Welcome to the 2016 Nursing Education Research Conference!

For most of the nearly 400 registrants attending the 2016 Nursing Education Research Conference (NERC) near Washington, D.C. this week, the half-hour journey from Reagan National Airport, located just across the Potomac from the nation’s capital, to the Hyatt Regency Bethesda, took them into two states—Virginia and Maryland—and, briefly, the District of Columbia. For some—scholars in nursing education, nursing school deans, administrators, and faculty members—the trip was one more step in a long journey in the pursuit of nursing education excellence. For others—nursing students—it was a beginning step toward a career in nursing education, a career replete with unknown destinations, but exciting in its unpredictability.

Sponsored by the National League for Nursing (NLN) and the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), and organized through the NLN/Chamberlain College of Nursing Center for the Advancement of the Science of Nursing Education, NERC always offers participants the opportunity to learn, collaborate, and network. And this year is no different. Focusing on the impact of educational research on clinical outcomes, the conference’s 2016 theme is “Research as a Catalyst for Transformative Practice.”

It all starts today—Thursday, 7 April—with four pre-conference workshops that explore launching and sustaining a successful career as a scholar-educator, and concludes on Saturday, the 9th. For those unable to attend—and for those who do—Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL) will highlight portions of the conference as seen through the eyes of some of those who are privileged to attend.

No matter which group you are part of, welcome to the 2016 Nursing Education Research Conference! I hope you return from time to time to see what has been posted.

— James Mattson, editor, Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL)

10 best things about being a nurse educator

1. Help shape the nurses who will have a positive impact on many patients, families, and other nurses long after the initial interaction.

2.  Contribute to the body of nursing knowledge.

3. Get inspired by nursing students every day.

4. Form unique bonds with students.

5. Change career path without changing career.

6. Be remembered by students long after shaping their careers.

7. Wear something other than scrubs to work.

8. Work emergencies that no longer "circle the drain."

9. Work hours that occur mainly during daylight.

10. Make the profession of nursing better.

— Karen Whitham, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, assistant dean of undergraduate education at American Sentinel University, certified nurse educator, and member of STTI and NLN.