The ICS meeting in Florence saw one of the largest group of nurse delegates with more than 100 nurses attending. A free, translated Nursing Workshop was held at ICS Florence which was well attended by nurses from across the globe. Speakers included Stefano Terzoni from Italy, who gave a comprehensive overview of nurse-led conservative management of post-prostatectomy incontinence and sexual dysfunction, as well as sessions on managing UI in frail homebound elders (Sandie Engberg), bladder dysfunction following stroke (Jo Booth), pharmacological management of overactive bladder (Alison Bardsley) and health literacy in relation to incontinence (Donna Bliss).The workshop ended with a lively panel discussion answering questions from the audience, many of which addressed practice in different countries, highlighting differences in service provision.
The nursing workshop led straight into a networking lunch for ICS Nursing members, particularly focusing on welcoming and meeting new members and was also well attended. This lunch was organised in response to feedback from nurse attendees at the ICS conference about wanting more opportunity to network. PhD nursing students and early career investigators attending the conference were invited to attend. It provided an opportunity for members to meet new and current members of the ICS Nursing Committee and discuss current activities.
Following the nurses’ networking lunch was the Nurses Forum during which ICS Nurse Members were provided with reports from the Nursing Committee and sub-committees on the range of activities undertaken throughout the year. Slides of the reports of the subcommittees are available on the Nursing Committee webpage. One of the major activities of the Nursing Committee over the past year has been developing a Consensus document on Best Practice in Bladder and Bowel Training.
Nurse presenters were well represented this year in the main ICS scientific programme in Florence. They delivered across many different categories, including 11 podium presentations, 10 open discussion e-poster sessions, 9 non-discussion abstracts and a podium video on teaching people with spinal cord injury to manage their neurogenic bowel dysfunction.
Abstracts by nurses presented at the ICS meeting will be highlighted on the ICS Nursing Committee webpage.
Nurses were also honoured with awards: Congratulations to Diane Newman (US), and her team, whose abstract received the Conservative Management Award for their ‘Multisite prospective randomized controlled trial of group administered behavioural treatment in reducing urinary incontinence in older adult women’. Congratulations to Momoko Abe (JP) who received the award of best early career presentation. Finally, congratulations to Léa Dolores Reganhan de Oliveira on receiving the conference travel award to attend ICS 2017. Léa was the only nurse to receive this award for 2017.
If you have received a professional award then please let us know so that we can add this to the ICS website. As well as citations of any recent continence publications that you feel would be relevant to nursing members. Please email this information to info@ics.org
New Nursing Opportunities
Donna Bliss, Chair of the ICS Nursing Committee, offered ICS nurses several invitations and opportunities for becoming more involved in ICS. A new tab on the ICS Nursing Committee webpage called “Nursing Involvement" has been created and will include all announcements of opportunities for ICS nurse member.
One of those opportunities is a request for nurses to take part in the review process for building a consensus for the Consensus document on Best Practice in Bladder and Bowel Training. The second opportunity is for members to be involved in a review of the book Management of Fecal Incontinence for the Advanced Practice Nurse. Several ICS nurse members, including some on the Nursing Committee, will be involved in this review but additional reviewers are required. If you are interested in either of these opportunities then please see the ICS Nursing involvement webpage.
Nursing Committee Updates
The Nursing Committee thanks Sharon Eustice (UK), Katheen Hunter (CA) , Jacqueline Lee (UK), Maria Helena Baena de Moraes Lopes and Wakako Sato (JP) for their service on the committee. We welcome Tamara Dickinson (US) and Winnie Yeung (CN) as new members. A PhD nursing student, Amy Hunter was co-opted as an early career/non-voting member of the Nursing Committee. Jo Booth is appointed as the chair of the Communications Subcommittee of the Nursing Committee and Joan Ostaszkiewicz was appointed as the chair of the research Subcommittee.