Dear AONE Colleague,

After a rousing celebration of our 40 years as an organization, this year we venture to the great northwest to experience the sites and sounds of lovely Seattle, Washington. With over 2000 expected participants, speakers and exhibitors in attendance, we are excited about all possibilities this year’s annual meeting has in store.

The meeting theme, Visionary Vistas: The Freedom to Explore, aptly reflects the sense of vision and hope that 2008 promises. We believe the Education Committee, your hard working volunteers that oversee the selection of the program speakers, have taken the content for this year’s meeting to new heights.

Kicking off the meeting is noted futurist, Dr. Raymond Kurzweil, called by Time Magazine the 21st century’s Albert Einstein for his creative and innovative thinking, promises to challenge the way that we all think about our profession and the use of technology as a communication device. Helping to illuminate some of the important political issues of the coming Presidential election, we will be treated to a lively debate moderated by PBS’s NewsHour, Susan Dentzer between conservative political pollster, Frank Luntz and liberal McLaughlin Group panelist Eleanor Clift—a session you won’t want to miss.

The wide array of concurrent education sessions, presented by AONE members, will be centered on the five distinct themes of strategic and workforce issues, globalization, complexity and chaos theory, technology, and health care policy. Meeting attendees will learn about some of the most up-to-date research and practical solutions that are helping to advance the practice of nursing and nursing leadership.

We are pleased to note that thanks to the feedback that many of you have provided over the last several years, we will be moving our meeting to larger facilities at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. This will allow attendees to experience first class, environmentally friendly facilities, and create expanded opportunities for more speakers to provide attendees with greater content.

AONE’s role as a leader is critical to defining the vision of future patient care delivery and developing the educational competencies of the nurse of our future. We hope that you will join us in the northwest as we come together, as colleagues, to explore the future healthcare vistas of tomorrow.

We look forward to welcoming you in Seattle!

Sincerely,

Carol Watson, PhD, RN
AONE 2008 President