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Professional Development: Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses

(AWHONN)

Carlie M. Herrmann

NURS 479

April 4, 2024
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Professional Development: Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses

(AWHONN)

Professional development is crucial in shaping the knowledge of nurses and enabling

them to stay up to date with the latest advancements in healthcare. For the professional

development activity, I chose to join the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and

Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). This organization’s mission is to “empower and support nurses

caring for women, newborns, and their families through research, education, and advocacy

(AWHONN, 2024).” I joined this organization because I am interested in working with mothers

and their babies in the future and I am specifically interested in working in the NICU. I

completed 8 hours of continuing education credits over the past couple of weeks. I was able to

read three articles through AWHONN, each offering valuable insights into the latest research and

practices in women’s and infant health. Additionally, I watched five recorded webinars, which

further enriched my knowledge and expanded my perspective on issues in the field.

Experience and Knowledge Gained

Through this experience, I gained a vast amount of knowledge regarding women’s and

infant health. The webinars were mostly about cultural competency in nursing and how to have

meaningful conversations with patients. I learned a lot from these webinars; however I was

mostly fascinated by the research articles and learned the most from them. There were two

articles in particular that stood out to me and I learned the most from. The first article was titled

“An Integrative Review of Fertility Knowledge and Fertility-Awareness Practices Among

Women Trying to Conceive (Perez Capotosto, 2021).” This article taught me that women who

are seeking pregnancy often have little knowledge about fertility. This is important for nurses to

know to provide education on fertility to women trying to conceive. The second article I read

was titled “What More Can We Do to Prevent Infants From Dying While They Sleep?
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(Hitchcock, 2023).” This article was very important to me because sudden unexpected infant

deaths are so prevalent. This article gave a summary of the updated recommendations for safe

infant sleep and discussions on current trends and thoughts. From this article, I learned how

important it is to provide education on safe infant sleep practices to parents.

Application to Future Nursing Practice

This experience will impact and inform my future nursing career because I will be able to

continue being a member of AWHONN throughout my career. I will be able to access

educational resources and new research as it comes out which will allow me to remain well-

informed and capable of delivering the best care to my patients. By immersing myself in the

knowledge and resources offered to me by AWHONN, I have gained a deeper understanding of

critical aspects such as maternal care, neonatal health, and evidence-based practices.

Importance of Continuing Education in Nursing

Participating in continuing education in the field of nursing is very important for nurses.

It encourages continuous learning, the enhancement of skills, and staying up to date with the

latest research to provide the best evidenced based care to patients. Healthcare is always

evolving rapidly and new research is always coming out. It is vital for nurses to stay up to date

with new advancements to elevate the standards of nursing practice and improve patient

outcomes overall.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my experience with joining the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric,

and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) has been instrumental in shaping my journey in nursing. The

insights and knowledge I have gained and the ongoing learning opportunities I have been

provided are valuable assets that I will value throughout my career. As I begin my career in
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nursing, I am committed to embracing activities in professional development and staying up to

date with the latest research and advancements. I plan to remain an active member of

organizations like AWHONN to ensure that I am fully equipped to deliver the best evidenced-

based care to mothers and their babies.

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References

About us - AWHONN the association of women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses

(AWHONN). AWHONN. (2024, January 18). https://www.awhonn.org/about-us/

Hitchcock, S. C. (2023). What more can we do to prevent infants from dying while they sleep?

Nursing for Women’s Health, 27(6), 448–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nwh.2023.07.004

Perez Capotosto, M. (2021b). An integrative review of Fertility Knowledge and fertility-

awareness practices among women trying to conceive. Nursing for Women’s Health,

25(3), 198–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nwh.2021.04.001