Global Palliative Nursing Network – one year on!

With almost 700 nurses from 58 countries signed up, it’s well on the way to meeting its potential for being a force for good for the provision of palliative care and the resilience of nurses across the world.

A year after the launch of the Global Palliative Nursing Network, it’s safe to say it’s very definitely meeting a need.

More than anything else GPNN has given a home to nurses working in what can be a traumatic and isolated field – as Pauline Uwamahoro, from Rwanda, explains.

“The GPNN has become my professional family. It offers a supportive network, invaluable mentorship, and continuous learning opportunities. I believe every nurse would be fortunate to discover GPNN. Together, as soulmates in palliative care, we can make a profound difference.”

Since May 2023 Pauline and her fellow GPNN members have enjoyed and benefited from both formal and informal learning events designed to provide them with a mix of peer support and professional development – all for free.

Bi-monthly Spotlight events covering issues as diverse as Informed Trauma Care in End of Life Care, the Ethical Framework of Nursing and Therapeutic Presence of Nurses in Suffering, have been complemented by less formal Meet-up and Share Saturday morning sessions.

Key to the success of GPNN is its champions of whom there are now 20. Over the coming year, the network will be looking to double this cohort and invest in them so they can increase their influence. The role is ideally suited to a nurse with an interest in both advancing nurses in their locality and connecting with and learning from their counterparts globally.

An early highlight of the next year is the virtual half-day conference, Nurses as Trailblazers and Pathfinders: Let’s Make Things Happen on 9 July at which nurses from Sudan, Cameroon, India and Lebanon will share their experiences and report on progress on the World Health Assembly’s resolution to increase access to medication, services and education.

With the calendar of quarterly Spotlight events and the Meet-up and Share sessions, all free for another year, the GPNN is THE network for palliative care nurses all over the world. For full details of all the events and how you can join, click here.