Disappointed with AACN's NTI 2010 Washington, DC

[RN34TX]

Am I the only one?

I went to classes 15-30 minutes early only to find them closed off and full. I also sat in on many classes that didn't tell me any more than I already knew.

"Toxic work environment" type classes basically told me what I already knew: You can't win with a bullying nurse manager or colleague who has a lot of pull so you basically need to leave your job if you find yourself in such a situation and can't tolerate it anymore.

My employer paid for my attendance but I can only imagine how frustrating it would be for people who paid their own way to find the classes they wanted full and closed off and/or to attend classes that did not provide any new insight or information on a particular topic.

Am I the only nurse who didn't think that NTI was the greatest enlightening experience of their career?

There seems to be a lot of NTI cheerleaders out there and I'm now wondering why.

[dianah, ASN]

Has anyone considered giving NTI this feedback?

If I were one of the organizers I would find this whole thread valuable for future sessions.

Just my two cents. :)

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I will be attending next year and want to attend this seminar again. I think it will be very interesting to see how different it will be if the roles are reversed. This seminar is a MUST SEE on our list next year, hopefully with the assistant presenting the material and the speaker silently controlling the power point slides.

That will only be possible if the speakers' abstract is selected by the curriculum committee. Although there are always a number of repeated sessions, it's not a given. Each year the selection committee is brand-new and they have no information about the speakers, only the abstract describing the intended session to go by when choosing the speakers for the subsequent year. I know one speaker who has presented the same session six years in a row who has also submitted several other topics for consideration that have been passed over. It really will depend on how many abstracts they received and what other potential sessions the committee looks at.

[moonischasingme1]

I personally loved my first NTI experience! Granted, I won an all-expense paid trip and stayed at the Grand Hyatt (woop!), but still, I found the lectures to be awesome and quite educational, and yes, I did arrive maybe 15-20 mins early, but most classes i was able to sit in the front. I loved the enthusiasm for critical care and wish i am able to attend next year!

And DC was amazing, too!!:)

[MistyDawnRN06, BSN, RN]

I too was disappointed with NTI 2010 in DC. It was my first NTI and I've been an ICU nurse for 4.5 years. While it was fun and empowering to see so many nurses that share my profession, I didn't glean much from the classes. I am a self-driven studier, so I was hoping to learn more than I've already taught myself and what I've learned working in an aggressive, high acuity level one trauma teaching facility ICU. I was disappointed with the classes overall. The general assemblies were good, I enjoyed the speakers and the motivators. I'm not entirely sure I'll go again based on the expense involved. If I do, I think I'll focus more on the advance pratitioner classes hoping to learn something more. The best class I attended was actually the last class on the last day taught by a CRNA. It was awesome!

I did really love the fact that the AACN was able to get the Smithsonian museums to open up for the nurses after hours. That was truly amazing!

[rgroyer1RNBSN, BSN, RN]

I was disappointed with NTI 2010 as well, as everyone else not to mention I could have probably taught the classes myself.