This fall, nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners from across the country will gather online for ANPD’s 2026 Virtual Symposium, showcasing live sessions, recorded sessions, and poster presentations. The virtual design of the event ensures NPD practitioners across various geographic areas and practice settings have access to high-quality, specialty-specific education. Our goal is to bring learners together in a way that is accessible and flexible, mitigating barriers often experienced with traditional conference attendance.

The Nursing Professional Development Scope and Standards of Practice, Standard 13: Education, notes that participation in continuing professional development related to the NPD specialty is a key competency for NPD practitioners (Harper & Maloney, 2022). Whether this is your first time attending, or your fourth, we’ve compiled some pro tips to maximize your experience and help you truly lean into all this opportunity offers. If you’re not able to join the Virtual Symposium, these tips can still be used with your next virtual learning experience.

Prepare for Your Virtual Learning Experience

Be proactive. Give yourself a little time ahead of the event to make the most of your virtual learning experience. ANPD’s Virtual Symposium platform will open the day before the event. Use this time to explore how to access sessions, interact with platform features, and network with other participants. Doing this pre-work helps set you up for a stress-free event. We’ll have several resources for you, providing information on the platform, FAQs, and how to access education and evaluations for nursing continuing professional development.

Protect your time. As we have all experienced, competing priorities may threaten to pull you away from the learning experience. Treat the Virtual Symposium like an in-person commitment—protect this time from overlapping meetings or scheduling other work. Add the live sessions to your calendar for Oct. 15, or plan a watch party with peers who are also attending. The recorded sessions will also be available until the platform closes 30 days after the event, so consider blocking additional time over the following four weeks to view recordings when you’re least likely to experience interruptions.

Set your intentions. Take time to reflect on your goals for attending the Virtual Symposium. Decide what you want to get out of the experience before attending any of the sessions, and plan to reflect after each session to determine what can be applied in your practice to help meet your goals.

Create a focused environment. Distractions are everywhere, so take the time to prepare your environment before starting a live or recorded session. Silence the notifications on your cell phone, email, and messaging platforms. Get comfortable and clear your workspace so you can fully engage in the content.

Maximize the Impact of Your Learning

During live sessions, participate in activities, answer polling questions, and engage in the Q&A. Look for opportunities to reflect and engage in recorded presentations as well. Participating as you would at an in-person event can enhance your connection to the content, other learners, and the presenter even though you aren’t in the same room.

Some activities require the use of resources such as presentation slides and handouts. Joining from a computer will allow for easy access to these materials. Presenters—both live and recorded—offer active learning experiences through case studies, reflection, and interactive worksheets. New this year, Mentimeter polling will be used not only during the live sessions but also in the asynchronous recorded sessions. The resources provided by presenters are designed to reinforce key concepts and encourage reflection on how to apply them in your practice. Make sure to save these somewhere that can be easily accessed after the event.

Before the platform closes, revisit session recordings to strengthen your plan for turning knowledge into action. Reflect on the goals you set for the learning experience—individually and with your peers. If you did not meet your goals, use this as an opportunity to dive back in and get the information you need to achieve your goal.

Extend the Event Beyond the Virtual Experience

Learning doesn’t stop when the symposium ends. Just like an in-person event, virtual learning can be great for networking and connecting with members of the NPD community. Get connected with presenters and peers through the virtual platform so conversations and learning can continue after the event. Join The Neighborhood discussions regarding the sessions you found most impactful and share how you plan to implement strategies learned.

Share the information you’ve learned with other NPD practitioners at your organization to expand your post-symposium impact. Consider what information aligns with the organization’s strategic goals or environmental scanning of organizational needs. Doing so supports NPD Standard 11, Collaboration, partnering with colleagues to impact change and create positive outcomes (Harper & Maloney, 2022).

If you’re not registered for ANPD’s 2026 Virtual Symposium, it’s not too late! We can’t wait to learn and grow at this event with our NPD community!

References

Harper, M. G. & Maloney, P. (Eds.). (2022). Nursing professional development: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.). Association for Nursing Professional Development.