RCN Fellows events

Previous events

To follow Sickle Cell Awareness Day 2022, this event explored the history of sickle cell and race in the UK, and the work of healthcare professionals to push for responses to screening, improved health care and better pain management during sickle cell disease crisis. Speakers included specialist nurse consultant and RCN Fellow Dr Lola Oni (former director of the Brent Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre).

This event was held online in June 2022.

This event, hosted by Jim Campbell of the World Health Organisation (WHO), was the third in a series highlighting significant contributions to nursing.

Hear from a panel of RCN Fellows – David Benton, Jane Salvage and Neslyn Watson-Druée – about the past, present and future of nursing and politics, and why nurses and the public should engage with the political context of healthcare.

This event was held online in May 2022.

In this talk, Professor David Thompson explains how the role of the cardiac nurse has evolved from one of “human monitor” to providing holistic care. Today, nurses promote heart health and improve health literacy, support disease management and work to reduce health inequalities.

This session was held online in February 2022.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson hosts a panel of nursing experts, to find out why patients need well-educated nurses. 

Hear from a panel of RCN Fellows – Hilary Chapman, Brendan McCormack and Sonja McIlfatrick - about the past, present and future of nursing education, and why patients need well-educated nurses.

This event was held online in October 2021.

Nurse and author of The Language of Kindness Christie Watson hosts this event highlighting significant contributions to nursing.

Hear from three RCN Fellows – Jane Ball, Tara Bartley and Ruth Oshikanlu – about the challenges and opportunities the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for nursing.

This event was held online in May 2021.

For centuries, nurses and healthcare workers have performed a vital role in society. But what do we really know about their history? Join us to explore some of the most significant contributions to understanding the last 150 years of nursing.

This joint event was organised by the RCN History of Nursing Forum and the UK Association for the History of Nursing (UKAHN). It was held online in June 2021. 

For International Men's Day, hear from RCN Fellow Gary Jones about his 40 years in A&E nursing, through a time of dramatic changes in the NHS.

As well as telling stories from his career and memoir 'It’s Not All Blood And Guts', Gary answered audience questions.

This event took place online in November 2020.

Who were the Black nurses earlier in the twentieth century who led the way for future generations?

To close Black History Month, the RCN hosted an event celebrating the lives of BAME leaders past and present. Chaired by Estephanie Dunn, RCN North West Regional Director, we heard from RCN Fellows Claire Chatterton, historian of nursing, about the history of Black nurses in the UK, and Yvonne Coghill CBE, head of the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard programme, on the legacy of this history today.

This event was originally held online on 30 October 2020.