TMU students develop first-ever international student conference for Registered Nursing Association of Ontario
TMU nursing undergrads Sarah Heatlie (left) and Tabhata Lazzara created the roadmap for an international student conference with a working group of student co-organizers in 10 countries.
There was no template; no legacy structure to fall back on. From basically out of nothing, two TMU nursing undergrads led the development of an international student conference that reached into 10 countries. Their work now serves as the framework for the conference in the years ahead.
Sarah Heatlie and Tabhata Lazzara — both Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) in acute cardiology and obstetrics/neonatal respectively — have been upgrading their college diplomas to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree at TMU. The opportunity to create, develop and host the conference for the Registered Nursing Association of Ontario took them far beyond textbook pedagogy, showing them their field from a totally different side: leadership and global collaboration.
“These two students blew us away with their amazing work,” says supporting professor Elaine Santa Mina. “Organizing a conference locally or provincially would already be a lot, but these women did it at an international level. They are our future leaders in health care.”
“Developing the conference was unlike anything I’d ever done before. It took a ton of commitment, but it really refined my leadership, public speaking and people skills, which I can carry forward now into any role.” — Sarah Heatlie
Global knowledge exchange
The conference was held virtually on November 18, 2024, streaming with live translation and captioning for almost 12 hours across multiple time zones.
The program’s aim: break barriers and enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) through global use of the association’s nursing Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs).
“The international scale of the conference was really eye-opening,” says Heatlie. “Only by talking to peers around the world did I discover that concepts we take for granted in Canada (such as person- and family-centered care) are just emerging concepts in other countries.”
Academic Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) Conference
Attendance: 384 registrants
Representation: 15 countries in North America, South America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East
Thematic blocks:
- Leadership roles
- Nursing best practice guidelines
- Patient-centered care principles
- Cultural safety in a global context
Hands-on leadership skills
Behind the scenes, Heatlie served as Conference Chair, leading 20 student co-organizers from 10 countries. Lazzara, fully bilingual in English and Spanish, served as Translation Specialist. Planning took ten months. Both students also presented parts in the conference program.
Heatlie oversaw every aspect of planning — from marketing, media, and registrations to agendas, technical support, and logistics. Sailing was not always smooth, with bumps along the ten-month effort. At times, it meant managing conflict, oddly-timed meetings across time zones, or drawing on nurse intuition to share emotional support with colleagues grappling with pressures, deadlines and deliverables.
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Speaking before the RNAO
Only two days after the conference ended, Heatlie spoke at the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) Knowledge Exchange Symposium in London, Ontario. There, she presented on how her team implemented principles of equity, diversity and inclusion throughout preparation and delivery of the international undergraduate conference.
Are you a Canadian-diploma RN, RPN or internationally educated nurse? Earn your BScN through the Post-Diploma Degree Completion Program at TMU’s Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing.
