A landmark World Health Organisation report, published in 2020, highlighted the global shortage of nurses, estimated at 5.9 million. The report was a call to action for all countries, to invest in their nursing workforce, in order to improve population health, strengthen primary care, progress universal healthcare and advance the agendas of the UN’s sustainable development goals. The report calls for a strengthening of nurse leadership, both current and future leaders to ensure that nurses have an influential role in health policy formulation and decision-making, and contribute to the effectiveness of health and social care systems. The need for investment in and large acceleration of nursing education, educators and infrastructure to address global needs, meet domestic demand, and respond to changing technologies and advancing models of integrated health and social care was also highlighted in the report.
Established in 1974, the RCSI Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery plays a pivotal role in leading and supporting the development of the nursing and midwifery professions nationally and internationally through the delivery of transformative learning experiences, by leading impactful research and supporting and recognising the contribution of nurses and midwives to healthcare and societal wellbeing. The annual conference in February is a very important diary date for the Faculty each year, which brings together nurses and midwives from all over Ireland and beyond to share learning from education, research and practice.
This year, the Faculty will host its 43rd Annual International Nursing and Midwifery Conference, in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland on February 21st and 22nd. The conference is a blend of history, traditional rituals and ceremonies intertwined with modern day concepts, concerns and global challenges. The chief nursing officer, in the Department of Health, Rachel McKenna will deliver the opening address.
The theme of this year’s conference, “Changing Landscapes of Health”, incorporates a number of sub-themes – integrating sustainable development goals into practice; health and wellbeing in the health system; innovation and digitalisation; and transforming nursing and midwifery practice, research and education.
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The conference spans two days and attendees will be engaged, enthused and entertained by the wide array of activities which are taking place over the jam packed two-day event. There will be a series of keynote addresses from industry leaders: Professor Michael West on compassionate leadership in the health system; Dr Annette Kennedy, president emeritus of the International Council of Nurses, on human trafficking and the role that healthcare staff can play in detecting people at risk; Dr Helen Bevan on large scale change through innovation and activism in healthcare; Annree Wogan, a leadership consultant and performance coach will talk about the value of executive coaching for nurses and midwives to enhance their leadership capabilities in challenging and complex environments; Brenda Courtney, chief operations officer at Infocare, will discuss digital solutions in healthcare with a focus on how it can support nurse and midwives; Professor Carolyn Wallace from the Wales School for Social Prescribing Research at the University of South Wales will focus on the emerging role of social prescribing for communities given the increasing prevalence of loneliness among populations including young people.
There will be over 50 oral presentations and over 90 poster presentations linked to the conference sub-themes with prizes awarded for best posters and oral presentations. The Journal of Research in Nursing are generously supporting the awards for best poster and best oral presentation. The dean’s award will also be presented by Dr Boyd to one of the attendees for their outstanding contribution to the nursing and/or midwifery professions.
As part of the two-day programme, the Dean, Dr Mary Boyd on behalf of the Faculty will confer four honorary fellowships to Dr Amelia Latu Afuhaamango Tuipulotu, Dr Diana-Loreta Păun, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge and professor, Sir Michael Marmot CH in recognition of their outstanding contributions to healthcare. The awardees will each give a masterclass on their specialist topic on the afternoon on February 21st.
To recognise and acknowledge the stressful and challenging healthcare environments where most of our delegates work and practice, for the first time this year the faculty have included a “Time for you” segment into their conference programme. This will be led by Ciara McKinlay, a personal coach and trainer. During the intervals Ciara will lead the delegates in gentle movement and stretching exercises.
No conference would be complete without a celebratory dinner, and this takes place in the board room and college hall of the RCSI, a room steeped in history, with particular relevance dating back to the time of the 1916 rising. The dinner provides an opportunity to dress up and relax after all the hard work and most importantly provides a forum for presenters and delegates to meet and mingle informally. This is often the “space” where academic collaborations are made and where the ideas for the next project often emerge from.
The Faculty look forward to welcoming up to 400 delegates to hear world-renowned nurse and midwife leaders as well as emerging leaders share their insights on how nurses and midwives are leading the world to better health. Anyone interested in attending the conference can register here.
Building on the work of the Faculty over the past 50 years, a new executive team have recently been recruited with a new executive dean, prof. Mark White, executive vice dean for education prof. Mary Rose Sweeney, and executive vice dean for research, prof. Mary Lynch to drive education and research agendas. The new team are leading on a number of strategic development initiatives which will be announced over the course of the 2 days of the conference including:
- Nine fully funded PhD scholarships, attracting and supporting the development of a talented team of multidisciplinary researchers.
- Five PhD/Doctoral scholarships which will be open to members and fellows of the Faculty
- A suite of innovative CPD opportunities to support nurses and midwives to upskill, advance and develop personally and professionally.
- Novel research initiatives to support research capacity building to impact policy, practice and wider society, and to enhance the FNM’s visibility and rankings.
The Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery is committed to strengthening nursing and midwifery leadership and has recently launched a new programme, Leadership by Executive Coaching which aims to enhance the leadership skills of nurses and midwives. Using a structured approach, the programme leads participants through a self-analysis process to help them to gain insights into the factors that impact interpersonal relationships, team performances, communication, organisation cultures and productivity.
Details of the programme and all activities are available by e-mailing facnurse@rcsi.ie or visit the faculty website rcsi.com/fnm.
