Welcome

The College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of British Columbia along with the Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Canada is proud to host the 2010 RPNC World Congress for Psychiatric Nurses in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada March 18th-20th, 2010. This Congress will coincide with the Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, immediately following the 2010 Winter Olympics.  What an amazing time to welcome our delegates to Vancouver! 2010 marks the 5th conference celebrating the work of psychiatric nurses, and in the spirit of our theme ‘Building Global Connection in Psychiatric Nursing’, it promises to be an exciting international event.

The World Congress aims to provide delegates with practical tools and knowledge that can be used in their areas of specialty in mental health across the four domains which reflect our professional ethos that Registered Psychiatric Nurses ‘C.A.R.E.’ – Clinical, Administrative, Research and Education.

Congress Program

Plenary speakers for the 5th World Congress include Kim Barthel speaking on the Neurobiology of ‘Connections’; Michael Howlett, President of the Mental Health Commission of Canada; Phil Woods from the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan; and Anna Helewka reflecting on Mental Health Promotion — Shifting Landscapes:  From Local Stage to World Arena.

Thirty concurrent sessions will feature a wide variety of topics and formats that will be of interest to all, while a variety of poster presentations and exhibits will provide visual illustrations of research or practice findings with presenters available to answer questions during specified times.

In addition, a special theatrical performance of a one-woman show by Elly Litvak entitled, ‘Who’s Crazy Now?’ will provide poignant and humorous insight into what it’s like to live with, and recover from mental illness.

Who Should Attend the World Congress?

 This biennial conference will be of interest to professionals in all areas of mental health including:

Registered Psychiatric Nurses around the world provide a holistic approach to mental health both for our clients and their families. Please join these discussions from the global community of psychiatric nursing as we share ideas, differences and similarities in our profession.  What a wonderful opportunity to network and learn from each other!