The EBMT Nurses Group Global Education Committee is formed of a dedicated team of nurses; Julia Ruiz Pato, Angela Leather and Liana Abu Rumieleh. The purpose of the committee is to coordinate and provide a range of educational activities for nurses and allied health professionals within the field of HCT and cellular therapy, especially among low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Most recently the team have supported nurses from the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Slovenia, to develop their national transplant and cell therapy group. The Czech EBMT Nurses Group has recently been endorsed as a formal group within the Czech Republic Society of Haematology. This important step can help to drive forward collaborations nationally and internationally. The Czech EBMT Nurses Group joins the eleven existing national groups affiliated with the EBMT Nurses Group and we are really looking forward to learning from the members and future collaborative opportunities.
During the past few months alongside the EBMT Nurses Group Board, we have been working on a new alliance with the BLOODSA Foundation, an organisation whose mission is to drive excellence in haematology. In collaboration with representatives of BLOODSA and SASCets (South African Stem Cell Transplantation Society), we have supported the creation of a new BMT nurse working party and are contributing to South African Nurse education through the ‘BMT classroom’. While it is still early days, the energy and enthusiasm around nurse education and further development opportunities for HCT nurses in South Africa is impressive and represents a significant step in addressing health inequality.
In 2024, a survey was distributed via EBMT nurse members and was also available during the EBMT 2024 Annual Meeting in Glasgow. The survey aimed to understand the experience of nurses navigating the EBMT Nurses Group pages of the EBMT Website. We were delighted to receive 227 evaluable responses and are excited to share this work as a flash talk in the Nurses track and incorporated on the GEC 2024 activities poster, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the EBMT in Florence.
At the Annual Meeting in Florence, the GEC also have their inaugural education session ‘Delivering Equitable and Equal Care in an Unequal World’. Presentations include the sustainability of nursing, challenges in LGBTQIA+ care, transcultural care and holistic approach to equity in health. We really hope that you will be able to join us for these inspiring and thought provoking presentations.