Courage to Soar: AACN’s 2025 Theme

VViewing something familiar from a different angle can take courage and bring a new perspective. So, AACN President Jennifer Adamski (then president-elect) shook things up in her NTI 2024 address by revealing the new theme, Courage to Soar, early in her speech. “In the past, my predecessors have waited until the end of their address to announce AACN’s new theme with lots of fanfare,” Adamski told the crowd of nearly 6,000 attendees. “Why not ignite our time together right from the start?”

Taking risks and mustering courage has been a continual theme in her life, Adamski revealed. “I learned about courage by watching my mom, a single mother who reinvented herself. From my brother, who refused to let his deafness define him. I learned about it from my nine-year-old daughter, Quinn, who I believe is a brave boss. And from so many people around me over the years.”

Adamski also explored “the challenge and the gift of courage” by imagining a day without AACN and without nurses. “It takes courage for AACN to be AACN. It takes courage to be a nurse. Maybe even more, it takes courage to be ourselves.”

A day without AACN would mean a day without advocacy, without a bold voice for patients and for urgent issues, such as workplace violence, bullying and moral distress. A day without Healthy Work Environment standards and without “AACN Standards for Appropriate Staffing in Adult Critical Care.” Adamski said, “It takes enormous courage to be AACN. To be the voice and influence behind three-quarters of a million acute and critical care nurses.”

Then, expanding on the idea of a day without nurses, Adamski wondered, “Who would champion competent and compassionate patient-centered care? Who will guide the eager nurse, the terrified medical student, the overconfident resident?”

Without nurses, she mused, there would be no one to advocate for system-wide changes when they’re needed and no one to promote a supportive work culture, inclusivity and equity in practice. “A day without one of us is a day without what each of us has learned from the joys and the scars of our personal journeys,” Adamski said.

“I think of the nurse whose first trip out of the house as a baby was to the welfare office. I think of the nurse who longed to have a child at any cost. She had seven rounds of IVF so that one day someone would call her Mommy. I think of the nurse who said, ‘No more’ to an abusive relationship. I think of the nurse who never had mentors early in her career. Now she dedicates her life to being the mentor she never had. These are all the experiences of the same nurse. One who has the courage to stand before you – authentic and vulnerable – as AACN’s incoming president,” Adamski proclaimed.

To illustrate the soaring ideas of this year’s theme, Helen D’Souza designed original art. “Above the night sky, the Northern Lights appear, dance and show their magnificence during 24 hours of darkness in winter, symbolizing the nurse who shines in times of darkness,” D’Souza explained. The egg symbolizes potential. “It looks fragile, yet is one of the strongest structures in nature,” D’Souza added. “The cracked egg displays our imperfections, but that’s how the light gets in.”

We are happy to provide the theme artwork for your use. Here are some suggestions for integrating the theme into your daily work:

• Ponder the artwork to decide how it relates to your interpretation of this year's theme. Discuss its meaning with your co-workers and other colleagues.
• Use it on printed material such as newsletters, flyers, posters, handouts and announcements.
• Use PowerPoint templates for internal presentations, such as those that promote your chapter/institution's meetings and events.
• Use approved theme art products from the AACN Store to generate revenue for your chapter.

Please be advised that the theme art:

• Must always appear in its entirety and not be modified or altered in any way.
• May be used to promote local chapter events and activities.
• May be used in social media in a posting but not as an identifier for a chapter, institution or individual (e.g., "profile picture" or "cover photo" on Facebook).
• May not be imprinted on any item (T-shirt, hat, mug, etc.) that will be sold.

To download the artwork, right click on a link, choose "Save Target As ..." and save to your computer.

2025 Theme Graphic - Chapters
2025 Theme Poster - Large
2025 Theme Poster - Small
2025 Theme PowerPoint Template

Please contact the AACN Creative Partners team with questions.