The Association for Respiratory Nurses (ARNS) recent annual conference – ‘Finding the path to Respiratory Integration – provided a packed agenda. It is the only conference nationally that is organised by nurses, for nurses specialising in respiratory care. Emma Vincent relates the conference highlights.

Picture: SPL

We were honoured to welcome the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for England, Jane Cummings, along with passionate speakers from primary, secondary and palliative care. It was possibly one of our strongest programmes to date.

The CNO keynote speech highlighted the collective value and power that nurses have to improve patient experience in closing quality of care gaps. There was debate on how we achieve and prove sustainable, integrated respiratory care. Secondary, primary and palliative nurses discussed the importance of collaboration and engagement with one another when supporting the more isolated respiratory services within social and community care.

Professor Cummings introduced the new national framework for nursing ‘Leading Change, Adding Value’ and explained how the 10 Commitments applied to specialist nurses like ourselves. She encouraged us to seek our own confidence to lead change, within all of our varied places of practice. “As specialist nurses you have the expert knowledge and power to encourage the positive momentum of change” she said. “Locally within your communities and areas of practice, you know what your patients need”. Many ARNS members gave examples during the conference of how they were already achieving this, with integrated smoking cessation services, outreach ambulatory care teams and the development of culturally sensitive patient information to aid the understanding of breathlessness. There were many exciting examples of respiratory community innovations in development.

ARNS offers bursaries to assist towards course fees, attending a respiratory conference or the purchase of nursing books. We also have a travel scholarship available of up to £3000 to identify best practice in the UK or overseas to improve respiratory patient care in the UK.

ARNS membership is free and you can find more at www.arns.co.uk

Emma Vincent

Interstitial Lung Disease Nurse, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester

Member of the ARNS Executive Committee.

PHC Editorial Advisory Board member.