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2024 Nursing Conference Grant Winning Essays

The questions for this year’s application cycle were as follows: 

  1. Please describe how you will share what you learn at this conference with colleagues. 

  2. How will you incorporate what you learn from this educational offering into your practice? 

  3. How will this conference advance your long-term career goals (beyond the attainment of continuing education hour requirements)? 

 

Essays were lightly edited for grammar, flow, and readability.  

 

Kathyrn Markon

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Essay 1:  My colleagues are a huge piece of my motivation to seek the support of this grant to attend a conference. I am thankful to be a part of two small teams - a team of prenatal educators providing childbirth classes in my home state of Minnesota (Amma Parenting), and a team of group facilitators offering virtual "Centering-style" prenatal and postpartum groups for birthing people who use United Healthcare's "Medicaid" plans around the United States (Wellhop for Mom & Baby). Because I participate in such tight knit teams, a conference opportunity for me translates to an opportunity for all of us to sharpen our education and advocacy tools! I plan to share what I have learned with both my Wellhop facilitator and Amma prenatal educator teams upon my return from the conference. We meet regularly, so I will plan to ask for some dedicated time to share my takeaways and engage in conversation with my colleagues. We also have virtual folders for shared resources where I will add any PDF's, notes, etc. Such interpersonal work would be impossible without intentional team support, and we frequently run through group facilitation scenarios and share resources. I am confident when I say that the information and skills I glean from this conference will benefit me, my wonderful team of nurses, doulas, midwives and social workers, and then, by extension, the families we are privileged to serve.

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Essay 2: I have the immense honor of supporting people of diverse backgrounds through their pregnancies, birth and postpartum experiences. As a virtual group facilitator and prenatal educator, I endeavor to create sacred, safe space (on Zoom!) where every person can share their story, give and receive support, find evidence-based education, and have their power reflected back to them as we practice self-advocacy. I am passionate about birth and postpartum support as an evidence-based tool to decrease maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, including birth trauma, and to address the disparities that are evident across the spectrum of reproductive health care. As a white birth working serving communities of color, I believe it is my privilege and responsibility to intentionally inform myself, uplift the voices and advocacy of birth workers of color, and to show up in my roles humbly, mindfully, and with a dedication to justice. I am specifically interested in the conferences I mentioned above because of their focus on reproductive justice and mental health support for birthing folks. The education I would receive at these conferences would give me practical language, tools, and resources to allow my work to be more effective at reducing health disparities and empowering birthing people across the country. I am particularly interested in learning strategies for group facilitation, including best practices for group mental health support and creating safe spaces for birthing people of diverse backgrounds. I will be able to incorporate these tools and skills immediately to improve my practice!

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Essay 3: These conference opportunities line up exactly with my career trajectory. My passion in my work as an RN has always been creating physical and emotional safety for birthing families to undergo the immense transformation that comes with parenthood! This conference will allow me to expand my cultural awareness and humility which will be an asset in any future career path. I will also gain key facilitation and mental health support skills, as well as awareness of ways that nurses in my role can affect change and reduce disparities in birth outcomes. More specifically, my future career aspirations include working with the Wellhop program (currently in its pilot phase) as it expands its reach to more pregnant and postpartum people around the country; in particular, implementing best practices in providing evidence-based education and advocacy tools to a diverse client base. Ongoing education on the topics of prenatal and postpartum support, justice and advocacy is crucial to achieving this goal. Other goals of mine include coordinating an in-person group prenatal care model in my local community, bringing more birth and postpartum RN care coordination to our local hospital, particularly for birthing parents identified as having multiple risk factors, and working with our local county public health agency to provide home visits for birthing families. A strong awareness of the impact of trauma, racism, and inequities in obstetric and mental health care are key to providing the right support for these families.

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