More than 160 students from across 47 health profession schools gathered at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill last month for the fourth annual KNN Student Conference.
Furthering the growth of the flourishing in health movement, this year's student conference welcomed an increase in attendees from various health pathways programs across the country — such as nursing, pre-health, public health, healthcare administration, and more.
Organized for and by KNN students, the event included leaders from 40 returning chapters and 7 new chapters. The theme, “Rooted in Purpose: Grounded Leadership for a Flourishing Health Ecosystem,” centered the conference around relational leadership development and the integration of the KNN Framework for Flourishing.
A collaborative planning group of student leaders designed and developed flourishing-centered sessions and activities that reimagined the future of healthcare environments. The three-day conference also aimed to recognize the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and diverse healthcare contributions, with an emphasis on centering humanistic care in health professions education and practice.
Sessions and activities led by students explored topics such as: virtue literacy, ethics, empathy and humanistic care, harnessing emotions to become better healthcare providers, understanding human suffering and holistic patient care, and flourishing through interdisciplinary care.
During the poster symposium, learners shared their research and key findings from initiatives grounded in the KNN Framework for Flourishing and implemented during the 2025-2026 academic year.
On the final conference day, a care team panel moderated by two student leaders featured guest speakers from across healthcare settings. Panelists provided an opportunity to learn from current residents and physicians through questions addressing interprofessional perspectives.
Key takeaways included the importance of seeking out multiple interdisciplinary perspectives across care teams, learning from everyone in the hospital and clinical setting, and staying connected to remain grounded with support teams.
To learn more about the KNN Learner Network, visit the Learner Network page.
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"The focus on interdisciplinary engagement and interaction really resonated with me. The interdisciplinary panel was particularly meaningful. One of the panelists said, “Learn from every single member of the care team. If there is a pharmacy team teaching something, join them. If there is a nursing team teaching, join them.” I loved that and I will definitely take that advice to heart throughout my medical training." "I loved the notion of grounding yourself in your roots. I feel like it’s taught me to seek out like-minded people, and even people that differ from me, to talk with others about developing our roots" "I want to take a flourishing mindset back to my community and share this idea with others—the concept of honoring all aspects of who you are, who you are becoming, and being mindful of whether it aligns with what you value and making the changes necessary if it does not."
Thank you to the Student Conference Planning Group for their work in organizing this year's conference!