'Congress lasted for five days, and these days were inspirational, emotional and majestic!'

We are proud to have been, RCN Student Ambassadors for the last two years. In June 2022, we got the chance to attend the RCN Congress for the first time in the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow as voting members. This position was to represent 1000 members from the Greater Liverpool and Knowsley Branch. We were honoured to be chosen.

Congress lasted for five days, and these days were inspirational, emotional, and majestic. Our Congress experience gave us both a renewed passion for nursing. Before Congress, we felt our enthusiasm had diminished due to our experiences of being a student through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we quickly realised that this love for nursing could be relit. We found out anything is possible when surrounded by people who share the same passion.

During Congress, we were first welcomed at the president’s reception / tea party to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee. The opening of Congress was amazing. We were entertained by a local tribal band and shared in celebrating the winners of the RCN Awards for outstanding contributions to the nursing profession and the RCN from 2020, 2021 and 2022.

The rest of our days were full of expressive purpose in which we were fully involved. There were keynote speakers, such as Pat Cullen, the RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary, Professor James Buchan, Michael Rosen, and Gordon Brown. These speakers highlighted the issues currently confronting the profession, including inadequate numbers of nurses, the effect of COVID-19 on staff and patients and the low-level pay for nursing staff with the increased cost of living.

During Congress, we got to debate, discuss and vote on many issues surrounding our profession. One of us even got to speak at the podium about the impact Covid has had on us all. During the days, resolutions were passed on protecting the title ‘nurse’, Nursing Leadership, overworking, long COVID, health ability passports, ethical overseas recruitment, agenda for change, safe injecting facilities, digital leadership, supernumerary status, overseas nurses, and assisted dying.

In between the full days of debates and discussions, we were also able to connect with other students and nursing professionals from all over the UK. We made supporting other first-time students who had travelled alone a priority. There was even time to attend a plethora of fringe events that covered such things as dementia playlists, senior nurse leadership and psychological safety.

But Congress wasn’t all about work and no play. We were able to unwind during the student event, regional meal, and the end of congress party. These were fantastic opportunities to reflect on all the visionary topics of each day informally with so many people. There was even quizzes, dancing and Karaoke. 

So as you can imagine, the days at Congress were long, but the “congress buzz” made us get up every morning with determination, knowing that we went to bed with satisfaction and that our voices were heard. Therefore, we would encourage all students to attend Congress. It is a fantastic platform for understanding the nursing world, making long-lasting friendships, and giving great opportunities to network with nursing professionals.

Hope to see you all at congress 2023 in Brighton on the 14-18 May!