The NES annual conference 2025: registration closes soon

The NES annual conference 2025: registration closes soon

The NES annual conference 2025 is fast approaching, and registration is closing soon!

Taking place on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 April, this year's theme is "Learning for Change: Tackling Health Inequity through Education and Workplace Learning".

This online conference is for colleagues from all professional disciplines across health and social care with an interest in education and training, workforce development and digital solutions.

Join plenary and parallel sessions run by all professional groups with an opportunity for joint sessions highlighting interprofessional learning.

These include:

Raising voices, raising standards: holding space for the midwives of the future

Student midwives are the future of the midwifery profession. Join us to explore the challenges faced by student midwives, including mental health struggles and financial pressures. These obstacles can lead to lower university application rates, attrition and burnout before even entering the workforce, ultimately impacting the quality of care provided to maternity service users.

In this session, we will look at student representation, the importance of building supportive communities through university societies, and the creation of additional learning opportunities that complement the curriculum. Discover how these strategies can provide a protective barrier against the challenges faced by student midwives, positively impacting the future workforce.

Universities, health boards and external organisations play a key role in supporting student led groups which foster empathetic, mindful and compassionate spaces. Caring for students is the first step in developing a service that cares for its employees and consequently, its users.

Anti-racism in social work

Racism should not exist in social work, but it does. It is experienced in both employment and educational settings – from colleagues, managers and people who use services, impacting negatively on the health, wellbeing and career paths of social workers from minority ethnic groups.

In this session, you will hear about Social Work’s Anti-Racism Statement of Intent and Action Plan, highlighting the essential role each of us plays in fostering change. We need strong leadership to challenge and change policies, practices, beliefs, and behaviours that unfairly disadvantage minority ethnic social workers.

Iriss will also share findings from a nationwide anti-racism survey for social work that informs this work. It aims to uncover the extent of the issue, its impact on people and identify what meaningful actions should be undertaken.

Development of accessible short animations to demonstrate best practice in transfusion practice

Transfusion Associated Circulatory Overload (TACO) remains a major cause of transfusion-related morbidity and mortality. The number of TACO cases reported to SHOT in 2023 is the highest to date; despite this, it is likely that cases remain under-reported, indicating a health inequality.

We invite you to join our session, where we will tackle this by focusing on the gaps in education and training regarding TACO Risk Assessment and recognition. Our goal is to improve patient outcomes through better awareness and understanding.

Could the concept of specific, scenario-based, 5-minute animations be developed, without an external budget?

The conference is sponsored by NES, and there will be no charge for participation.

Find out more on our NES annual conference website and register today!