I’m back home and reflecting on the 38^th Annual IAHC Conference in Edmonton, Canada. Each conference that I’ve been fortunate enough to attend has been unique in its’ own way. This year was no exception. The theme this year was Rediscovering Love and Compassion In Caring Practice and Caring Science. Mac Ewan University was a gracious host, and CEUs were approved for attendees under contract with American Holistic Nurses Association.  After a welcoming by IAHC President Patrick Dean, Dr. Sigridor Halldorsdottir, the first keynote speaker, spoke of love and compassion as a basis for existence.  She believes love is a grace filled power, and through love our inner being is renewed daily.  Dr. Halldorsdottir reminded us we are spiritual beings as much as we are physical beings. Dr. Chantal Cara gave a powerful keynote on the second day, discussing caring as a humanistic approach centered on human beings, their lived experience, the meaning of the experience, and their dignity. Dr. Cara used the iceberg metaphor when she described that behaviors, which are visible, are just the tip of the iceberg. Attitudes, values and love are beneath what is visible. These are the driving forces of the behaviors. The 97 breakout sessions were innovative and exciting to attend. The connection between HCAPS and Watson’s Caring Theory, the Healing Power of Story Telling,  Caring Science, Mindful Practice, Reflective Practice, and Students Perception of Caring, were just a few of the dynamic presentations. The poster session was just as informative with 19 poster presenters from all over the world. On the last day of the conference attendees were lucky enough to exchange dialogue with a panel of Caring Theorists, Drs. Jean Watson Sigrodor Halldosdottir, Marilyn Ray, Charlotte Delmar, and  Marion Turkel.  If you attended you know that is was an awesome conference, and if you didn’t…… make sure you attend next year in Minneapolis, hosted by the University of Minnesota School of Nursing May 30, thru June 1st, 2018.  Don’t miss it!!!

Marlienne Goldin, Chair of Membership Committee

The conference can be summed up in the following poem by conference attendee Jen Reich:

Caring Theorist Roundtable

Everything informs us, for connection is our source

And so we must be conscious, to shift our current course

Therefore we have work to do, to spread the call to care

Bringing forth this value, and making time to share

To intentionally collaborate, speaking heart to heart

Giving voice through caring, as a science and an art

That theory guides our practice, and ripples through the field

With kindness, dignity and trust, that our planet may be healed

Sponsorships for the 38^th Annual IAHC Conference at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Canada, May 31 to June 2, 2017, are now being accepted. For example, donors of $5000 will receive recognition and acknowledgement by keynote speakers. Donors of $1000 will receive recognition and acknowledgment by concurrent session speakers, and donors of $500 will receive recognition and acknowledgement by poster session presenters. In addition, all donors will be acknowledged and thanked at all meal gatherings, and in the conference brochure.

This opportunity to showcase your nursing organization, or your healthcare related organization, will also support current research into the empirical effects of caring science in the process of human healing. While much of caring science has been devoted to building the body of knowledge and theory regarding caring science, the discipline of nursing increasingly recognizes the essential effects of caring practice and caring science at the cellular level, as well as in the psychological and spiritual dimensions of human experience.

The much sought after Magnet status for nursing organizations requires an ability to identify application of caring science in the care of patients. In this endeavor, the International Journal for Human Caring (IJHC), the official journal of IAHC, has proven to be a valuable source of information about caring science, and successful Magnet status recognition. Donors to the 38^th Annual IAHC conference will also receive complimentary access to the online version of the IAHC journal (IJHC).

Ultimately, your sponsorship will affect patient healing through the application of caring science by nursing and other healthcare personnel now and into the future.

In caring,

Patrick J Dean RN, EDD, OSTJ

Clinical Associate Professor University of Minnesota School of Nursing

International Association for Human Caring President