How many is too many? Collaboration of multiple nursing organizations for professional development

Representatives of 11 nursing organizations developed a unique consortium to produce an ongoing series of annual conferences focused on promoting professional nursing leadership among nurses in diverse practice areas including acute care, long-term care, community health, and nursing education. The consortium strategically added members and refined the format of the conferences based on participant feedback. The conferences feature a keynote speaker and practice-based breakout sessions designed to facilitate futuristic thinking among nurses. The conference is associated with a legislative roundtable to support interaction between nurses and legislators. Future expansion of the consortium will include representation of advanced practice nurses. The development of the consortium and its highly efficient methods of operation are described in this article as an example of multi-organizational collaboration to promote professional nursing leadership. Bonds have been formed between the consortium member organizations that are mutually beneficial to the members of all.