Strengthening The Commitment

This week I attended a conference ran by RCN in collaboration with local trust networks for learning disability nurses and students, or rather, a nurse of learning disabilities (I'll get back to that later). 

The conference was promoted by the RCN and our university made us aware of it and that students were permitted to attend.  There are some conferences that are post-registration only so this was nice to be able to attend and get a taste of what conferences are all about within the nursing world.  It was also a very good opportunity to be able to meet other learning disability nurses and hear stories about how they gone down the career pathway that they have chosen and what lead them there.  It was also good to hear of so many opportunities afforded to us as learning disability nurses.  The nurse of learning disabilities, rather than a learning disability nurse, is about championing ourselves as nurses first. It was noted by several speakers that even today, in 2015, we still face challenges as learning disability nurses. I believe this has to stop.  If other health professionals do not recognise us as highly skilled nurses, then when are others going to recognise that those with learning disabilities need specialised care from those learning disability nurses? This does not bode well for those with learning disabilities.  It is about liaising with other nurses from other fields, and for us to recognise just because a job does not have 'learning disability nurse' in the title, it does not mean we are not qualified for that role.  I spoke to several sponsors at the conference as well as listening to the guest speakers.  And it was even noted by others that there was a real buzz in the air, a very vibrant and passionate atmosphere.  It is not about different fields putting each other down or believing that one is better than the other, but working together to make a better future for our patients.  It is about collaborating, putting that message across to our patients, their families and carers, that we as health professionals are there to work together to put their health and wellbeing first.  

From hearing from Professor Owen Barr (co-author of Oxford Handbook of Learning and Intellectual Disabilities) to hearing from board members and carers, the conference really highlighted that there is such a network of learning disability nurses out there. It also enabled others to see the progress they have made in their careers and just how much they still enjoy what they do, even 40 years after qualifying!  If anything, I believe that is something most people hope for. That even ten, twenty, thirty years down the line, you still have that passion, that enthusiasm and that job satisfaction within your role.  

The conference was all about Strengthening The Commitment, a UK wide review of modernising and recognising Learning Disability Nursing. It is about looking at the challenges we face as health professionals, not just learning disability nurses, but right across the board from top down and bottom up.  It is about how we can overcome the challenges we might face and improving healthcare for people with learning disabilities.  Taken from the report I have linked above for you, "it reflects a four-country commitment to gathering and considering evidence on the current and future contribution of learning disabilities nursing. At the heart of the review is the commitment to supporting people with learning disabilities, their families and carers to achieve and maintain good health."

It all starts with You.  As a student, regardless of field, it is important to recognise the skills and attributes that all nurses have.  Working together, helping each other when we ask and where we may need guidance, will all help to improving health care for those people with learning disabilities. As I have said before in previous posts and I will say again, People with learning disabilities are living longer and often have multiple complex health needs.  These needs must be met.  These needs ought to be fulfilled. And that individual deserves to live a long and fulfilling life, just like any one of us.  For those that don't understand people with learning disabilities, their needs or how to communicate. Ask. There are always people willing to help.