The international congress “Nursing Education for a Sustainable Future: Challenges and Opportunities”, promoted by the Department of Nursing and the European Federation of Nursing Sciences Educators (FINE), took place at the Sant Cugat Campus on 21 and 22 March and has been a success in terms of participation and attendance. 

Throughout the first day, renowned speakers in the field of nursing at an international level highlighted the importance of creating educational environments with critical thinking to promote nursing leadership where interprofessional activities are developed, the need to invest in the educational and care field, and the need to promote the leadership of nurses in the field of nursing, and the need to recognise and regulate the figure of the advanced practice nurse. On the second day of the congress, experts focused their attention on the great lack of professionals and how the recognition of the various levels of nursing practice can respond to healthcare challenges present throughout Europe.

This was highlighted by Adela Zabalegui, deputy director of nursing research and teaching at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and first director of the Nursing Department at UIC Barcelona. In her speech, she stated that “although we have excellent universities and nursing schools, an aging population and the increase of chronic diseases make it necessary to have advanced practice nurses in the labour market to be able to respond to the current needs of society.” 

For her part, Katarzyna Ptak Bufkens, representative of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission, stressed the importance of “designing training initiatives for health professionals to improve the skills necessary for the digital and ecological transition of European health systems”. She also reminded the audience that “it is essential to awaken the interest of young people in this profession, as well as having strategies that contribute to retain talent through professional promotion plans or training aimed at the greater specialisation of nurses”. This is how “we will achieve more resilient health systems and safe health care,” she added. 

The Vice President of the European Federation of Nursing Sciences Educators (FINE), Maria Filomena Mendes Gaspar was in charge of giving the closing speech of the congress. In her speech, she stressed that the future of nursing training involves designing and defining an academic path that allows training in nursing to promote and improve the care they offer to society. “It is essential to have programmes that train young people with the necessary skills to practice nursing and have specialised training for professionals to grow professionally,” she added.

Encarna Rodríguez, director of the Nursing Department, has valued the experience as “a great opportunity to highlight the great work that is being done in European universities to train nursing professionals from leadership and innovation.”