Post-secondary institutions in Lethbridge are teaming up for a special conference.
The University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge Polytechnic will co-host the 2026 Western North-Western Region Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing conference.
Dubbed ‘The Bridging Practice and Possibility: Advancing Nursing Education for the Future’, the multi-day conference will include presentations, networking opportunities and sessions highlighting research, teaching innovations and collaborative approaches to nursing education.
“We are very excited to be co-hosting, alongside the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge Polytechnic, a large regional nurse educator conference,” said Gillian Comchi, co-chair of the conference planning committee and an instructor in the Centre for Health and Wellness at Lethbridge Polytechnic.
“Like our bridge, our conference theme, Bridging Practice and Possibility, invites attendees to build meaningful connections with colleagues from across Western Canada, connect with exciting innovations and possibilities of nursing education and connect with the land and culture of beautiful southern Alberta.”
The event will also shine a light on nursing scholarships and feature a keynote speech from Dr. Heather Bensler on April 27.
Bensler is an associate professor at the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. Officials said her research focuses on white settler identity in nursing education and the use of participatory theatre to build the capacity of nursing students and practicing nurses to recognize and disrupt anti-Indigenous racism in education and practice.
On April 28, Dr. Marian Luctkar-Flude and Dr. Jane Tyerman will host a talk on the role of simulation in health education. Luctkar-Flude is an associate professor at Queen’s University School of Nursing and is the co-founder and co-president of the Canadian Alliance of Nurse Educators using Simulation, also known as CAN-Sim. Tyerman is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa and co-president of CAN-Sim.
Registration is open for the conference, with nursing and health care educators, nurses and students encouraged to attend.
Registration can be done through the Lethbridge Polytechnic website. The event is set for April 26-28 at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge.
