Operation:Scrubs Boss Says "No" -- Breaks Education Venue Stereotype by Choosing FantaSea One Mega Yacht for Stroke Nurse Symposium
There's a medical industry belief that tradition mandates continuing education symposiums for nurses take place in hospital theaters, hotel ballrooms or conference centers.
That also seemed to be the understanding of many Stroke Coordinator nurses from California's 200+ Primary and Comprehensive Stroke Hospitals ... then word got out and quickly spread that the inaugural Operation:Scrubs 2019 symposium on National Nurses Day will be held aboard FantaSea One - a 4-deck mega yacht in Marina Del Rey, California.
This unique and tradition-breaking decision was made by Pamela Jane Nye, an Associate Professor at the UCLA School of Nursing and Stroke Coordinator at /UCLA Medical Center/Santa Monica.
On February 15, 2019, Nye will retire from her UCLA Stroke Coordinator position and plans to use her reactivated Neuroscience Nursing Ltd. business to provide innovative advanced education to neuroscience nurses nationwide. She also plans to continue using FantaSea Yachts as venues for her continuing nurse education seminars and symposiums.
"I chose to use my business as the platform to inspire and create a new standard for continuing education for nurses," explained Nye, adding, "and a standard which routinely recognizes, publicizes, and says 'thank you' to these 'unsung heroes of healthcare.'
Nye also said her yacht choice for the inaugural Operation:Scrubs symposium was she believes "yachts are special," and for the "you too are special" message it will convey to symposium attendees.
"Because nurses are the unsung heroes of healthcare, I want my symposium attending nurses - and nurses everywhere - to feel more appreciated for what they do. I also want Operation:Scrubs to represent and promote the 'See a Nurse -Thank a Nurse" message as an everyday concept, and not something you do just on National Nurses Day or during National Nurses Week!"
Nye's concept of "special" goes beyond a luxury yacht classroom. It begins with changing traditional coffee and donuts with a pre-symposium continental breakfast ... then sans the in-a-box sandwich, chips and cookie for a multi-choice soup-and-salad bar + the chef's special dessert for lunch. And when the symposium ends, the classroom morphs into a two-hour sunset harbor cruise with a reception celebration, gourmet buffet dinner, surprise guests, and "Swag Bags" containing symbolic "thank you" gifts from a diverse group of nurse-supporting people and companies.
All Operation:Scrubs staff and symposium presenters are unpaid volunteers, and 100% of the event's audited net proceeds will provide scholarships for nurses seeking advanced neuroscience education, e.g., Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Practitioner Degrees. Nye says an announcement will be made in January regarding event sponsorship to date, and non-profit charitable organization that will hold and administer the scholarship funds.
People close to Nye shared their surprise and disbelief about her sudden and unexpected retirement decision to walk away from the "dream career" they said that Nye had worked so long, sacrificed so much, and worked so hard to achieve. When Nye was asked that question, Nye hesitated briefly, smiled politely, and her only response was, "That's a story for another day!"
For more information see www.operationscrubs.org; "scrubs" is the website password. The following links also provide PDF documents regarding Nye's 1-page bio summary and expanded history profile, including education, employment, teaching, community service and other accomplishments.
