Conference Agenda

Our inspiring program features dynamic keynote sessions, engaging talks, and meaningful opportunities for connection, all centered on the theme Healing Hands, Sacred Service: Echoes Through Time. Attendees will explore the legacy of compassionate service, learn from diverse voices, and participate in experiences designed to uplift, educate, and empower. Join us for a transformative journey that honors the past while shaping the future.

Course Description

PURPOSE: The Nurse Honor Guard Conference honors the legacy, leadership, and service of nurses while advancing education, professional development, and recognition across the nursing profession. Designed for Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurses, and nursing students, this live conference experience features lectures and interactive Q&A sessions focused on compassionate care, leadership, resilience, and end-of-life practices. Honor and strengthen the nursing profession through leadership, service, advocacy, and meaningful end-of-life care that recognizes the impact nurses and last responders have on individuals, families, and communities. Cultivate self-awareness, reflective practice, and compassionate communication to navigate grief, moral distress, implicit bias, and interdisciplinary care with empathy, respect, and professionalism. Develop sustainable strategies for resilience, stress regulation, joy, and community care that supports personal well-being, professional growth, and long-term nursing practice. Learners will demonstrate leadership, advocacy, and professional stewardship by honoring the nursing profession through compassionate service, end-of-life care, and meaningful recognition of nurses and last responders. Learners will apply self-awareness, reflective practice, and effective communication skills to support compassionate, culturally responsive, and patient-centered care during grief, bereavement, and end-of-life experiences. Learners will integrate evidence-informed strategies for resilience, stress regulation, community care, and personal well-being to sustain professional growth and long-term nursing practice.

Saturday, September 19, 2026

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7:30am – 8:15am

Main Hall

Doors Open & Registration

 

  • Attendee check-in

  • Badge pickup

  • Light breakfast & networking

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8:15am – 8:40am

Main Hall

Opening Statements

By Event Coordinator

  • Host introduction

  • Event overview

  • Sponsor recognition

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8:40AM- 9:00 AM

Main Hall

Presenting Sponsors Remarks

By California Northstate University

By Museum of Medical History

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9:00 AM-10:00 AM

Main Hall

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1 CEU

Nurse Honor Guard History

By Dawn Vonderheide, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, AMB-BC, Executive Director Nurse Honor Guard Southern California

Course Objectives
  • Trace the development of the Nurse Honor Guard from ancient Greece to contemporary traditions and symbolism
  • Describe the purpose of the Nurse Honor Guard
  • Describe the meaning and impact of the Nurse Honor Guard Tribute Service
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10:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Main Hall

Nursing Exhibit, Vendor Visit and Bio Break

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10:15 AM-11:15 AM

Main Hall

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1 CEU

Last Responders: Nursing Implications “The First to be Last”

By Melinda Mayorga, MSN, RN, CNS, AGCNS-BC, OCN

Course Objectives
  • Understand the context of use of the term “Last Responders”
  • Review rationale for updated definition of “Last Responders”
  • Review personnel considered as Last Responders
  • Develop appreciation of the lived experience of current and past last responders
  • Articulate nursing implications related to last responder work
  • Examine common shared experiences among Last Responders
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11:15 AM-11:45 AM

Main Hall

I

0.5 CEU

Healing Hands, Sacred Service: Evidence-Informed Self-Regulation in Nursing Practice

By Regina De La Rosa, BSN, RN, NC-BC, Co-Founder Nurse Honor Guard of Northern California

Course Objectives
  • Describe the impact of stress on the autonomic nervous system and clinical performance
  • Explain how HeartMath techniques influence HRV and stress regulation
  • Demonstrate a HeartMath breathing technique and a self-applied relaxation hand placement
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11:45 AM-12:15 PM

Main Hall

I

0.5 CEU

The Challenge and Misconception of Leadership

By Renisha Coleman, DBA

Course Objective
  • Explain why leadership is difficult to define
  • Identify common leadership myths that limits confidence
  • Define leadership as influence, not position
  • Build confidence in age and role diverse environments
  • Self-evaluate and lead where you are and take initiative
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12:15 PM-1:15 PM

Main Hall

Lunch Break: Nursing Exhibit, Vendor Visit and Bio Break

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1:15 PM-2:15 PM

Main Hall

I

1 CEU

The Choreography of Care: Finding Joy and Resilience Together

By Tara “The Dancing Nurse” Rynders

Course Objective
  • Explore personel beliefs and examine what we have been taught about receiving care
  • Understand how our identity has been connected to the ways we care
  • Create sustainable systems of care and joy that don’t require you to do more
  • Explore joy and its relation to grief
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2:15 PM-3:15 PM

Main Hall

I

1 CEU

Schwartz Round: Discussion on Emotional and Social Issues in Patient Care

Panelists: Arveena Balu, RN and Rev. Jen Miller, BCC

Course Description
  • How do cases like this impact you as a healthcare provider, personally, and professionally?
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3:15 PM-3:30 PM

Main Hall

Nursing Exhibit, Vendor Visit and Bio Break

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3:30 PM-4:30 PM

Main Hall

I

1 CEU

Healing Hands, Sacred Service, Echos Through Time: Building Capacity for Grief

Panelists: Laura Holford, RN

Course Objectives

  •  Participants will accurately define moral distress and describe at least two of its clinical manifestations, demonstrating understanding of how it presents specifically within end-of-life and bereavement care contexts.

  • Participants will articulate the layered nature of grief in nursing — personal, occupational, and systemic — and explain the documented relationship between unprocessed cumulative grief and burnout or departure from the profession.

  • Participants will identify ways implicit bias influences how grief and moral distress are distributed unevenly across nursing communities, with demonstrated awareness of the particular burden carried by nurses of color and those from other marginalized groups.

  • Participants will name at least two evidence-informed strategies — drawn from historical and contemporary sources, including self-care, community care, ritual, or contemplative practice — that support individual and collective grief capacity.

  • Participants will complete a values-mapping exercise and identify at least one personal anchor and one source of nourishment, articulating how these support long-term sustainable practice.

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4:30 PM-5:30 PM

Main Hall

Awards Ceremony and Closing Remarks

CEUs are Sponsored by:

This program has been approved for 6 contact hours by the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) – Provider Number: CEP17758

Conference Program Disclaimer:
Please note that the conference agenda, speakers, sessions, activities, and program details are subject to change at the discretion of the Conference Planning Committee. Information presented on this website is provided for general reference and may not reflect the most current program agenda. The Conference Planning Committee reserves the right to modify, substitute, reschedule, or cancel program content as necessary without prior notice.

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