On 26 June 2019, 175 student nurses from more than 25 countries all over the world, from Thailand to as far as the United States, gathered together at the Singhealth Academia at the SGH Campus to hear about and discuss current issues in nursing, its future and how they, in their capacities as nursing students and novice RNs, can contribute. Like its first installment in Barcelona in 2017, the second International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress Student Assembly aims to gather nursing students across the globe to discuss and exchange ideas on topics critical to student nurses in the foreseeable future.
Highlights from ICN Congress Student Assembly 2019
We had the opportunity to hear from a variety of esteemed speakers from around the globe with unique nursing experiences and perspectives on the topics of social media and mental health, global health and the nursing agenda, early nurse leadership and the importance of a proper transition to practice. We then had the opportunity to discuss and exchange views on these topics during breakout sessions that allowed intimate interaction between the global audience, facilitated by the content-experts.
Dr. Eugene Teoh, a senior nurse educator from Tan Tock Seng Hospital shared his study on a tailored program targeted at newly qualified registered nurses (NQRNs) to help them transit from school to practice. In his two-phased sequential study, he first examined, qualitatively, the NQRNs barrier to an effective transition to practice (TTP). He identified the barriers to be multi-faceted, attributed to individual, professional and organizational barriers. Some of the sub-themes resonated very well with experiences we have had in our own clinical practicums such as lack of self-confidence which leads to hindered learning, mismatch in expectations between the staff and NQRNs, horizontal bullying and a lack of specialty- focused trainings in areas of specialized care and high acuity. His program was designed and tested by means of a quasi-experimental study following these qualitative outcomes in phase 1. The results of the study only fortified the importance of providing proper support to NQRNs in their TTP. However, it also sheds light on the personal barriers to performance – some of which are self-modifiable.
Australian based RN Robbie Bradford, founder of YouTube channel ‘Hot on Health’, which is tailored to improving public availability of health information, delivered his keynote on social media and its relationships with mental health. The YouTube RN delivered his message with a light heart and left the audience thinking about the impacts of social media—is it truly harmful? We realised that we often brand social media as the enemy when it comes to mental health, ascribing it as one of the main reasons that we are seeing a surge in the number of people suffering from a plethora of mental illnesses from depression to eating disorders. But this brings us to the age old question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does social media trigger the development of mental illness, or is it simply the reason why mental illnesses are now more visible to the public eye?
Serena and Megan shared their experiences in being part of the Australian Emerging Nurse Leader (ENL) program. They highlighted key aspects of their experiences that only fueled the call for more of such programs for our young nurse-lings! The ENL Program - a rigorous 5 part program - provides young nurses with countless opportunities to collaborate and a platform for them to collaboratively think up relevant and innovative solutions to national and international goals in patient care and global health. They stressed the importance of young nurses realizing their innate potential to contribute to the healthcare front. Their experiences and achievements are a true testament to the success of the ENL program.
A segment on student involvement in ICN was proudly presented by Julian Martinez, ICN Intern in charge of student engagement. He presented ICN’s proposed structure for student engagement that stems from the individual national associations of the ICN member countries. It was an insightful presentation on student and novice nurse empowerment in today’s global context. By the establishment of these constitutions, it would be clearer for student nurse bodies to establish clear links and seek ways for their voice to be heard on a global front.
The breakout session was a great time for participants to exchange ingenious solutions, world-views and varied perspectives to issues related to the keynote topics. Responses from each breakout room were collated and presented in a combined session with all students. All in all, the sessions only fortified the amount of insight and innovative solutions nursing students can contribute to battling workforce and clinical issues. This portion was a good primer for the call for action of student nurses to be involved in policy and decision making.
The ICN student assembly ended on a high note with the young nurses grooving to the Singapore workout and above all, truly recognizing the voice and its power of student nurses, as advocates for change and improvement.
Some of our SNA members had the opportunity to be present to support Avani Jain, a year 1 NUS nursing student and member of the Singapore Nurse Association Student Chapter (SNASC), in her delivery of the student chapter report to the ICN board at the ICN Council of Nursing Representatives meeting the following day. She was the voice of the global nursing student body, and we could not be more proud of her, as she presented to some 120 delegates from ICN affiliated countries. It was an encouraging session as the responses to our call for better student engagement and empowerment was phenomenally received by many of the country delegates as they took turns to highlight directions they will be taking or have taken in their specific countries or regions in response.
As NUS nursing students, the topics addressed could not have resonated any better the real and pertinent issues we encounter, particularly the topic on transition to practice from student nurses to novice nurses. Tear of incompetence, asking questions, sounding stupid—deep down student nurses want to be connected; included and seen as able to contribute and empower lives they come across and serve, deliver specific care with our own lived experiences, coupled with the knowledge learnt in school.
As a first year Nursing student, I recalled my first medical-surgical posting in an acute ward. I was afraid to ask for help, afraid to be talked down for my knowledge deficit. And that’s leads to the next take-away: Student nurses to have a voice. The ICN Student Assembly stood to remind us that even as student nurses, we ought not to underestimate our voice, our ideas, and our abilities. We have the right to speak up with our struggles, to call for action and the necessary support. Our voice is our tool of empowerment.
Nurses are the largest group of professionals in the health workforce, and as student nurses, we must recognize the value, importance and potential we have in nursing policy, education, and practice in health policy. The vision of nursing values is constantly evolving, and we students and novice nurses are here to embrace and offer insight to that change. We can serve as the link between generations and enable nursing to adapt to a new era.
ICN 2019 student assembly has truly made our mark - it got the ball rolling with at least 17 interventions from various countries agreeing that more can be done to support their student nurses, and also highlighted what some countries are already doing for their student nurses. Founded in 1899, ICN is into its 120th year. We are excited about the opportunity to have our voice contribute to nursing and global health policy making and ultimately to the health and well-being of populations worldwide. We aim not just to be leaders of tomorrow, but to become leaders of tomorrow, today.
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