July 5, 2023 – # ICN Congress – Montreal
REPLAY - Nurses, what is the best kept secret about the benefits of influenza vaccination?
Influenza is an unpredictable virus and can be severe in people of all ages, but particularly at risk are older people and those living with chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes - and they are often unaware of the risk they are running. The most effective way to prevent the severe complications of flu is vaccination. There are flu vaccines designed specifically for older adults. These vaccines are potentially more effective than the standard flu vaccine for seniors. Nurses are role models for health in the public’s mind. They are highly involved in vaccination: giving advice and administering vaccines that can protect against influenza and its complications, and vaccines for other infectious diseases.
Watch the replay of this important event from the ICN Congress in Montreal! The session will take you through the current epidemiology and burden of influenza as well as the importance of getting the right vaccine for the people most at risk. It highlights the critical role of nurses as catalysts for influenza vaccination.
This symposia was hosted by Dr. Eileen Handberg (USA), Dr. Dominique Tessier (Canada), Dr. Georges Farah (Canada) and M. Howard Catton (ICN).
Decembre 22, 2022
Let’s keep raising awareness of pertussis
The 2020 pandemic highlighted the importance of vaccines in fighting illness, yet some vaccine-preventable diseases, like pertussis, are seeing a resurgence. A potentially fatal condition, rates of pertussis have been on the decline until recent years, with many countries seeing an increase in case counts1 2.
Pertussis is often underdiagnosed and presents with symptoms of congestion, rhinorrhea, low-grade fever, and apnea3. If you are interested in more clinical education on Pertussis, Osmosis has an excellent video that is freely available.
The lack of recognition creates additional risk as it is highly contagious. The risk to children is more frequently discussed, yet adults with chronic respiratory conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are 3. 5-4 times more likely to contract it. Individuals with asthma and COPD can experience significant consequences from infection, including a 40-75% greater risk of hospitalization.
As global communities, we return to normal activities and respiratory illness rates have increased, it is vital to take precautions. Immunization is essential for all ages. Adults can protect themselves and those more vulnerable to illnesses like pertussis by ensuring they are up to date. Nurses can help ensure everyone has protection. Vaccination can help reduce the impact on individuals, public health, and global healthcare systems under tremendous pressure.
The World Health Organization recommends countries using the Tdap vaccine implement other strategies, including additional booster vaccination to prevent a resurgence and preventable mortality2. It is crucial for nurses to be aware of this respiratory illness. Pertussis has a significant risk for newborns, infants, and at-risk populations. Ensure patients are up to date with vaccine schedules, are aware of symptoms, and early identification and treatment can help address this resurgent challenge.
References
1Saeidpour, A., Bansal, S. & Rohani, P. Dissecting recurrent waves of pertussis across the boroughs of London. PLOS Comput. Biol. 18, e1009898 (2022).
2Barnby, E. & Reynolds, M. Pertussis Resurgence: School Nurses as a Safety Net for Children. NASN Sch. Nurse 33, 272–278 (2018).
3Signs and Symptoms of Whooping Cough (Pertussis) | CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/about/signs-symptoms.html (2022).
May 19, 2022
Clinical Trials Day 2022: Recognizing the Role of Nurses in Advancing Public Health
Clinical Trials Day is an opportunity to highlight the critical part nurses play in research and clinical trials. It is easy to imagine the role of a nurse in the hospital. However, our profession works in many places. Nurses work in hospitals, home care, elder care, primary care, schools, and research roles supporting clinical trials, among many other roles.
Seeing the challenges of illness, the need for behavioural interventions and other conditions of patients cause nurses to come up with innovative ideas for solutions or to join in research to address these challenges. A meaningful way for those innovations to move forward is through clinical research.
Ricardo Ferreira, Ph.D. and a nurse in the Nursing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), shared his experience with clinical trials. He worked as a nurse in a surgical department before becoming a research coordinator, which started his experience with clinical trials. Working in research taught him about the different methods for study design and the different scales and global nature of clinical trials. Richard highlights nurses' essential roles in connecting patients to trials and informing them about the study design to keep them engaged and participating
Sabina De Geest, Ph.D. and Professor of Nursing, University of Basel (Switzerland) and & KU-Leuven (Belgium), underscores the importance of nurses in clinical trials. Patients’ trust in nurses and their connection make them a key contributor to clinical trials. Patients often communicate things to nurses they might not otherwise share with the research team. Nurses also understand patients’ daily lives and can help with protocols implemented in real-world settings.
Ani Kerr RN BSN highlights that participation of patients is key for innovation. Their involvement helps launch new products, medications and devices. Nurse’s cultivate trust to ensure their needs are met and they are able to take part.
In an era that faces a global pandemic and many vital issues challenging health, the role of nurses in clinical trials needs to be recognized and celebrated.
If you are interested in nurses' role in research, clinical trials, innovation and leadership, please follow Connecting Nurses on LinkedIn and Twitter (@ConnectingNurses). To see more information about clinical trials, you can explore research studies that are currently active through resources like EU Clinical Trial Registry, Sanofi Studies, and ClinicalTrials.Gov.
May 12, 2022
International Nurses Day 2022: A Voice to Lead: Science, Innovation and Health
In 2020 we held the year the international year of the nurse. A year meant to elevate the role and profile of the nurse was soon challenged by a global pandemic, which indeed highlighted the critical role of nurses in health care. 2021 became the year of the vaccine, as science and research have given us more effective tools for fighting COVID. The theme for 2022's International Nurses Day is Voice to Lead.
At Connecting Nurses, we have been highlighting the role of nurses as trusted health professionals with a history of innovation, research and leadership. On International Nurses Day, we wanted to highlight two nurses using their knowledge, skill and experience to protect patients' health through vacations.
José Antonio Forcado, RN, is the President of the National Association of Nursing and Vaccines in Spain. In this short video, he shares insights into how they achieved high (70-75%) vaccination rates in their population by engaging patients across the lifespan—highlighting preventative health care as a primary tool in nursing.
Inmaculada Cuesta Esteve RN is the Nurse and Secretary of the National Association of Nursing and Vaccines in Spain. Using the latest research, Inmaculada shares how co-administration allows nurses to provide higher protection without increasing post-vaccination issues.
Inmaculada Cuesta Esteve RN is the Nurse and Secretary of the National Association of Nursing and Vaccines in Spain. Using the latest research, Inmaculada shares how co-administration allows nurses to provide higher protection without increasing post-vaccination issues.
As a global community, we have learned that health and health care are continually evolving. Nurses have a role in being on the frontlines of care to help lead research and innovation and translate the evolving science to help patients improve their quality of life.
Please Follow Connecting Nurses on LinkedIn and Twitter (@ConnectingNurses) to see more profiles of nurses involved in research, innovation and leadership.
March 23, 2022
Nurses are innovating and learning what works
Every nurse naturally learns to problem solve. No matter what setting, every patient has unique needs and issues that need adaptive responses. Fortunately, many nurses share how their ideas and learn to spread those solutions.
The Nurse Innovator Index provides a great resource to see many inventions and initiatives of nurses. Nurses are many new and vital contributions to patient health from pediatrics to elderly care populations across the health care continuum.
The database ranges from a nurse in 1956 noticing the benefits of light therapy treating jaundiced infants to a nurse making apps today to help children prepare for surgery. Nurses understand patients' needs from the many hours of looking after patients in hospitals, the community and their homes.
Connecting Nurses focuses on highlighting examples of positive nurse impacts, and innovation is a meaningful way they do that. If you have examples of nurse innovations or research making patient care better, please reach out so we can help share the passion and ideas of nurses.
February 23, 2022
The public trusts nurses even more during challenging times
Nurses reputation is strong because of the important role we play in health systems across and our creative problem solving to address challenges our patients face. Many countries continue to see surges in COVID19 variants putting pressure on our profession and health care systems. This has a tremendous impact on our patients who are seeking to care. The Future Of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting A Path to Achieve Health Equity recognizes that nurses working in all settings are key to helping achieve better health for all. In 2022, Connecting Nurses will continue to highlight the positive impact nurses have across the care continuum.
January 17, 2022
Nurses, talk with your patients about clinical trials!
New treatments and interventions that benefit patients are developed through clinical trials.
It has been shown that patients enrolled in clinical trials have better outcomes, in part due to them playing a more active part in managing their health. Clinical trials also give patients access to new therapeutic developments.
However, lack of awareness and misconceptions reduce patient enrolment in trials. Studies show that that many patients would have been willing to participate in a trial if they had known about it.
People look to their nurses for guidance and information to make decisions about their health. We are uniquely placed to assist patients to access information and to weigh up the risks and benefits before engaging in a trial.
Read the information and the studies shared by the Australian government as to why and how you can help patients make informed decisions to participate in clinical trials.
November 9, 2021
Patients’ Perspective of Attending Nursing Consultations
A chronic disease means having to manage challenges in everyday life while striving day-in, day-out to manage one’s health and care regimen.
Patients with chronic disease and their nurses have long been convinced that scheduled time with the nurse allows the patient to work out what is important for them and to find ways to adapt and manage their lives with chronic disease.
In this pilot and feasibility study by Jyette Graarup and Ida Elisabeth Højskov, the results show that scheduled patient-centred nurse consultations make sense for the patients. Patients found the interventions to be both meaningful and useful in managing their lives with their chronic disease.
The study took place with people with advanced lung and heart failure. As an answer to requests by patients to avail of a space of freedom, nursing consultations were set up. This necessitated planning for and providing scheduled time with the nurse.
The consultations were patient-centred, based on the framework outlined by Rosemarie Parse. The nurses used open-ended questions allowing the patients to reflect on and define their health and experiences. The scheduled time with the nurse was described by patients as a confidential moment to deal with their disease and its challenges and to find a new normality in everyday life.
You can read the full study here.
May 13, 2021
Retrospective International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020 by The International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth and International SOS
Just ahead of International Nurses’ Day on May 12th, The International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH) and International SOS have published their retrospective report on a year during which nurses demonstrated their skills and engagement for better health and care for people worldwide.
The ISfTeH Telenursing Working Group envisions nurses extending their reach through technology and improving the quality of healthcare delivery worldwide.
In parallel, the ISfTeH Working Group on Women develops actions to support and promote the role of women in the areas of telemedicine and eHealth in the world.
International SOS provides medical and travel risk insurance. Nurses make up a large part of their global workforce and use telehealth extensively.
In the report you will find:
-A view on what COVID-19 means for digital health among nurses & midwives
-Nursing and telehealth: the role of nurses
-Commentaries on behalf of the International Council of Nurses and Nursing Now
-Stories from the frontline (contributions from ISfTeH members and International SOS staff)
-References of papers published in the Journal of the International Society for Telemedicine & eHealth (JISfTeH) by nurses and midwives
-Women and nursing resources from the WeObservatory (The Women Observatory for eHealth)
-Papers from the JISfTeH Special Theme Issue on Telehealth in Nursing (2020).
You can access the retrospective here
April 12, 2021
Nurse-Led Vaccination
The Covid-19 pandemic still affects the lives of millions of people, but vaccination is bringing hope. While the availability and distribution of vaccines are major issues worldwide, the rollout of effective vaccination can be managed using nurse-led mass vaccination centres in populated areas.
Nurses have spent 2020 upskilling themselves, including preparation for vaccination.
Nurses worldwide are already to the forefront of mass vaccination efforts for other diseases in schools and primary care settings.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian College of Nursing, Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN stipulates that “Nurses need to be at the centre of any mass vaccination model.”
Read about the position of the Australian College of Nursing here
March 25, 2021
Nursing leadership in a time of crisis
In the last year, many voices have been raised to make known the essential role of nurses in healthcare leadership and to demand a greater number of seats for nurses at policy-making level.
We have seen nurses get this seat, such as Susan Orsega, an advanced nurse practitioner who has been named Surgeon General in the United States.
Programs are being rolled out with the aim of developing high-level leadership skills for nurses working at healthcare policy level, such as the Global Nursing Leadership Institute under the auspices of the International Council of Nurses.
But what about all the nurses who are practicing leadership in clinical settings?
What are the skills needed by these clinical nurse leaders during the crisis we are living through with the Covid19 pandemic?
Clinical nurse leaders need vision and values that are clearly perceivable. Leading by example is a great way of showing these.
They must be good at communicating with their teams and that includes listening.
Caring for staff, who are incredibly stressed, is absolutely essential. Team members need emotional support to face the challenges of caring for patients and their families during the pandemic.
Here at Connecting Nurses, we found this article in the Nursing Times (UK) to be very helpful in providing practical guidance for better leadership for nurses.
Read more here
March 1, 2021
Looking back on 2020, The International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife
2020 was to be the year that highlighted the need to support and develop nursing and midwifery practice and leadership, to help achieve the goal of Health For All. But the Covid19 pandemic meant that it didn't go as planned.
Nursing Now highlights how nurses and midwives around the world rose to the challenge of caring for people, their families and communities, while often struggling to access basic PPE and equipment. A terrible toll has been paid by nurses and healthcare workers.
The complexities of managing the care of patients with Covid19 have been to the forefront of the media. This had brought recognition of the essential role of nurses and midwives, who provide leadership and coordination as well as direct patient care.
Let's continue highlighting nursing practice and leadership in 2021, designated Year of Health and Care Workers by the World Health Organization.
Read more here
November 14, 2020
Connecting Nurses celebrates #WorldDiabetesDay
This year, #WorldDiabetesDay is praising the role #nurses play in disease management, focusing on promoting the role of nurses in the prevention and management of diabetes. Learn more on
Nurses currently account for over half of the global health workforce
They do outstanding work to support people living with a wide range of health concerns
As the number of people with diabetes continues to rise across the world
The role of nurses becomes increasingly important in managing the impact of the condition and support patient empowerment.
Reference:
Nursing and midwifery. WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery. Accessed November 2020.
July 23, 2020
Nurses, midwives : discover a new guide published by Millennia 2025 to facilitate discussions related to the influenza vaccine
For Nurses and Midwives, it is important to know how to talk about vaccination: what to say, how to answer questions about Flu, where to find websites and material to share with people and patients, how and when to leverage social media.
Discover the new guide published by Millennia 2025 here
Previous News
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EUROPEAN ONCOLOGY NURSES SOCIETY STRENGTHENING EQUALITY IN HEALTHCARE AWARD 2020 |
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Investing in a stronger nursing workforce is essential for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). This is the message delivered by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his surprise appearance before the 2019 Congress of the International Council of Nurses. “We simply cannot achieve universal health coverage and the health-related targets in the Sustainable Development Goals unless we empower and equip nurses and midwives, and harness their power,” insisted Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Follow the link for https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/dr-tedros-calls-for-investment-in-nurses-highlights-wha-2020-focus-on-nurses-midwives/ for the full article featured in Health Policy Watch. |
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International Nurses Day 2019 on May 12th puts the focus on Nursing Leadership and Health for All |
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You are invited to read and share the advocacy document https://www.afdet.net/20-idees-pour-reinventer-letp/ 20 ideas organized in 5 main axes
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Persons with diabetes can contract influenza-related symptoms from individuals who have not been vaccinated. Watch this video and click on this link to learn more |
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1 patient sur 5 subit une deuxième crise cardiaque en moins d'un an. Parler à un proche après une crise cardiaque peut réduire le risque d’un second événement. Votre soutien peut faire toute la différence. Aidez ceux qui sont touchés à votre manière en partageant des contenus sur les réseaux sociaux. |
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Did you know that your at-risk patients can contract influenza-related symptoms from individuals who have not been vaccinated? And, that getting vaccinated is their best defense against influenza? The Influenza Diabetes Community is offering exclusive Healthcare Professional education to the Global Nursing Community. |
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Poster presented by the Connecting Nurses Team (Donna Rice,RN and Lisa Egbuonu-Davis, MD) at AADE show that “Nurse delivered interventions resulted in improved outcomes for all methods of education delivery”. |
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"Heart Attack: Help your patients memorize the list of Heart Attack Symptoms and warning signs, with key contacts to keep into wallet in case of emergency". |
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Contribute to our survey "Managing Patients with Diabetes & Hypercholesterolemia" and the importance of Flu Vaccination for chronic patients. The objective of this survey is to understand how nurses manage patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions. Just click here to share your experience. |
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Nurses are among the most valuable resources in healthcare systems worldwide. |
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My health passport
Successfully launched at ICN congress in Barcelona June 2017(Spain) “My health passport” was created for people who have a history of heart problems that may be related to elevated levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol and helps open discussion with your HCP for better self-management of bad cholesterol.