Welcome AACN members + NTI attendees

I'm not going to this conference because I'm an LPN and still working towards my RN (graduate in Dec.) but am interested in ICU nursing.

However, I think this is a really cool idea. This way people can talk a little bit about what to expect and what any previous experiences have been and maybe get the information to meet others in person they have been chatting with for years. What a great idea!

Hey there - hope you had a great time! The conference was too cool. Enjoyed meeting so many of you!

traumarus (judi)

Yes it was very awesome! Cool! Hope everyone had a great time! I loved it! My wife also loved chicago she ranup the credit card going on a shopping spree on michigan ave. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

NTI was great. Had a great time, and found out about this board there. Well handled by the Chicago folks, even though there were a few thousand unanticipated attendees. With over ten thousand folks present, things went pretty smooth. Anyone who has not attended an NTI should try to attend in the next few years.

The lineup is very regional friendly:
New Orleans in 2009
D.C. in 2010
Chicago again in 2011

One of those places is close to most folks, with a trip to the west coast coming soon after. There is no better enrichment/education opprtunity than NTI.

This was my FIRST NTI and certainly won't be my last. I went alone....which was good because then I could do whatever I wanted. The Sessions I attended were very good! I primarily focused on Cardiac related stuff as that is what I see most in my ICU.

I got all kinds of great stuff at the Exhibit hall....a pair if Crocs, several scrub tops, a few t-shirts, bottles of hand sanitizer, lip balms, highlighters, calculators, pencils, and a TON of pens!! I'm set for a while!! I had to buy a box and ship it home jam packed with stuff and that was just from Tuesday's haul! I was able to stuff Wednesday's goodies in my suitcases but that was a chore!

I was not thrilled with the Certification Dinner Tuesday night. I paid $40 to attend and the dinner was mediocre....it was the SAME chicken and potato served at the Sunday pre-conference luncheon! For that amount of money a speaker and a CEU opportunity should've been offered. I wrote that on my eval form. I was disappointed with the food offerings in the convention center itself. They should've had those food vendors set up in the main hall OUTSIDE of the exhibit area. Cause Wednesday afternoon, once you were done but were waiting for the show, unless you wanted to wait in line for an hour at the McDonalds, there was really no other food option.

They certainly weren't expecting that many people. But it was handled well. I wil definitely be going next year.....DH may be interested since it's in NOLA and he can tour Bourbon Street while I am in Session.

I understand why they have so many "National Meetings" in Chicago, DC, Boston, and Florida, etc. There are certainly a lot of large institutions around the East Coast. However, bringing it closer to the West Coast would be nice for us. With budget cuts, no one wants to pay that kind of money to fly and stay so far away from home. So I guess we could take turns crossing the country.

It has been in Anaheim twice in the past few years, the most recent being 2006. I will definitely bring more comfortable shoes to walk around that huge exhibit hall!! And bring less junk in my suitcase to fit more junk I get there! Haha I LOVE all the freebies!! I don't think I'll ever have to buy pens or post-its again!