Ana Choperena: "Hosting INKA 2027 means taking on a responsibility and promoting our faculty's leadership"

- In June 2027, the University of Navarra’s School of Nursing ( School of Nursing ) will become a hub meeting for professionals and researchers from around the world during INKA’s International congress . What does it mean for the School to host a congress of this magnitude?
- Above all, it means taking on a responsibility. INKA—the International Nursing Knowledge Association, formerly NANDA International—is the organization that, since 1973, has upheld the “ development ” of nursing knowledge at the international level, and its “ congress ” is the forum where that “ knowledge ” is discussed and subjected to critique. Hosting that conversation in Spain for the first time in history means committing to continue promoting the leadership position of the School of Nursing University of Navarra on the international stage.

For us, it also holds symbolic value. Pamplona is taking over from Lisbon in 2025 and from Boston in 2023, and it is doing so at a particularly significant moment for the association. The fact that our school is hosting the event indicates that we are a pillar of international reference letter in nursing science, which today is built upon broad and complex networks. For our community—faculty, doctoral candidates, students, and nurses—this means having the opportunity to participate in one of the most important forums for scientific discussion, from a contemporary nursing perspective.
 

- What do you think the fact that INKA has chosen the University of Navarra as its host institution says about the School of Nursing and its commitment to research and development in the field of nursing science?
-I see itas a sign of trust. INKA chooses host institutions capable of sustaining a rigorous scientific congress and, at the same time, of contributing their own voice to the discussion on nursing knowledge . I believe this recognizes a sustained track record and a commitment to research in care, to training doctoral studies, and to understanding nursing as a discipline with its own well-established body of knowledge .

It also says something about the way we work. An international “ congress ” is organized on the basis of prestige, but also through “ partnership.” Our ties with “ association,” with other “ Schools ,” and with healthcare professionals will be essential for the successful “ development ” of this major event. The fact that we have been entrusted with this responsibility speaks volumes about both our team and our institution.

- One of the major highlights of the “ congress ” will be NANDA 360. For someone who isn’t familiar with this project, how would you explain in a few words what it is and why it could mark a turning point in how we understand and apply the knowledge nursing?
- Untilnow, the standardized nursing knowledge had been presented in separate components: on one hand, the diagnoses (classification established by NANDA-I); on another, the expected outcomes (NOC classification); and on yet another, the interventions (NIC classification). The integration of diagnoses, outcomes, and interventions from the perspective of the Nursing Care Process—which is precisely where clinical reasoning lies—sometimes seemed somewhat contrived.

NANDA 360 is a project that promotes the integration of all of the above into a single source at knowledge, so that nurses can navigate from the evaluation to the diagnosis, from the diagnosis to measurable outcomes, and from there to interventions with their associated level of evidence, in a progressive and reasoned manner. It is also designed to interface with electronic health records and medical standards such as SNOMED.

Testing of this large project began in 2026, and the full launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, making Pamplona the first major international quotation following that launch.

- NANDA 360 aims to integrate the evaluation, diagnosis, outcomes, and interventions into a single framework , placing clinical reasoning at the center. What opportunities might this new approach open up for clinical internship , research , and training among future nurses?
- Inclinical internship , the most immediate opportunity will be to reduce documentation fragmentation, so that nursing records as a whole can reflect the intellectual process that nurses follow in both decision-making and the application of their clinical judgment. All of this will lead to improved clinical indicators.

At research, the impact can be equally substantial. Structuring the entire data nursing community in a comparable manner will enhance its traceability on a large scale, thereby increasing the number of programs of study multicenter studies, facilitating international comparisons, and, above all, providing an evidence-based answer to the question of what outcomes nursing care produces from the integrative perspective offered by the nursing process and its corresponding scientific nomenclature.

And at training, perhaps the most important aspect is that it will allow the nursing process to be presented as a continuum of reasoning that facilitates the natural assimilation of a series of concepts that, at times, may have appeared in isolation or without clear connections.

- Beyond the scientific program, what opportunities does this congress offer to faculty members, researchers, and students at the School? And how can it contribute to the international visibility of the University of Navarra and the nursing programs offered here?
- For faculty and researchers, the opportunity may be twofold. On the one hand, they will be able to present their work to an international community of experts and, above all, initiate or strengthen collaborations. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that the deadline for submitting abstracts is September 30, 2026.

For students, participating in the organization and attend of the sessions will put them in contact early on with a global community dedicated to contributing to the development of knowledge nursing based on scientific rigor and evidence.

As for the event’s impact, I believe that a “ congress ” does not provide visibility on its own, but rather through what is “ sample ” there. Our goal is for those who attend to feel welcome, to be inspired by the content, and to establish or strengthen international partnership networks.

- If you had to convince a nurse— researcher or professor —from anywhere in the world to set aside June 9–11, 2027, and come to Pamplona, what would you say?
- The theme of the congress —“Expanding, Bridging, and Unifying Knowledge: A New Voice”—reflects an ambitious framework , as I’ve been mentioning. Attendees will find an open discussion where their experience will be acknowledged, respected, and highly valued, regardless of their disciplinary or professional background.

What's more, Pamplona in June is a friendly, walkable city with great food. Science is done best in places where you feel like staying for dinner.

- If, in a few years, we look back and think about the INKA 2027 “ congress ” in Pamplona, what would you like to see changed, or what mark would you like it to have left on the School and the nursing profession?
- If I were to dream, I would like to have contributed to a paradigm shift in the field of nursing science and knowledge , such that standardized languages are definitively understood as the formal expression of nurses’ clinical reasoning.

And at the school, I’m content to leave a more discreet mark. I think of my students, who have enthusiastically volunteered their time staff to help organize this great event, and that’s enough for me. Research careers often begin that way, in the background…