As the season’s festivities are well underway, it’s hard to believe that this time last year we were still facing such a lot of certainty over the Covid pandemic. Now, 12 months on, our lives are feeling more normal with holidays, catching up with friends and even attending meetings face to face and with colleagues outside our own hospitals or even across our borders.
Of course, at work there is much work to be done at the other side of the pandemic. Colleagues across Europe are experiencing enormous pressures in their units due to shortages of nurses and now more than ever it’s important to look after staff, encourage engagement and to increase access to educational opportunities, not just online, but supporting nurses to get out there, be in the room, meet each other and share practice and experiences.
This year, the EBMT Nurses Group is proud and grateful to have enjoyed global collaborations working across the European continent and beyond. One of our great achievements closer to home was our own EBMT NG educational meeting in collaboration with the Belgian Society of Haematology Nurses Group for our first face to face meeting since 2019, in Brussels. It was wonderful to get together once again. We have also made great strides to look to the future and welcome our first 'Next Generation' Nurse representative, Daniel Kisielewski and congratulate Maiike de Ruijter in her new role as Working Party Lead nurse.
Looking towards 2023, we will publish the 2nd edition of The EBMT Textbook for Nurses at the Annual meeting in Paris. Like the first edition, it will be free to download and has a whole new chapter on cell therapy and lots of other updated content. For the first time, this will be more accessible with full French translation. Look out also for news of our podcast series due to launch towards the end of January.
All these achievements and more, could not be possible without the dedication, enthusiasm and vision of the EBMT team, the Nurse’s Group board and committee members and Working Party nurses. Thank you for your incredible commitment, creativity and fantastic teamwork. I would also like to that all those members that have participated in our events this year either as speakers or attendees and especially our patient and advocacy speakers from who we learn so much. We hope you continue to share the work of the EBMT Nurses Group and EBMT Society enabling us to deliver our mission to improve the care of our patients through evidence-based practice and to enhance and value the nursing role worldwide by supporting and sharing knowledge through communication, advocacy, research, training and education. Ultimately, we want to deliver in the areas of greatest need. If you have any suggestions for areas or topics we could focus our education or direct our resources, do please get in touch.
We couldn't say farewell to 2022, without acknowledging the challenges and hardship experienced by health professionals around the globe and especially our Ukrainian colleagues. Their spirit and tenacity is truly admirable. We are delighted that two Ukrainian nurses will join us in Paris next year after being awarded a special meeting grant along with our other grant and award recipients.
As we look towards the coming weeks, I wish that you all have some well-deserved rest, and have chance to spend time with family, friends and loved ones. I hope 2023 brings health and happiness with new opportunities and successes
On behalf of the EBMT Nurses Group, I wish you all festive wishes, a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Michelle Kenyon
EBMT Nurses Group President
