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Every year, UVA Health University Medical Center Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO) hosts an interactive workshop for leaders and incoming NPGO Committee chairs. Sixty-five departments participated in the 2026 NPGO Workshop at UVA North Fork Research Park.

Local practice area teams included managers, assistant nurse managers, local committee chairs, and other department leaders. The Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) team and the Nursing Professional Development Services (NPDS) team provided support and expertise to participants throughout the workshop.

"An overview of strategic nursing initiatives set the foundation for attendees," describes Jennifer “JT” Hall, MSN, RN, CNL, Director, UVA Health University Medical Center Nursing Professional Practice, Magnet Recognition Programs. "Teams received a refresher on nursing governance resources and guidance for the upcoming year related to Nursing Professional Governance goals that drive patient and team member outcomes."

Each individual practice area is asked to form a “local” committee with a clinical nurse chair and the support and engagement of the team’s manager. Together, they lead a committee of team members from their area to address aspects of their nursing practice environment as depicted in our UVA Health University Medical Center Nursing Professional Practice Model.  

Patient Safety and Team Member Engagement

After an introduction of selected nursing strategic initiatives and updates, teams were provided a set of materials — broken down by calendar year quarters — to identify key topics on patient safety and team member engagement.

"Having resources available that specifically focus on monthly patient safety topics — such as infection prevention, patient education, or pain assessment and management — equips my team with tools to guide discussion and explore the specific action items also provided," says NPGO President Clara Winfield, MSN, RN, CAPA, CNL. "These value-added resources help shape monthly agendas and support structure and consistency in planning and conducting effective meetings."

Short work sessions engaged participants with the materials to set goals for committee work throughout 2026. Nurse leaders and subject matter experts were available to provide support, answer questions, and guide teams through the materials and planning.  

Reflections

Feedback from participants included appreciation for being able to take time to work together as teams to focus intentionally on goal setting and strategies for the upcoming year. 

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