Letter from the Adviser

Published: 04 January 2012

Midwifery and Women’s Health Adviser Carmel Bagness rings in the New Year...

Welcome to our new winter e-newsletter. I am now settling in at the RCN and getting on with the business of being an adviser in the busy nursing department. The forum committee met in September and we had a productive strategic planning day where we set the direction for the forum for the next 12 months and beyond.

Hello, and thanks!

To begin with I want to congratulate Debbie Barber for taking over the helm as Forum Chair for the next year. We also say a big thank you to Val Peddie who has stepped down from the committee, having completed her latest term of office as committee member and as chair. I know from speaking to a number of you and other members that Val’s contributions, enthusiasm and commitment have made a real positive difference to the progress made by the committee in recent years. On behalf of myself, the RCN and in particular the members, thank you Val.

Happily, Val will continue to chair the forum’s current major project – that of creating an education and training career framework for nurses and others working in fertility nursing. We will bring you more details of that as the year progresses.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Becky Gould to the forum committee and look forward to working with all the committee in the year ahead.

What’s in the pipeline?

The work of the forum committee includes the project mentioned above, as well as reviewing some of the major documents published by the forum in recent years. One of the key components of the ongoing strategic engagement of the forum includes responding to major consultations, including those from NICE and the government and other organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA). Thank you to everyone who contributes to those.

Calling all midwives...

A further piece of work that I am working on is a review of where we are with midwifery and midwifery members. This includes an online questionnaire being sent out to all midwifery members to find out more about who you are and what your expectations are. Once we have analysed this material we will then look at the structure of midwifery for the future within the RCN.

Book your place!

We also have the Fertility Nurses Forum Annual Conference and Exhibition to look forward to on Saturday, 4 February, 2012 at the Hallam Conference Centre, London – exciting times ahead for all to engage with.