Why I encourage my students and colleagues to participate in the VNTW conference

Marie Gill, Ph.D., MSN, MS, RN
Associate Professor and
Director of the Dr. Margaret A. Newman
Center for Nursing Theory

In October 2022, shortly after I was hired as the Director of the Dr. Margaret A. Newman Center for Nursing Theory (Newman Center) at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN, I began speaking with students and faculty colleagues about the Newman Center and the vital role that nursing theory plays in practice. Both faculty and students shared their experiences and understanding of theory which varied from theory support and appreciation to exploration and apprehension.

Faculty and students who received nursing theory education from enthusiastic and theory passionate instructors early on in their training expressed the practicality of theory use in nursing practice. They shared examples of specific nursing theories that were observed in nursing practice, particularly in specialty practice areas. Faculty and students who were less enthusiastic about nursing theory typically did not fully appreciate the practicality of theory and how it provides a critical lens to guide nursing practice. Our candid conversations inspired me to begin building a community of nursing theory champions within our college of nursing. To build theory champions, I realized that I would need to connect with a larger community of established nursing theory enthusiasts and nursologists. During my quest, I found Nursology.net and the Virtual Nursing Theory Week conference and realized that I had identified an alliance of nursing theory enthusiasts and nursologists representatives from local to global.

During my first year as director in 2023, I arranged for the Newman Center to pay registration costs for three students and three faculty to attend the VNTW conference. Following the conference, I meet with the students and faculty to discuss what they learned and their general feedback about the conference. Their comments were overwhelmingly positive about their experiences and what they learned about the importance of nursing theory in building epistemic nursing knowledge. Moreover, the students and faculty expressed how they had come to appreciate the use of nursing theory to guide nursing practice. Since 2023, the Newman Center has sponsored students and faculty to attend the VNTW conference to network with nursologists from around the world. I have learned from my students and colleagues that the VNTW conference provides a brave space for learners from novice to expert to discuss the role of nursing theory and how to apply it in practice, research, and education.

As Director of the Newman Center, I continue to encourage my students and colleagues to participate in the conference as attendees and presenters. Both students and colleagues of mine have presented their work at the 2024 VNTW. This 2025 VNTW is no exception. The Newman Center will sponsor one student and one faculty member to attend the conference. Moreover, I will join two colleagues to present their work in nursing theory integration in a maternal child nursing course. To that end, I believe that encouraging my students and fellow colleagues to participate in the VNTW conference is crucial to building a community of nursing theory champions and nursologists from local to global.

Like VNTW conferences of the past, this year’s conference promises to be intellectually invigorating. Participants and presenters will navigate discussions about the decolonization of nursing education in a way that allows everyone to ask questions, propose new ideas, clarify understanding, and grow as nursing theory champions with a wider perspective of how to honor our past and forge ahead a transformative path to healing and an expanding consciousness.