Preparing for the Trip

How do you prepare to go to an international nursing convention? I got my brochure in the mail (pictures to follow) and its about 50 pages long and the pages are almost the size of a newspaper. It has all the information I am supposed to need as a delegate going to Indianapolis. However, the more I read about the amazing candidates for the leadership positions I am going to be voting the more nervous I am becoming.

I am not even in the same league as any of these folks. I just graduated in May and have been working as an RN since I passed my boards(also in May) but all of the people in this brochure have been nurses for a minimum of 10 years and have at least a Master's Degree. I guess that is why they are running for leadership positions though. I just hope that I am prepared to discern which one is going to be the best candidate for the job they are running for at this time. Thank goodness Mary is going to be arriving for the voting meetings so I have someone else who can help truly investigate who the best candidate for the position is based on both their experience and leadership capabilities.

More than just wanting to make the right choices while voting I have NO idea how I am supposed to be dressed for an event like this. Do I need to wear a shirt and tie every day? Is a nice sweater and a decent pair of pants enough? Are jeans acceptable attire for the break out sessions? I can't believe these are the things that I worry about, but there is not much worse than being selected as a delegate and representing your chapter looking like a schlub. My poor carry-on is stuffed to the brim with clothes of varying degrees of fanciness and I suppose I will determine how I should dress based upon my first assessment when I show up for registration tomorrow.

Then of course there are the general stressors of traveling: Will I be on time for my flight? Will I have to sit next to someone annoying on the plane? Will I make my connecting flight? Will I be able to navigate the shuttle from the airport to the hotel without totally mucking it up? Will the hotel have WiFi? Will the walk from the hotel to the convention center be manageable? Will the weather be okay? Have I packed clothes appropriate for bad weather? Where should I eat?

I swear the list of things to be concerned about grows exponentially every day. Luckily, I am excited enough about being able to attend such a big event that all of those stressors seem completely manageable.

I think my next post probably won't occur until I am actually in Indiana, but you never know....maybe I will get bored at the airport. I'm now off to get ready because I am leaving my place at 3AM to make it to the airport for my 5AM flight (hopefully I will sleep on the plane).

That's all for now and remember to find us on Twitter and Facebook!!