March 2009 Second International Nursing Conference at NUI Galway

Over 200 delegates are expected to attend NUI Galway's 2nd International Nursing and Midwifery Conference from 6-7 April. The event, 'Building and Promoting Excellence in Practice', is organised by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway, and will give healthcare workers an opportunity to share their experiences of clinical care and research. The conference will provide a forum for debate around issues concerning the promotion of excellence in practice and will focus on five main themes: Chronic Illness; Older People; Maternity Care and Women's Health; Community and Population Health; and Teaching and Learning Practice. According to Professor Kathy Murphy of NUI Galway's School of Nursing and Midwifery: "Continuous learning and professional development is an integral part of the nursing profession. The opportunity for nurses to come together to discuss best practice is vital in the face of the new research, demanding protocols and HR constraints. Thoughtful practice is at the heart of making a difference and this conference supports this approach by providing an opportunity to share ideas, research and innovations". The conference will feature many national and international speakers with a keynote address by Dr Loretta Sweet Jemmott opening the conference. Dr Jemmott, from the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, will deliver a paper on 'How Research has Informed Effectiveness of HIV Education and how it is Delivered'. Dr Jemmott has been involved in a number of research projects focusing on designing and testing culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate, and theory-based strategies to reduce HIV risk- associated sexual behaviours. Along with her husband, Dr John B. Jemmott III, she has secured extensive funding of $92.5 million to conduct HIV risk-reduction trials in various settings, including schools, community based organisations, housing developments, clinical settings, and churches. 'Sexuality and Nursing Practice; Unveiling the Elephant' will be the subject of a presentation by Professor Agnes Higgins, Associate Professor in Mental Health Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin. Professor Higgins will discuss the often ignored issue of sexuality and mental health, and the resulting challenges in a healthcare setting. Professor Mike Clarke, Director of the UK Cochrane Centre and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford will discuss 'Evidence for Evidence Based Practice Research and Reality'. Professor Clarke works on more than twenty systematic reviews across a wide range of areas of health care, in particular breast cancer. The School of Nursing and Midwifery offers a range of postgraduate nursing courses which are taught entirely through blended learning requiring only 12 days of face-to-face teaching per year. Programmes include Intensive Care, Accident and Emergency, Orthopaedics and Gerontology. Full or part-time options are available as well as the option of studying individual postgraduate modules, which may be built up to an entire programme over time. For more information on the conference visit www.nursingmidwifery.ie -Ends-