Honorary President's blog
As a new year begins, we look forward to an interesting and varied Branch Development Programme for 2013.
As the Honorary President for the South Birmingham Branch, I will first reflect on the successes in Autumn 2012 - beginning with the September event at which Dame Betty Kershaw provided handy hints on 'Leadership in a Clinical Environment - Practical Guidance on Effective Leadership'. A Branch meeting followed - including discussion of Congress 2013. 35 members attended the event at which light refreshments were provided.
The Annual General Meeting of the branch was held in October at the Birmingham and Midland Institute in Harborne. A light lunch was available from 12 noon and 19 members attended, some for the first time. There was a review of the past year's activities, followed by election of branch officers. Our new chairperson is Barbara Tassa. I gave an overview of the Honorary President's role and activities - and particularly emphasised the social responsibility initiative linking with the Institute of Ageing and Health, and the Onneley Centre in Harborne specifically. Volunteers are always welcome - for more details please contact Emma, Centre Manager on 0121 428 2022 or email: manager@onneleycentre.com.
Two speakers then contributed to an interesting afternoon. Firstly, Alison Doyle, Falls and Fracture Prevention Specialist, provided an update on local iniatives supported by statistics. As part of Black History Month, the second speaker, Bev Baker gave a lively and amusing talk sharing her experiences and those of her relatives regarding arriving in this counrty to work in the NHS.
Unfortunately, the session planned for January 2013 was cancelled, however the Branch Executive Meeting did take place. Amongst topics discussed was the 2013 Branch Development Programme - which is being finalised as we receive confirmation from speakers/venues. Attendance at Congress 2013 in Liverpool was identified.
The next Branch Development event is planned for Thursday 14th March at 2pm at RCN Regional Office, 58-62 Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 8PE. The current topic of the Assistant Practitioner's role and training will be discussed - guest speaker Mark Wareing. Light refreshments will be on offer. For more details please go to the South Birmingham Branch web page.
We look forward to seeing you there - please support your branch.