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The head of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, Gemma Stacey, who has more than 20 years of experience in the educational and practical field of nursing, has opened the international FINE conference 'Nursing Education for a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities', which It is celebrated today and tomorrow at the Sant Cugat Campus of UIC Barcelona.

Stacey has insisted that "a change is needed in education to attract new generations" to this discipline.

The opening day also included the intervention of Carme Planas, Director of Nursing Care of the Catalan Health System, who highlighted the political commitment "to contribute with solutions that allow us to respond to the challenges of the nursing profession and achieve the objectives that arise".

The Congress brings together educators, clinicians and students, who debate the future of nursing education in Europe from a sustainability perspective.

Barcelona, ​​March 21, 2024.- Experts in nursing education and practice have opted to promote educational environments with critical thinking in nursing studies with the aim of enhancing leadership among future professionals, within the framework of the international congress FINE' Nursing Education for a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities', which takes place today and tomorrow at the Sant Cugat Campus of UIC Barcelona.

The congress brings together national and international experts who will mainly address the actions of the European Union related to healthcare personnel, the future of nursing education, as well as the challenges and opportunities of this professional field.

In her speech, the deputy general director of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, Gemma Stacey, who has more than 20 years of experience in the educational and practical field of nursing, highlighted the need for "a change in education to be able to attract to new generations to this discipline".

Stacey, who was in charge of opening the presentations, pointed out that in a world "as complex and volatile" as the current one, "a change of lens" in training is necessary so that students "can respond proactively." In order to enhance this leadership, the specialist has stated that, first of all, it is necessary for teachers to "be in constant learning" and to offer students "a new framework, an environment in which leadership can develop in a different way." as it was done before, when everything was based on figures.

Humanism and resistance, keys to leading.

In his opinion, training should be based on pillars such as "promoting safety so that nurses can motivate and act collaboratively with their teams" or "teaching them to create environments of psychological safety where they can learn calmly, without fear of failure". "Humanism and resistance are key in nursing leadership," she added.

For her part, the director of FINE, Cécile Dury, has highlighted that the challenges in nursing education "are many" and has expressed confidence that the congress "will contribute to finding solutions" to be able to continue advancing "in training of quality".

Along the same lines, the vice-rector for Academic Organization and Teaching Staff at UIC Barcelona and researcher at the Department of Nursing of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cristina Monforte, has made it clear that nursing "is one of the degrees most committed to improvement of training", after remembering that in few academic disciplines "there is such a great link between the academic and practical worlds".

Likewise, the director of the Nursing Department at UIC Barcelona, ​​Encarna Rodríguez, has highlighted UIC Barcelona's commitment to nursing leadership "in times of change and adaptation" that pose challenges as important as "the shortage of professionals due to their migration to the foreign". "We must try to make the new generations fall in love with it so that they become part of this profession," she added.

The director of Nursing Care of the Catalan Health System, Carme Planas, also spoke on the opening day, stating that "nursing professionals are key in the transformation of the health system and in decision-making." According to Planes, "investing in education will increase the status of the profession and conferences like FINE are a great opportunity to exchange ideas and put proposals on the table."

Throughout these two days, Daniela Lehwaldt, professor at the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health at Dublin City University (Ireland); Maya Matthews, Deputy Director and Head of Unit responsible for the Health Sector in the EU (Belgium); Adela Zabalegui, deputy director of nursing research and teaching at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (Spain); and Maria Filomena Mendes, Coordinator of the ESEL (Lisbon Higher School of Nursing) and Vice President of the FINE.

More information about the FINE congress.

Marta González Martinez.

Head of Communication for the Sant Cugat Campus.

T. 34 935 042 000. Ext: 5153 / 675 78 34 18 .

Josep Trueta, s/n 08195 Sant Cugat del Vallès.

About UIC Barcelona.

The International University of Catalonia (UIC Barcelona) was founded in 1997 with the aim of offering quality university education and promoting research as a service to society. Linked to the business world and with a marked international character, it teaches 16 degrees, 8 double degrees, around thirty international double degrees and a wide range of postgraduate programs on its two campuses, located in Barcelona and Sant Cugat del Vallès. As part of its commitment to society, UIC Barcelona also has three university clinics located on the Sant Cugat Campus: the University Clinic of Dentistry, Support - University Clinic of Psychology and Psychiatry, and Cuides UIC Barcelona, ​​focused on patient care. with advanced illnesses and palliative care.