News Releases

University of Maryland School of Nursing to Host 13th Annual Informatics Conference, July 16-19

March 3, 2003

Making Informatics Work for Nursing

Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing will host its 13th annual informatics conference, Informatics 2003, July 16-19, at the School of Nursing, 655 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore. The conference is designed for informatics nurse specialists, as well as nurse managers and executives, nursing information systems managers, informatics educators, nurses who frequently interface with information systems departments, and other interested health care providers.

Keynote speaker Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPh, RN, FAAN, vice president and chief nursing executive of Cedars-Sinai Health System and Research Institute, was recently appointed to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Her address, "Making Technology Work for Nurses," will focus on the use of technology to improve the health care environment, including action steps for making technology work in the nursing environment.

Judith Matthews, PhD, MPH, RN, co-director of the Robot Learning Laboratory at Carnegie-Mellon University and part of a multi-disciplinary team that directs the nationally known Nursebot Project, will present the distinguished lecture. Her address, "Robotics and the Promise of Technological Solutions for Everyday Health," will offer a revolutionary vision of emerging health-related technologies that draw upon advances in robotics and ubiquitous computing to serve the daily health needs of persons living in the community.

The conference offers more than 20 renowned national and international speakers and over 50 peer-reviewed paper presentations and posters representing informatics practice in a broad range of practice settings. Conferees will have the opportunity to interact with exhibitors, and there will be multiple opportunities for professional and social networking.

Before and after the conference, the School will sponsor seminars designed to expand the skill set of informatics nurse specialists and those wishing to learn more about informatics in the health care field. The pre-conference program features a Project Management Seminar and a Productivity Application for Nurse Informaticians workshop, both taught by experts. The post-conference features "e-learning," designed to develop skills of clinicians and educators delivering educational offerings on-line. The ever-popular Weekend Immersion in Nursing Informatics, a review program designed to prepare conferees for the Informatics Nurse Specialist certification, will also be part of the post-conference activities.

Many of the conference sessions will be offered real-time via Webcast. Brochures, registration materials, contact information and specific conference information are available athttp://nursing.umaryland.edu/sini