Inaugural Nursing Live Hailed As Huge Success
Thousands attend RCNi’s new event focused on the professional and personal development of all nursing staff.
Delegates, exhibitors, sponsors and keynote speakers have hailed RCNi’s new Nursing Live show - which was hosted at Exhibition Centre Liverpool (November 10th and 11th) - as a huge success.
The first show of its kind in the UK, Nursing Live brought together thousands of professionals from across the nursing and healthcare sectors to enjoy two days of expert presentations, discussion panels, clinical demonstrations, and high quality CPD sessions. In addition, it featured a comprehensive programme of self-care and well-being workshops, together with a wide selection of leisure and lifestyle content.
In total, the event featured over 100 individual talks and masterclasses - many of which were heavily oversubscribed - which covered all aspects of nursing and wider healthcare disciplines. Participants included some of nursing’s most senior leaders and influential policymakers such as Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for England; Sue Tranka, CNO for Wales; and Anne Armstrong, Deputy CNO Designate for Scotland.
They were joined by the Royal College of Nursing’s Chief Nurse, Professor Nicola Ranger, and Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Executive and Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
As well as bringing senior nursing leaders together to debate key issues and policy, Nursing Live featured some of the sector’s most respected frontline practitioners, such as Nicola Bailey OBE (RCN Nurse of the Year 2021), and Ana Waddington (RCN Nurse of the Year 2020).
With dedicated workshops offering guidance on personal mental and physical health, the well-being of nurses was a core theme running throughout Nursing Live. This was complemented by an extensive range of accredited CPD masterclasses covering topics as diverse as equality and inclusion, safeguarding, leadership, medicine management, and innovation.
Recruitment opportunities, and exploring different nursing career pathways, were also highlighted, with many exhibitors using Nursing Live to meet prospective employees, and promote live vacancies.
In sharp contrast to other nursing events, Nursing Live was also a place where delegates could relax, be pampered, and enjoy themselves. Leading health and beauty brands, including Kiehl’s, Clarins, Estee Lauder and ESPA, were on hand to treat visitors to free makeovers, massages, and other treatments. Collinge & Co, the famous Liverpool-based hair and beauty chain, were also present, undertaking a styling demonstration on the main stage designed especially for nurses.
Nursing Live’s sponsors also played an active role in shaping the event’s programme. Headline sponsor AstraZeneca facilitated a series of industry-leading symposia focused on Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM), and other clinical conditions.
Health education provider FuturU, who sponsored Nursing Live’s Learning & Development Zone, supported several presentations based on the importance of lifelong learning.
And LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare, who sponsored Nursing Live’s Compassion Café, hosted workshops dedicated to dealing with the impact of compassion fatigue.
There were laughs too. The celebrated poet, author and broadcaster, Michael Rosen, used his keynote address to turn a deeply personal account of his near death Covid experience into a funny and uplifting celebration of the nursing profession, while the ‘pop-up’ Nursing Live Choir - which was sponsored by Liverpool John Moores University, brought a smile to everyone’s face with a mash-up of classic pop, soul and rock tunes, to help close the event.
Katherina Breen, RCNi’s Head of Commercial, said “From presentations about the importance of self-care to debates about new NHS uniforms, the feedback we’ve had from delegates, senior nurse leaders, sponsors, and exhibitors, is that the first ever Nursing Live event has been a massive success. Its unique blend of career-boosting professional development provision, insightful thought leadership, personal well-being support and lifestyle content, designed specifically for nurses, has filled a huge gap in the healthcare events sector.”
“To see such a diverse range of packed-out speaker sessions, and such an eclectic mix of exhibitors and sponsors, also demonstrates that nursing is not a generic, one-size-fits all profession. It’s a dynamic and multifaceted sector with an influence that extends far beyond the hospital ward, care home, and GP surgery.
“The success of this first Nursing Live, both in terms of the value it has added to the nursing community and its impressive commercial performance, has seen us already commit to hosting it in Liverpool again next year.”
RCNi, who produced Nursing Live, is a digital health information company which supports best practice in the nursing profession. Wholly-owned by the Royal College Nursing, it publishes 11 peer-reviewed nursing and healthcare publications, including Nursing Standard, and hosts over 25 national and regional nursing events every year.