The Best Nursing Conferences to Attend in 2023 | Berxi (2024)

The past few years have made it clear: nurses are superheroes. As a nurse, you're committed to providing top-notch care for your patients. In the ever-evolving field of healthcare, this means honing your craft by participating in continuing education opportunities. Nursing conferences are a great way to connect with other nurses, level up your skills, and earn the CEUs you need.

While many top conferences were canceled in 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to COVID-19, 2023 brings with it the return to in-person conferences by an increasing number of organizations alongside virtual offerings. To help you make the most informed decisions about the best nursing conferences for your schedule and career goals, we've rounded up information on leading nursing conferences in 2023.

Conferences are educational, fun, and exciting, but they can also be expensive. Use this comprehensive guide to determine which nursing conferences are worth your time – and money – in 2023.

An Overview of Nursing Conferences

From general conferences to specialized conferences by area of nursing and geographic location, there are many different types of nursing conferences.

Depending on the type of nursing conference you attend, a breadth and depth of topics will be covered pertaining to patient safety, advanced nursing practice, advanced technology, traditional medicine, alternative healthcare, and much more.

One of the first steps in deciding which conference is right for you is to consider your personal needs and career goals. Then, you can seek out the most relevant conferences.

The Benefits of Attending a Nursing Conference

Still not convinced that a nursing conference is right for you? Attending a nursing conference promises many benefits. Understanding these benefits can help you commit to this vital continuing education offering, whether you’re a travel nurse, registered nurse, midwife nurse educator, nursing clinical director, nurse manager, or any other type of nursing professional.

For starters, evidence-based practices are always changing. Attending a nursing conference is one of the best ways for everyone – from young researchers to community health workers – to keep up with new nursing practices, processes, and products. This is true no matter what specialty you’re in: pediatric nursing and neonatal screening, occupational health nursing, dental nursing, forensic nursing, hospice nursing, neuroscience nursing, regenerative medicine, breast cancer, cancer care, maternal healthcare, palliative care, digital health, home care, or another aspect of nursing.

Furthermore, professional nursing licensure requires ongoing continuing education. In addition to helping keep the nursing field current, many nursing conferences count as continuing education hours you can apply toward your continuing education credits.

Additionally, certain conferences can help you earn additional certifications within an area of nursing specialization. Adding a certification to your resume can help you land a job, boost your salary, or increase your responsibilities at work.

And, while attending a nursing conference can be expensive, many employers will subsidize or cover the cost of attending. In this case, attending a nursing conference is a win-win. However, if cost remains a concern, digital offerings are available at a significantly reduced cost.

Goals of Nursing Conferences

Why do nursing professionals go to conferences? These are the main objectives nurses have for attending:

• Accruing continuing education credits toward career growth
• Learning new strategies and trending issues
• Listening to exceptional speakers
• Attending social events to meet nurses and share career highs, lows, and advice
• Global networking and collecting contacts for growing their team or looking for a new job

How To Prepare for a Nursing Conference

• Register early. Many conferences offer discounts for those who register early. Committing early also allows you to block off your time away from the office and schedule any necessary replacements ahead of time.
• Book lodging and transportation. You can also save by booking your hotel early or by using the discounted conference rate.
• Plan your itinerary. Look carefully at the conference brochure and plan which events you will attend. Register for those that meet your goals and for at least one personal enrichment offering. Don't forget to allow time for networking, socializing, and rest. Gaining too much information in a short time can be exhausting.
• Decide which vendors to see. Go through the vendor list, highlight the ones that appeal to you, and mark where they’ll be on the floor plan.
• Print a map. Many large conferences are in sprawling convention cities or spread across several buildings. Print a map ahead of time so you'll know where to find sessions, vendors, lodging, and parking.

What To Bring with You

You'll want to pack several essentials for your conference:

• A phone charger
• Business cards
• Water and snacks (if your conference doesn't already provide them)
• Comfortable and professional shoes and clothing. You'll be spending a lot of time standing and walking, but you'll want to look professional, too.
• A notebook or computer. You'll want to take notes in sessions to share with colleagues and to remind yourself of what you’ve learned.

List of Nursing Conferences in 2023 by Specialty

Critical Care Nursing Conference

National Teaching Institute (NTI) 2023

Date: May 22–24, Preconferences May 21 (Philadelphia); June 12–14 (Virtual)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Cost: $345–$825
About/What to expect: Beginning nurses, experienced care managers, and nurse practitioners can all benefit from the sessions offered at the AACN’s National Teaching Institute Conference. Attendees can choose from hundreds of sessions covering nearly 50 nursing topics.
CEUs: 37.75 CEs
Speakers/Topics: This year’s keynote speakers include motivational speakers Abby Wambach, Janice Omadeke, and Maysoon Zayid. The extensive list of topics in 2023 includes managing hemorrhagic stroke, infective endocarditis, toxic shock, and managing the geriatric trauma victim.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @AACNme, #NTI2023

Licensed Practical Nursing Conference

NALPN Annual Conference

Date: October 11–14
Location: Buffalo, NY
Cost: $75–$450
About/What to expect: Gives LPNs and LVNs the opportunity to receive CEUs as well as Mental Health First Aid certification, network with colleagues from across the United States, vote for NALPN officers, and make lifelong friends.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: The 2023 conference agenda includes topics covering cultural competency, opioid overdose recognition, Alzheimer’s, child abuse mandates, and mental health first aid.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @NALPN

ER Nursing Conference

ENA Emergency Nursing 2023

Date: September 21–24
Location: San Diego, CA
Cost: TBA
About/What to expect: ENA's annual conference allows emergency medicine nurses to come together and share the latest research in emergency medicine from esteemed publications like the Mayo Clinic Critical Care Review. Nurses also enjoy networking opportunities and small group discussions within the scientific community.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: Topics are TBA for 2023. Past topics have included brain trauma, stroke care, blood loss, considerations for transgender patients, patient education, and emergency medical professionals in the global workforce.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @ENAorg

Nurse Practitioner Conference

Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education (NPACE)

Date: February 27–March 3 (Savannah), April 29–May 2 (Denver), June 26–29 (Falmouth), August 26–August 29 (San Diego), October 16–19 (Falmouth), November 9–12 (Phoenix), Virtual (March 29 & September 20)
Location: Various
Cost: $50–$975
About/What to expect: World nursing education leader NPACE offers nurse practitioners a range of conferences comprising day-long virtual events and two- to four-day pharmacology, acute care, and primary care conferences. Whether attending a two-day or four-day event, attendees are welcome to engage in lively conversation with speakers to learn more about offered topics.
CEUs: 20-24 CE credits
Speakers/Topics: Speakers in 2023 include Charrita Ernewein, DNP, APRN; Kristine Scordo, RN, ACNP-BC; Wendy Wright, DNP, ANP-BC; and Gary Graf, MSN, ARNP-C. These experts and others are speaking on common pediatric disorders, adolescence substance use and abuse, atrial fibrillation, respiratory infections, and diabetes management, among other topics.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @NPACE_org

American Psychiatric Nursing Conference

APNA 37th Annual Conference: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses: Novel IDEAS Moving Whole Health Forward

Date: October 4–7
Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
Cost: $560–$935
About/What to expect: This large national conference attracts psychiatric nursing professionals at varying levels of their careers. This year's conference will focus on the role of psychiatric-mental health nurses in moving healthcare forward through inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and de-stigmatization.
CEUs: Yes
Speakers/Topics: TBA
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @AmerPsychNurses, #PMHNCon

Medical-Surgical Nursing Conference

AMSN 32nd Annual Medical-Surgical Nursing Convention

Date: September 21–24
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Cost: TBA
About/What to Expect: Presented by the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, this national conference invites nurses who provide surgical care to come together for networking, education, and the latest medical-surgical nursing research.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: TBA
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @MedSurgNurses

Trauma Nursing Conference

TraumaCon 2023: Society of Trauma Nurses

Date: March 29–31
Location: Denver, CO
Cost: $400–$675
About/What to Expect: TraumaCon offers trauma nurses educational programs, networking opportunities, and access to the latest research in trauma nursing, all aimed at empowering these nursing professionals to return to their careers ready to provide optimal care to trauma patients.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: 2023 TraumaCon highlights include a plenary session on the topic of “Preventing Workplace Violence: One Trauma Center’s Experience,” along with sessions on pediatric trauma across the care continuum, an international perspective on geriatric trauma, professional branding, complexities of care for pediatric bariatric trauma patients, identifying trends in community gun violence using a trauma registry, and more.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @SocTraumaNurses

Nursing Educators Conferences

ANCC National Magnet Conference & the ANCC Pathway to Excellence Conference

Date: October 12–14
Location: Chicago, IL
Cost: TBA
About/What to expect: This annual conference provides its global participants with a wide range of educational topics, networking opportunities, and updates on research and evidence-based practices.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: TBA
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: #NCPDSummit

National Nurse Educator Summit

Date: April 24–27
Location: San Antonio, TX
Cost: $995–$1095
About/What to expect: This conference will appeal to nursing educators wishing to learn from others who share their commitment and passion for healthcare education. The conference provides networking opportunities, education, and achievement recognition.
CEUs: up to 10 (in-person) & 19 (virtual) contact hours
Speakers/Topics: Topics for the 2023 National Nurse Educator Summit include professional identity formation, writing educational grants, clinical care exposition and judgment, active learning in large classrooms, retention of nursing students, best practices using ATI data and program evaluation, LAUNCH: nurse academic readiness, remediation with ATI, pre-licensure RN strategies for success, accreditation and self studies, research methods, and others.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @NursingSummit

Nursing Education, Nursing & Healthcare Conferences

National Black Nurses Association Annual Institute and Conference

Date: August 1–6
Location: Atlanta, GA
Cost: $320–$865
About/What to expect: The NBNA acknowledges the critical roles black nurses play in reducing disparities and advancing health equity in nursing practice, education, research, policy advocacy, and entrepreneurship. Their annual conference offers participants access to continuing education, career development, leadership enhancement, and mentorship and networking opportunities, as well as corporate roundtables that “lean in” to fresh ideas to perpetuate and encourage innovative knowledge sharing with a purpose-driven focus.
CEUs: Up to 20 contact hours
Speakers/Topics: With the theme, “NBNA Fifty Years and Beyond: Leading the Way in Innovation, Built Environments, Advocacy, Mentorship and Community Engagement,” 2023’s NBNA Institute and Conference annual meeting will cover topics pertaining to the criticality of innovation, the concept of the “built environment” both in general and specific to racial and ethnic minorities, emerging models, key concepts in mentorship, new approaches for effective community engagement, and the latest trends and issues affecting health equity and social justice.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @nbnainc

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Transform 2023

Date: November 30–December 2 (Pre-Conference Event: November 29–30)
Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
Cost: TBA
About/What to expect: The AACN’s annual Transform conference brings together nursing faculty members, deans, leaders, and associate/assistant deans to network, discuss the latest in nursing education, and delve into the newest nursing education research.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: TBA
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @AACNursing

Nursing Leadership & Technology Conferences

American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) 2023

Date: May 1–4 and On-Demand Options
Location: Anaheim, CA
Cost: $550–$1,550
About/What to expect: The premier event for nurse leaders, AONL offers participants the opportunity to interact with both experts and other attendees in a variety of formats, including small group discussions, lectures, manned poster sessions, and quick five-minute oral presentations.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: TBA for 2023. Last year’s AONL conference topics included innovative care and delivery roles, workforce of the future, health equity and diversity, mental health and well-being, technology, advocacy, and pandemic lessons.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @TweetAONL

2023 ANIA Annual Conference: Turning the Corner with Nursing Informatics

Date: May 10–12
Location: Louisville, KY
Cost: $595–$795
About/What to expect: The ANIA conference offers nurses opportunities to learn about the latest techniques in using data and analytics to inform medical decisions while networking with like-minded informatics nursing colleagues.
CEUs: 11.25 contact hours
This year’s ANIA conference topics include consideration for creating nursing informatics teams, essential competencies for faculty teaching in graduate informatics nursing programs, artificial intelligence impact on 2023 and beyond, telehealth in education and practice, and others. Keynote speakers for the 2023 ANIA conference include Linda Rousssel, PhD, RN; Christian Dameff, MD; Jeff Tully, MD; and Rebecca Love, MSN, RN.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @ANIAinformatics

Pediatric Nursing Conferences

44th National Conference on Pediatric Health Care

Date: March 15–18
Location: Orlando, FL
Cost: $165–$775
About/What to expect: This conference offers informational sessions in a variety of formats, including poster presentations, certification review courses, and workshops. Conference topics cover many areas of pediatric nursing, including specialty, primary, and acute care. This year’s conference will also include special events celebrating 50Forward, NAPNAP’s 50th anniversary.
CEUs: 20 contact hours
Speakers/Topics: TBA
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @NAPNAP #NAPNAConf

Society of Pediatric Nurses 33rd Annual Conference

Date: April 26–28
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Cost: $320–$935
About/What to expect: The SPN annual conference offers pediatric nursing professionals the chance to connect, engage, and learn more about the latest developments in pediatric care. This year’s theme of “Building Bridges and Making Connections” underlies a long roster of expert speakers, workshops, poster presentations, and exhibitors.
CEUs: 24 nursing contact hours
Speakers/Topics: Topics in 2023 include Caring for Others: Race Matters; Leading with Accountability: How to Be the Best Version of You!; and Stewards of the Precious: Nursing’s History and Leadership in Research. Speakers include industry leaders such as Barbara Broome, RN, FA; Stephanie Meyer, RN, MS-FNP; and Julie Fairman, RN, FAAN.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @PedsNurses

International Nursing Conferences

ICTNPM 2023: International Conference on Travel Nursing Practice & Management

Date: August 10–11
Location: New York City, NY (online event)
Cost: $335–$603
About/What to expect: This digital international conference gathers travel nurses from around the world to share information, best practices, and the latest innovations with one another. (This is just one of the many global events covering a variety of nursing topics.)
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: The 2023 topics include understanding comorbidities using modeling techniques on EHR, factors influencing nutritional status of people living with HIV/AIDS, Reinke’s oedema, pretreatment MRI for intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients, and myofascial release technique for sacroiliac joint hypo-mobility in postnatal women.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: @wasetorg

30th International Congress on Nursing & Primary Health Care

Date: April 12–13
Location: Vienna, Austria
Cost: $399–$1,699
About/What to expect: Nurses from around the world come together to discuss the latest trends and innovations in nursing and primary care. Researchers in various nursing specialties share their findings from the past year.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: Speakers include Hector Magno, University of California, Berkeley; Jean Du Plessis, Fiona Stanley Hospital; Arne Rehnsfeldt, Western Norway University of Applied Science; and Meng-Yan Tang, Sichuan University. This two-day international nursing conference comprises multiple educational tracks, including aging and geriatric nursing, nursing education, public health nursing, psychiatric and mental health nursing, men in nursing, and telemedicine and e-health.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: None

World Congress on Nursing Education & Practice

Date: July 17–18
Location: Frankfurt, Germany (or virtual presentation option)
Cost: $245–$1,200
About/What to expect: This international conference invites researchers and nursing professionals around the world to come together to explore the connections between research and practice.
CEUs: TBA
Speakers/Topics: Scientific sessions include child and adolescent mental health, nursing informatics and technology, palliative care, evidence-based nursing practice, nursing management, and many more. A sampling of 2023 annual convention speakers includes Brandon Lucke-Wold, University of Florida; Michael Brown, Queen’s University Belfast; Beth S. Sanford, Rasmussen University; Gilbert D. A. Padula, University Hospitals St. John Medical Center; Sari Viitaniemi, Delray Medical Center; Mitha Al Balushi, New York University; and Chien-Chung Lin, Taipei City Hospital/University of Taipei.
Twitter Handle/Hashtag: TBA

Topics in Infectious Diseases (University at Sea: CEU Cruise Conference for Nurses)

Date: March 23–April 4
Location: 12-Night Patagonia & Argentina Cruise
Cost: $695 course fee for nurses (not including cruise fees)
About/What to expect: Nurses and other healthcare professionals aboard the Celebrity Infinity access educational activities on current approaches for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of common infectious diseases while also enjoying cruise activities and networking events. (This is one of many nursing-focused accredited continuing education cruise offerings through University at Sea.)
CEUs: 16 contact hours
Speakers/Topics: Helmed by Thomas M. File Jr., MD, MSc, the conference’s areas of focus include review of adult vaccines; strategies for overcoming vaccine hesitancy; antimicrobial stewardship and review of newly approved antimicrobials; updates on pneumonia, skin infections, and STDs; infectious complications of the opioid epidemic; and emerging infections.
Twitter Handle/Hashtags: None

Final Thoughts: Best Practices for Making the Most of Nursing Conferences

This list of best nursing conferences is just the start. Whatever your interests or goals, organizations like the National League for Nursing, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Emergency Nurses Association, Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and the American College of Nurse-Midwives offer annual meetings and national and international conferences on emerging research in areas such as pain management for physician assistants, surgical techniques, networking events for telehealth nurses, and more.

One last thing to keep in mind about nursing conferences: what you get out of them often comes down to what you put into them. That’s why it’s so important to prepare for each conference by identifying your specific goals, planning your itinerary, packing appropriately, and taking advantage of the many networking opportunities.

But why let the knowledge sharing end with the conclusion of the conference? Commit to sharing your learnings with your community (both in-person and online) to maximize the impact of nursing conferences.

Image courtesy of iStock.com/fizkes