Following the announcement of a training budget for registered nurses, registered allied health professionals and registered midwives, the nurses in ear nose and throat (ENT) outpatients at the Royal Derby Hospital began the search for a course to update their skills and knowledge. The CPD budget announced by NHS England in 2019 provides a total of £1000 over a 3-year period (not yearly and not recurrent) per registered nurse. In our search, we found courses advertised on aural microsuction, but nothing that covered the breadth of ENT specifically for nurses.
At the Royal Derby Hospital ENT department, we have been holding regular training sessions with our ENT consultants and allied professionals to maintain and enhance our knowledge of all things ENT. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, previous extradepartmental training had to be cut to meet the demands of the hospital.
From idea to reality
Since becoming aural care practitioner in March last year, I have been instrumental in instigating new training sessions. These have been a great way to expand and share knowledge within the department and provides us with an opportunity to get to know our colleagues better.
The sessions gave me the idea of expanding this initiative further. Part of the nursing Code (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018) states that nurses must maintain the knowledge and skills needed for safe, effective practice. To ensure this it is vital that nurses undertake regular, relevant training.
Due to the lack of ENT courses specifically for nurses, I came up with the idea of hosting an ENT conference in Derby for nurses working in the specialty or with an interest in the subject. To see if this was feasible, I needed the help of my ENT colleagues. After pitching my idea, I was delighted that several colleagues offered their time and expertise to help this become more than an idea. Our managers and matron were also very supportive. This positive response really helped to kickstart the idea and made me work even harder to make it a reality.
Setting up a conference is not something I have done before in my role as a nurse, so help was enlisted from our clinical educators and other colleagues within the trust to plan and implement the event. During this process, it was wonderful to get the chance to meet and work with colleagues I would not ordinarily have come across in my day-to-day role.
It was encouraging that colleagues were willing to get behind my idea to try to make it a success. There were practical obstacles to overcome, such as finding a venue, agreeing a suitable date with those who had offered to teach and advertising the event in the right places to attract professionals with an interest in ENT.
The aim of the conference, which will be hosted at the Royal Derby Hospital site, is to refresh skills and knowledge around the common ENT issues that are commonly seen in outpatient and GP practice areas. Sessions presented at the conference will be taught by a range of allied health professionals, including consultants and specialist nurses. It will be delivered over a whole day to maximise the benefit for participants who may be travelling from other areas to Derby and perhaps taking time out of their clinical practice.
Networking opportunity
When developing the content, I had a clear idea of the things that we had recently been covering in our own mini-training sessions that would be useful to other ENT/practice nurses. Our plans include covering topics such as ear conditions and treatment options, vestibular disorders, thyroid function and thyroid cancers, tracheostomy care, and rhinitis and epistaxis: symptoms and management (see Box 1 for details).
Box 1.Course content
| Ear conditions and treatment options Led by Professor Owen Judd, Consultant Otorhinolaryngologist |
| Vestibular disorders: symptoms, causes and treatments Led by Dr Anne Easson, Vestibular Consultant |
| Thyroid function and thyroid cancers Led by Mr Mohamed-Shaji Mansuri, ENT Consultant |
| Tracheostomy care Led by Tracheostomy Specialist Nurse Crystal Coe |
| Rhinitis and epistaxis: symptoms and management Led by Mr Bindy Sahota, ENT Consultant |
In addition to updating their knowledge and skills, the conference will offer participants the opportunity to ask questions and raise queries with reference to issues they may have come across in their practice.
There is a lack of other ENT nurse-specific training, so our conference will provide nurses with a much-needed refresher and offer insight into common ENT conditions. It will also, following the suspension of face-to-face learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, provide nurses with an opportunity to network with other colleagues in the specialty for the first time in 3 years, as well as to enhance and expand their ENT knowledge.
The conference will take place on 17 January 2023 at the Royal Derby Hospital site. If you are interested in attending, or finding out more, please email natasha.lucas@nhs.net