, CCRN-K
Matt is a nurse practitioner with a background in ICU and hospital management and has a master’s degree in adult-gerontology nursing, specializing in the LGBTQIA patient population. Matt started his own non-profit clinics across Florida.
“Blake and I went to nursing school together, and he asked me to help with the first NurseCon at Sea cruise. It was great, and I loved it, so I keep going each year. The educational staff is excellent, and I love meeting nurses from all over the world. It’s really interesting to see how much it’s grown in the last couple of years,” said Matt.
Matt will be teaching the course Nursing Advocacy: Influencing Change and Safeguarding Practice, which focuses on the importance of nurses advocating for themselves and their practice.
“This course will teach nurses how to be catalysts for change. Talking to congressmen, state representatives, and legislators isn’t something we learn about in school. Our nurse practice acts are determined by our local state representatives, so they affect how we practice nursing. Many of them don’t know anything about nursing, so they want to hear from us, and this course will empower nurses to speak up,” Matt explained.
MICHELLE HAMLAND, DNP, RN, RN-BC
Unleashing the Power of Generative AI in Nursing Practice is the course that Michelle will present in 2024. It delves into the convergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and nursing practice.
Michelle’s nursing experience includes the medical-surgical unit and the emergency department. “I’ve always had an affinity for technology and respect how it has helped with advancements in healthcare. I felt it was important for nurses to be involved in the design and development of the AI tools that would be integrated into our workflow, so I got my master’s degree in informatics and got a job in that area,” said Michelle.
By sharing her extensive knowledge of informatics and nursing technology integration, nurses can better understand how to leverage upcoming technology like AI. Michelle explained, “I went on to get my DNP (doctor of nursing practice) in healthcare leadership to be at the forefront of innovating changes. I want to see nurses and nursing leaders be more innovative and take on new technologies in their nursing practice.”
YOVALETTA SCRUGGS, MBA, MSN, BSN, NEA-BC
The 2024 cruise to Mexico will be Yovaletta’s third sailing with NurseCon at Sea, and she’s excited to co-lead the Exploring Implicit Bias Workshop and present the course Navigating Leadership: From Aspirations to Impact. With over 17 years of nursing experience, primarily in women’s services, and a decade of nurse leadership experience, she’s certainly an expert in her field.
Yovaletta has worked in hospital and clinic obstetric settings as a bedside nurse and for the last 10 years as a nursing leader. “I most recently started a new endeavor in nurse entrepreneurship by opening a wellness practice. I’m also a clinical instructor for maternal newborn nursing students,” she said.
“Being a NurseCon educator has been very rewarding. It is such a great opportunity to connect with so many nurses on various subjects, and I’ve gained so much knowledge from the other educators. As an educator, I love that the NurseCon leaders trust my experience and value my creativity on how to deliver the content. As a learner, I appreciate that NurseCon seeks to provide education based on what matters to me as a nurse, and there’s content that speaks to my specialty,” Yovaletta added.
The educators also take advantage of all the learning opportunities and the ability to connect with nursing colleagues from all over the world. Being on a cruise conference with thousands of other nurses and healthcare providers creates such an intimate setting, far beyond your typical nursing conference. “The environment unifies us as nurses. It’s the best balance of education and relaxation,” remarked Yovaletta.
RUDOLPH PAVLESICH, DNP, CRNA, FNP-BC, APRN
Following his Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in college, Rudolph started his nursing career in the Army, working in Iraq and military hospitals. He specialized in multiple areas of intensive care nursing, like medical ICU, trauma, and burn units. He also worked in a military medical facility in Germany before going back to school for a master’s degree in nurse anesthesia in Florida.
I really enjoy being a part of NurseCon at Sea. It’s a super cool community that has so much comradery. Everyone is just so nice, and we all get along and can relate to each other. It’s a unique conference because nurses can come together and just be themselves. - RUDOLPH PAVLESICH
For the upcoming cruise, Rudolph will be presenting Ultrasound-Guided IV Insertion: Principles and Practice and will explain how nurses can take advantage of ultrasound technology to aid in their IV skills. “I want nurses who are in a situation where they’ve stuck a patient multiple times for an IV to feel comfortable using an ultrasound machine to assist with the process. It will help nurses so much in their practice,” said Rudolph.
“I really enjoy being a part of NurseCon at Sea. It’s a super cool community that has so much comradery. Everyone is just so nice, and we all get along and can relate to each other. It’s a unique conference because nurses can come together and just be themselves. All of the education offered is so impressive, and the nurses are very eager and passionate to learn,” remarked Rudolph.
Don’t miss your chance to experience The Ultimate Nursing Conference cruise in 2024. The nurses who’ve been on the prior cruises know how epic the experience is, and they keep coming back, year after year! So join Nurse Blake, the incredible educators, and thousands of nurses from all over the world, and set sail with us to Mexico and the Bahamas. Registration is now open at www.nurseconatsea. com. We hope to see you next April!
APRIL ROWE is a registered nurse in the NICU, a freelance writer, and owner of RNtoPen. She loves spending time with her family, is an avid traveler, and is passionate about learning Italian.
