In 2017, I convened with almost 1,400 nurses and midwives from across the globe for Sigma’s 28th International Nursing Research Congress in Dublin, Ireland. I posted in my blog how much I love the country and the people. Ireland has long been known for its friendliness and hospitality. In a recent travel review, Dublin was ranked one of the friendliest countries in Europe. So, I was thrilled for the opportunity to visit the city again for Sigma’s 6th Biennial European Regional Conference.* I planned to immerse myself in the culture while learning more about sustainable health systems and services. One meal I looked forward to enjoying was traditional Irish fish and chips. Fish and chips are only available for takeaway from Dublin’s oldest “Chipper” in the Christchurch area.
Fish and chips weren’t my only takeaway from Dublin. As I reflect on my time at the conference, there were many learning opportunities to enhance my professional growth and broaden my perspective. These are my top five takeaways from the European Regional Conference:
- It’s a small world. In speaking to nurse leaders from multiple countries, we share many of the same values, goals, and challenges. As one speaker noted, “Nurses everywhere want to improve lives.” I was also struck by the similar challenges facing nurses, including burnout and fatigue, lack of critical resources, nursing shortages and nurse migration, concerns for the health impacts of climate change, and a shared view that the voices of nurses are too often excluded from high-level healthcare decision making. We commonly felt that nurses are uniquely equipped to improve the world’s health and should increasingly be given opportunities to influence healthcare delivery and policies at all levels. We celebrated progress made.
- Membership has its privileges. Networking with Sigma nurses who are making a difference to patient outcomes and to our profession was a reminder of why I maintain my membership year after year. I want to be a part of something bigger than myself. In her opening remarks, Sigma CEO Liz Madigan provided an update of what’s happening at our headquarters. I was reminded of many of the resources available to us as Sigma members, such as the Advocacy Certificate Program, research grant opportunities, upcoming conferences, and numerous Sigma academies. I recently completed the Oral Health Equity Training and received my free supplies to bring brighter smiles to children in my community. And, as a current UN Liaison for Sigma, I am particularly excited about the new Global Advocacy Virtual Mini Academy, developed and taught by former UN Liaisons.
- We’re all in this together. The conference theme of Sustainability in Partnership focused on sustaining our workforce and our planet. As noted in the conference description, nurses are at the forefront of addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I attended the Environmental Health and Nurses Climate Challenge Workshop which aligns with SDG 13, Climate Action. Healthcare systems contribute almost 5% of the world’s greenhouse gasses emissions. To reduce our carbon footprint, we all need to do our part to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Sigma European Regional Coordinator Liz Westcott suggested that if we’re all “slightly more clever” today than we were yesterday in our sustainability efforts, we will make an impact. I was reminded that while recycling is good, reducing what we use in the first place is better. Small actions by a lot of people make a big difference. Sarah Scanlon, Climate Officer for Children’s Health of Ireland and one of the workshop facilitators, has a dream that every Sigma nurse would do just one small action each week to protect our planet. I did the math. That would add up to more than 7,020,000 climate actions in one year.
- The SDGs are interconnected. Advancing all the SDGs is critical to promoting better health and well-being worldwide. In my presentation on vaccine equity, I talked about the interconnections between vaccines and many of the SDGs. Advocating for vaccine equity is part of reducing inequalities worldwide (SDG 10). Access to vaccines contributes to good health and well-being (SDG 3), which allows children to go to school (SDG 4) and prepare for the workforce, and economic growth (SDG 8), which decreases poverty (SDG 1). Gavi, a global Vaccine Alliance, links vaccinations to 14 of the 17 SDGs. Currently, one in five children around the world lacks access to routine vaccines. In some countries, vaccine coverage for COVID-19 is still less than 2% of the population, which means nurses are working on the frontlines without access to immunizations.
- Be Bold. In his keynote presentation, Sigma President Ken Dion reminded us all to be bold in our actions. To influence better health for everyone, everywhere, nurses must be fluent in economics and decision-making science, be ready to engage with technology, and be leaders in practicing and promoting conservation of our resources. Nurses must step outside of our siloes to collaborate with others and be heard when healthcare decisions are made.
Be sure to save the date for the 7th Biennial European Regional Conference, 25-28 June 2024, at the University of Bournemouth in Bournemouth, United Kingdom.
*This event was hosted by Sigma’s Europe Region and Omega Epsilon at-Large Chapter.
Janice E. Hawkins, PhD, RN, Clinical Associate Professor and Undergraduate Departmental Adviser at Old Dominion University School of Nursing in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, is a retired Army nurse. In addition to being a Sigma UN Liaison, she is a member of Sigma’s Epsilon Chi Chapter at Old Dominion University.