Global vision - global reality: ICN/RCN joint ANP conference 2012
Published: 21 September 2012
Timed to take place between the Olympics and the Paralympics on the 20-22 August, the ANP Forum saw the seventh International Council of Nurses/Advanced Practice Nursing Network conference take place at Imperial College, London. With around 500 delegates, excellent keynote speakers, workshops, concurrent sessions and poster presentations, the event was a huge success.
At the outset, delegates were entertained by a choir singing hits from West End musicals that all had a theme linked to London. Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the RCN, then welcomed delegates from 33 countries; about half of total number were from the UK.
It was an enormous privilege to be joined by Barbara Stillwell at the conference. Barbara first introduced the role of nurse practitioner to the UK in 1990 when she took a group of nurse practitioner students to the USA to kick-start their studies. Barbara has worked in Geneva for the WHO and now works as a director for IntraHealth International. She shared some of the inspiring work she has been doing in developing countries. Many past students were delighted to see her again.
Mike Walsh gave us an excellent presentation of his virtual learning community, aptly named ‘Stillwell’. This truly innovative approach to teaching ANPs has enabled many students to access master’s programmes online.
Professor Annie Topping led an interesting panel discussion on advanced nursing practice research from around the world.
Lesley Smith entertained us with her depiction of Queen Elizabeth I and her description of sexual health and contraception in the Elizabethan period fascinated and entertained us. This wonderful presentation was followed by the conference dinner which took place on a river cruise along the Thames where we were delighted by Tower Bridge rising in order to allow our boat through. This was a memorable event for both national and international delegates.
Christine Rieck Buckley and Roberta Heale gave us an update on the state of regulation for advanced practice from an international perspective, which was interesting and revealing in that the UK lags behind many other countries on this issue.
The conference was a huge success, offering a wonderful opportunity to share experiences of advancing nursing practice from around the globe. The atmosphere was warm, with a real sense of nursing as a global community. The similarities in our work by far outweighed the differences.
We look forward to meeting our friends and colleagues in 2014 in Helsinki.