The Joint Education Forums’ International Conference
Published: 07 October 2009
Penny Hilton reports on the second international conference and exhibition held in Glasgow in June 2009.
This three-day conference, entitled Beyond the borders: innovations for international excellence in nurse education, attracted 250 delegates from 15 countries including a strong contingent from across the UK. Together, this range of delegates gave us a truly global perspective.
We were privileged to be invited by the Lord Provost's Office to a reception held at Glasgow City Chambers. Bailie Catherine McMaster gave the welcoming address and Carol Hall (our new Education Forum Chair) offered a vote of thanks. This was also an opportunity to explore this magnificent building and view the legacy of the great architect and designer, Charles Rennie MacIntosh.
At the main conference, David Benton, Chief Executive Officer of the ICN, gave an insight into how the regulation of international nursing is impacting on nursing education. He contended that the past concept of regulation is no longer adequate for today's global educational markets, mobile workforce and populations. Jim Buchan, of Queen Margaret's University, Edinburgh, outlined how he believes nurse education can support a developing global workforce and stressed the need for the education sector to be fully engaged and responsive to service sector needs.
Garth Long, Professional Adviser for Education at the NMC, gave an update on the development of the new framework for pre-registration nursing education in the UK. In the ensuing discussion, delegates from around the globe shared their personal experiences of alternative approaches adopted in their own countries. A later panel discussion chaired by Gill Robertson, RCN Student Adviser, expanded on this theme and looked at the opportunities and challenges for nursing education within the global community. Our thanks go to Gill, Mary Gobbi (Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton), Sue Bernhauser (Dean of Human & Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield and Chair of the Council of Deans UK) and Harvey Morgan (Student Member of Council, RCN) for encouraging a lively debate.
The final keynote presentation was given by Professor Martin Johnson, Editor of Nurse Education Today. Martin gave an insightful presentation outlining the key principles and values which underlie published work of influence in nurse education at an international level. He demonstrated how papers can aspire to "international excellence", "significance" and "rigour".
Concurrent sessions offered a wealth of choice on core themes which included teaching innovation, internationalisation and curriculum development. There were also plenty of innovative developments to peruse in the poster display and many opportunities to network.
You can access the conference presentations at by going to www.rcn.org.uk/education and clicking on "Education conference 2009 presentations" on the left.