Debra Hanna, inducted as first President of RAA-I, June 8, 2019

We welcome this report contributed by Debra R. Hanna, President, RAA-I.  For additional information about the conference, and to download selected presentations, see the Nursology.net past conference page here.

Members of the Roy Adaptation Association—International gathered in Los Angeles, California on June 7 and 8, 2019 for their annual conference. This year’s conference theme was “Adaptation Towards Transformation for the Future.”
The conference opened with a lively, intriguing presentation by Dr. Scott Ziehm from University of San Francisco, California. His presentation “The State of Nursing Science through the DNP and PhD lens: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions” aptly set the stage for two workshops that followed. Dr. Ellen Buckner from Samford University, Alabama, conducted a dynamic workshop on Knowledge for DNP education. Dr. Debra Hanna from Molloy College in New York, and Drs. Alejandra Alvarado and Maria Elisa Moreno-Fergusson from Universidad de la Sabana in Chia, Colombia conducted a second workshop on Knowledge for PhD Education. The workshops were followed by the Awards ceremony for presenters of Award-winning papers. That afternoon, attendees enjoyed a relaxing reception during the poster session.

The second conference day opened with a networking breakfast, where Executive Board member Dr. Pamela Senasac guided attendees in an enjoyable ice-breaker exercise. A spirit of welcoming hospitality has always characterized our annual RAA-I conferences, so the ice-breaker exercise was in keeping with our long-established organizational persona. RAA-I Executive Board members hope to always preserve the spirit of genuine welcome to every colleague that wishes to join us.
Sr. Callista Roy gave an inspiring keynote speech: “Adaptation Towards Transformation for the Future.” After a short coffee break, the conference resumed with presentations of award-winning papers.

The Susan Pollack Award went to Melissa Lord, DNP, Jennifer Hunt, DNP and Ellen Buckner, PhD for their study: Promoting Adaptation in Female Inmates to Reduce Risk of Opioid Overdose Post-Release through [project] HOPE. The Lizzie Whetsell Award went to Britton Buckner and Ellen Buckner, PhD, for their work using the Roy Adaptation Model to facilitate child adaptation in refugee-camps. The Carol Baer Award went to Luis Carlos Rodriguez Chanis and Yolanda Gonzalez, PhD of Panama, for their study of people living with chronic heart failure. The General and Mrs. Huberto Valesco Award went to Drs. Alejandra Alvarado Garcia and Blanca Venegas for their research to develop coping strategies within a group of chronically ill elderly adults. The last award was recently established as a memorial for one of our late RAA-I colleagues from Colombia. The Maria Elena Lopez award went to Beverly Kass, DNP, of New Jersey for her study that addressed caregiver coping with role strain.
During the annual Business Meeting the Leadership Mentoring program was described. Nine new mentees were matched with eight mentors in a short ceremony. Three newly elected officers of RAA-I were inducted: Dr. Debra Hanna, President, 2019-2012; Dr. Clare Butt, Treasurer, 2019-2021; Dr. Ellen Buckner, Secretary, 2019-2022. Sr. Callista Roy reported that Dr. Sumiko Tsuhako, our well-loved Executive Board member and First President of RAA-Japan has decided to step down from these roles after more than 13 years. Several colleagues from Japan were present at this year’s conference with very good news about the formation at St. Mary’s College in Fukuoka, Japan of a wonderful new nursing research center. From the photos they shared with attendees, we saw that the Roy Academia Nursology Research Center is located in Roy Academia Hall at St. Mary’s College. Transformation for the future of RAA-I was evident in several ways this year.

Our next annual conference for RAA-I will be held in Los Angeles, California on June 19, 20, 2020. The theme for the 2020 conference is: Roy Adaptation Model: Contributions to Authentic Nursing Knowledge. The Call for Abstracts will be released soon.

Mount St. Mary’s University Los Angeles, California.
Photo retrieved from https://www.msmu.edu/about-the-mount/nursing-theory/roy-adaptation-association/conference/