The day we have been anticipating our whole trip finally arrived- the day of presentations! Before we even left for the UK, we were put into groups with differing topics to explore. My group, for instance, was given single parents as our group of people to look into. The main goal was to research how these groups were affected differently in the United States versus the United Kingdom. We broke our topic of single parents into three subcategories, which were put into the question, “How does being a single parent impact access to equitable healthcare and education, particularly across socioeconomic status, gender, and immigration status?” Not only did our groups present, but since it was the BCU Nursing Conference, we also got to hear from some BCU faculty, students, and Dr. Marks. 

Prior to the conference, we got to go back to the skills lab and use the anatomage. This works as a 3D medical visualizer technology. Chinenye talked to us about fetus development and childbirth before watching a childbirth simulation. This was fascinating as you could remove or take away layers of the model, meaning we could watch the birth with the muscles in function isolated, with the skin intact, and etc. It is always amazing to see how technology can create such a realistic simulation that allows us to have control so that we can understand the process on a deeper level. 

At 12 o’clock, we were able to go speak to different stands set up in the lobby area with different organizations aligned with the healthcare education of BCU. Cameron and I had the chance to speak to two individuals associated with the SPACE program, which stands for skills, practice, and care enhancement. This organization essentially allows students to have practice with hands-on skills in a stress free environment before entering clinical practice. I think it is great that this is offered to students because it really gives them the opportunity to become comfortable with procedures before being under a more serious and overwhelming environment. If this was offered at Pitt, I would definitely take advantage of it because even practicing skills in front of a teacher or instructor can be scary, let alone doing it on a real human. Therefore, I believe that having something similar to this implemented back at Pitt would ensure confidence in our skills and strengthen our preparation for exams and clinicals.

Once the conference began around 1:00, we heard from the Dean of the school of nursing and the head of adult nursing who summed up some information about the college and the conference itself. Next up, we heard Nikki Brockie speak. She discussed the power we have as nurses, specifically the power of trust. Nurses are the number one trusted profession in the world. This is amazing, but she also noted that while nursing remains number one, the levels of trust are declining a bit. She then noted how it is important that we do not let this go too far and she spoke about some of the ways to retain our trust as a profession. As nurses, we must aim to provide and advocate for our patients. We can do this by making sure we listen to them and also trust their families opinions, because most of the time, they know their family members better than we do. If something is off with their loved one, there will be times when they can detect what we cannot, and we must listen to their concerns to prevent errors and to save lives. 

Additionally, Dr. Marks gave a presentation focusing on implicit bias and how we can limit these. We even did a game where she had us imagine a nurse, a head nurse, and then the matron. Everyone started off as visualizing mainly young women, then it shifted to slightly older women, and then for the matron, everyone shifted to thinking of a man. This is an example of implicit bias coming into place and it made me think about why my mind may have gone this way personally. Almost all medical shows portray whoever had the highest power as an older man. When we are surrounded by these examples growing up, they can subconsciously be implemented in our minds. Therefore, it is important to be aware of these implicit biases because as a future nurse, I should be able to recognize these assumptions that can affect interactions and patient care. After Dr. Marks, we heard from some BCU students and it was great to hear about their experience as either nurses or midwives. 

To end the conference, our groups all did our presentations. I was happy with how we did and am proud of my group for putting all our research and hard work into practice. I will take what I have learned through my research on single parents into my future as a nurse as it will give me deeper perspective and awareness.