A few years ago, Sigma’s European Region was looking for new ways to support our members in their academic and clinical careers. We wanted to reach out to our members who are in the process of undertaking their PhDs, to give them the opportunity in a low-key environment to present their work, get academic advice from fellow academics in the region, and to share their experiences in nursing research.
It is important for PhD researchers to have the opportunity to present their work to a wide professional audience. It provides the experience of presenting, but also the opportunity to pick the brains of fellow researchers, which can help further stages of research. Presenting also brings the opportunity to network with other researchers and (future) colleagues. A conference for PhD researchers would provide these opportunities.
Due to geographic constraints, financial implications, and work agendas, it was proposed that we look into a virtual event/activity. This was to test whether a virtual format was feasible, interesting for participants, and easy to use for all. It was also important to find out if we had listened to our members and analyzed the evaluations correctly. Was a PhD conference in Europe something that our members would engage and participate in? Could we make our virtual conference highly interactive, looking and feeling a lot like an in-person event?
The strengths of a virtual approach are many. For example, it allows for accessibility to a wider audience, which in turn brings with it a rich, diverse contribution to the world of nursing research. It was important to us that it provided the option to scale up or down depending on the circumstances. Through virtual conferencing applications (e.g., live messaging), it’s possible to recreate the question and answer sessions normally associated with academic conferences in the physical world. Attendees can type their question, with speakers responding in real time. Polls and other interactive tools can be used including a chat facility so attendees can network with each other. For our endeavour, it was particularly important that attendees felt they were joining in the virtual conference and were not just observers. A major benefit of a virtual conference is that after each session, all data can be downloaded and analyzed. This means that you have an automatic record of all interaction without the need for any recording or transcription.
This formula proved to be very successful for us, and since 2015, a free virtual conference for PhD researchers has been organized by the European Membership Involvement Committee.
PhD Connect allows European Sigma members a chance to present part of their thesis in a five-minute presentation, followed by a five-minute discussion, led by moderators with a background knowledge in the topic. At the moment, the conference has a threshold which makes it possible for PhD researchers in all stages of their career to participate. The abstracts of their presentations are peer-reviewed, and everyone who submitted an abstract receives written feedback. The blind reviewers provide feedback on the abstract sent in and also during the afternoon program.
Themed oral presentation sessions are made to ensure that abstracts and authors get the most out of their experiences by presenting their topic side-by-side and networking. The latter is considered very important to the overall aim of the event. It is also intended to spark the sharing of ideas and building of new collaborations.
Afterwards, the PhD candidates can update their abstracts before we publish in Research Gate or in the Sigma Repository.
Each year, PhD Connect is hosted by a different chapter in the region, reflecting a broad united European approach. For 2020, the Netherlands is hosting the 6th PhD Connect titled “Transforming the Impact of Nursing on Global Healthcare Following in the Footsteps of Nightingale.” Since it is the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and the centenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, this was considered an apt title and a broad enough topic to appeal to all members in Europe. Around the world, health systems are increasingly stretched. System constraints such as fragmented models of service delivery are focused on curative care and based on hospitals and single diseases; a lack of engagement and empowerment of people and communities in looking after their own health. Also, insufficient and misaligned funding are taking a toll on frontline care providers who suffer from moral distress making them increasingly unable to provide quality, people-centred care to patients.
On the afternoon of 18 November 2020, the only place to be virtually is with Sigma Europe at PhD Connect! It is open to all Sigma members who would like to attend and listen to the research. If you would like to learn more or submit your abstract, send an email to stti.membershipinvolvementeu@gmail.com!
Marie-Louise Luiking, MA, RN, is a researcher and PhD candidate at Leiden University in Leiden, Netherlands. She is a member of Sigma’s Rho Chi at-Large Chapter in the Netherlands and serves as the European Regional Coordinator.