The event featured Oriana Beaudet, DNP, RN, FAAN, vice president of innovation at the American Nurses Association Enterprise, as its distinguished speaker. Beaudet explored how technology, evidence-based practice and workforce efficiency are driving the next wave of nursing innovation.

Beaudet started by posing a critical question: “Nursing may be the most trusted profession, but isn’t it the most respected?”

She followed the question with a keynote address encouraging nurses to see themselves as change agents, equipped with the creativity and skills to tackle modern health care challenges.

“Nursing is built on a social contract with the public — our work is guided by the question: ‘What is happening, and how can we help?’”

The discussion highlighted real-world examples of nurses and teams devising innovative solutions in patient care, including:

• AI and predictive analytics: Enhancing diagnostics, patient monitoring and workload management
• Wearable devices and smart technology: Enabling real-time vital tracking to improve patient outcomes
• Personalized medicine: Developing customized treatment plans tailored to individual patient needs
• Community health interventions: Addressing social determinants of health through outreach programs
• Scaling innovation in healthcare systems: Designing ways to boost future-forward technologies

After Beaudet’s presentation, she joined an exclusive roundtable discussion moderated by Bryan Burrs, a go-to-market leader at Johnson & Johnson. The conversation centered on strategies to scale nursing-led innovation within health systems, reinforcing the importance of nurses as front-line problem solvers.

"While nurses continuously create solutions, many go unnoticed,” Beaudet said. “The pandemic spurred groundbreaking health care innovations, yet too many remain unshared.”

With more than 5 million nurses in the U.S., their contributions are vast. Beaudet stressed that opportunities for nursing innovation are about elevating those who are actively making a difference.

“Nurses are leaving the profession because they lack opportunities for growth, have little flexibility and struggle with work-life balance,” Beaudet said. “Change is essential — nurses need the resources, visibility and support to thrive.”