Category / REF Subjects

BU celebrates International Day of the Midwife 2021

Today, with midwives across the globe, the Centre of Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH) celebrates the International Day of the Midwife 2021.  Since we are enable to celebrate in person in this challenging year, we planned and watch together online events around this year’s International Day of the Midwife theme: Follow the data: invest in midwives.  We also produced the poster on the picture with messages from BU students, staff and partners across the world.

 

Laura Iannuzzi, Juliet Wood, Debbee Houghton for the Midwifery Team.

 

COVID-19: Should psychologists know how to deal with this?

Mental health psychology practitioners (MHPPs) are likely to experience stress related to the responsibilities of their role as it exposes them to other people’s traumatic life experiences, a phenomenon called “vicarious traumatisation”. This refers to the emotional and cognitive disruptions faced by therapists, as they engage in therapeutic relationships with survivors of traumatic events. During times of excessive stress, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to examine the factors that might enhance coping skills and resilience in this group of professionals, as their role in fighting off the negative psychological effects of COVID-19 is crucial. The term “resilience” refers to a group of factors that promote positive mental health and well-being in individuals exposed to threatening conditions, traumatic experiences, or severe adversity.

In a study conducted in the UK by researchers at BU (Dr Constantina Panourgia, Dr Ala Yankouskaya, Dr Agata Wezyk, and Miss Zoe Taylor) in collaboration with University of West London and UCLy in Lyon, participants were invited to talk about their reality, including the effects of vicarious traumatisation on their well-being and strategies they employed to sustain positive mental health and demonstrate resilience.

According to the MHPPs who participated in the study, the pandemic affected them and their clients in different ways. Frequent occurrence of relationship violence, the effects of unemployment, suicide attempts, loneliness, and increased use of alcohol were among the topics their clients highlighted as factors affecting their stress and well-being. Also, the unavailability of stress relief strategies that people usually employed rendered MHPPs’ roles in supporting their patients more vital than ever. However, many of them perceived this as an extra burden and reported feelings of inadequacy and anger. Sleeplessness, flashbacks of their clients’ stories, helplessness, vulnerability, identification with patients’ fears, as well as a tendency to question their abilities as practitioners, were among the symptoms MHPPs experienced.

The MHPPs who participated in this study also reported several mechanisms they employed to maintain positive well-being and develop resilience during these unprecedented times. The importance of frequent, systematic supervision sessions was described as the key factor affecting their well-being and helping them set boundaries between their personal and professional lives. Moreover, practising yoga, meditation, and using delta 8 carts were described as useful tactics in building stress resilience, along with taking up new hobbies and avoiding social media. Finally, seeking social support, having self-awareness, and being able to manage their emotions were reported as key factors in helping them distinguish among their different roles (parents, friends, and therapists) and perform their duties.

The need to train and prepare MHPPs for situations that can be described as collectively traumatic was highlighted by this study’s results. The development of strategies and follow-up care programmes to alleviate the symptoms of vicarious traumatisation might help this group of practitioners develop resilience and be less susceptible to occupational risks, resulting in better outcomes for service users.

For more details: https://uwlpress.uwl.ac.uk/newvistas/article/id/121/

NIHR Supporting Social Care Research in South Central Workshop 26th May 2021

Developing a Strategy for Addressing NIHR Priorities

Our RDS colleagues at South Central are hosting a one-day workshop for those interested in social care research. If you are a social care researcher or practitioner, a user, commissioner or provider of social care services and have ideas about how to develop and support social care research in South Central, please join them for the day.

Find out more

Your local branch of the NIHR RDS (Research Design Service) is based within the BU Clinical Research Unit (BUCRU)

We can help with your application. We advise on all aspects of developing an application and can review application drafts as well as put them to a mock funding panel (run by RDS South West) known as Project Review Committee, which is a fantastic opportunity for researchers to obtain a critical review of a proposed grant application before this is sent to a funding body.

Contact us as early as possible to benefit fully from the advice

Feel free to call us on 01202 961939 or send us an email.

 

Dr. Ann Luce to give Keynote at American Association of Suicidology Conference

Dr. Ann Luce, Associate Professor in Journalism and Communication in FMC will deliver one of three Keynote addresses at the annual American Association of Suicidology Conference on Saturday 24th April, 9am EST, 2pm BST. The conference, the largest annual suicide prevention gathering in the United States, will host a hybrid event, with more than 2300 registered attendees, looking at the theme of “Social Contexts in Suicide.”

Luce’s Keynote is titled: “The RSR Model & The Suicide Reporting Toolkit:Putting media reporting guidelines into practice.”

Numerous guidelines on responsible reporting of suicide have been available to journalists globally for more than 20 years, offering advice on best practice regarding approaches and suitability of content. Whilst their advice is compelling and legitimate, their use is uneven at best.

With a suicide death every 40 seconds worldwide, it is imperative journalists understand and recognise the best ethical practices in order to report suicide responsibly. Luce will present the RSR Model, which is grounded in news-work and embeds media reporting guidelines within journalistic storytelling practices.

The accompanying Suicide Reporting Toolkit for Journalists and Journalism Educators helps journalists understand how to implement global guidelines. The toolkit is underpinned by 15 years of research into suicide in the media, including the new Responsible Suicide Reporting model. The suicide reporting toolkit embeds five sets of global guidelines on the reporting of suicide from the World Health Organisation (global), Society for Professional Journalists (USA), Samaritans (UK & Ireland), National Union of Journalists (UK) and the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Editors Code of Practice (UK). Since its launch in August 2020, there have been more than 20,000 unique visitors to the site.

Luce will give an amended version of the paper at BU on Monday 26th April, 12-1pm as part of the Department of Communication and Journalism Research Seminar Series. Colleagues across BU are welcome to join via Zoom:

https://bournemouth-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/88034420929?pwd=MTN0U0Q2TW5NMXNsQ3I4c3JQVjhQQT09

Meeting ID: 880 3442 0929

Passcode: FqeH6*.W

 

 

 

 

Route to a prize is a prize itself – Melissa Carr at AoM

Melissa Carr, senior lecturer in leadership development in the Business School, has been nominated for best paper from a doctoral dissertation at this year’s conference of the Academy of Management. This nomination is as good as winning a lot of other prizes, I assured her. In business and management, the AoM conference is the largest – and nonetheless one of the most difficult to get into. Melissa has had two papers accepted this year.

One of those, “Moments of Discomfort: Poststructuralist Reflexivity and Researcher Subjectivity,” has been put forward for the 2021 William H. Newman Award. Each AoM division nominates one paper. The conference usually attracts more than 10,000 scholars. Participants will hear hundreds and perhaps thousands of papers based on doctoral work, and each division is likely to have dozens from which to pick. They picked hers.

Having read her thesis, which earned her a PhD from Cranfield University, I know it’s a good one. Congratulations!

Donald Nordberg, Associate Professor

COVID – a reflective account, an engineering perspective.

There have always been challenges and opportunities. Some might say that challenges could be over and an opportunity could be lost, really?

There are several key subjects in mechanical engineering, majority attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice and simultaneously present a simplified solution such as engineering maths, machine design, theory of machines and power plants etc. there are two core subjects which are more challenging in terms of the nature of problems we are asked to solve – such as thermodynamics and thermofluids which in turn are multidisciplinary  subjects and do incorporate elements of functional analysis, linear and nonlinear relationships, physics, energy and flow.

Mechanical engineering itself is an interdisciplinary subject which is underpinned by mathematics and physics. To simplify physical analyses, like the recent landfall in Dorset, although it is a geological event, lets for the time being ignore this element. Two categories, in physics have been defined in terms of whether a body is in motion or at rest, are referred to as dynamics and statics. There is a major mechanism which is called erosion, just before the landfall, the state is static, during the landfall the state is dynamic. Let’s consider, if a body is in motion and there is an element of power, not the power we associate with the words like, politics or megalomaniac, but say heat energy, for example recent Icelandic volcanic eruption, although generally speaking this would fall under volcanology, let’s assume we are not discussing this, there is an element of heat energy in motion which is called thermodynamics.

If we have understood what thermodynamics is, then let’s move to statics. Anything in stationary state, not moving, will come under statics. A coffee table in our lounge, a parked car, a bookshelf etc. in turn the analysis is relatively easy and simple. Are these stationary? is the motion zero? think again.

We talk about destination(s). What is ‘the destination’?

Locally (lounge, car park, library /study) the motion is zero, and we have a zero value. Globally the motion is not zero as the earth is spinning and orbiting. Therefore, universal motion cannot be zero. In turn there is no absolute zero.

Fridge and freezer in our kitchens run on a thermodynamic cycle, there are four distinct processes in a thermodynamic cycle: compression in the compressor, evaporation in the evaporator, condensation in the condenser and expansion in the throttle (expansion) valve. We keep our food and drinks cold in the fridge or food frozen in the freezer. Although in terms of the objective, a lower and controlled temperature is desired, is it destination? thermodynamic cycle is composed of processes and there is no final stage, unless the fridge or freezer stop working. Initial point of a process is connected to the final point of preceding process, and final point of a process is connected to the initial point of proceeding process – all processes are interconnected, it is a ‘cycle’ where is the destination? in turn a destination would mean no motion, static, this is not desired.

What happens after the destination?

We have sources of energy, finite (fossil fuel) to infinite (sun). The energy which is responsible for making chemical reactions happen is called Gibbs Free Energy (GFE). When GFE runs out chemical reactions will cease to occur. For example, by pouring hot water, providing energy, on washing soda, a reaction will happen, a good old recipe to unclog drains. The reaction will stop when that energy runs out.

All sources of energy lead to thermodynamics behaviour which is called Entropy. Let’s take a carboard box, put a few green tennis balls on one side, and a few red tennis balls on the other side, this is a state of order. Now shake the box, green and red balls will mix – this is a state of disorder, if heat energy was involved in this process, then this was Entropy. For example, climate change, rising sea levels, volcanic eruptions and landfalls are all examples of Entropy.

We know that there is no absolute zero, therefore the Entropy has to increase or at its best remain constant, but only locally, for example the landfall in Dorset may not be happening now, it does not mean that erosion elsewhere is not taking place, rising sea level is not the same everywhere. Entropy must increase or could remain constant – disorder must increase or could remain constant.

Let’s go back to March 2020. I was getting out of our staff kitchen on my office floor with a cup of coffee, a work colleague was coming from the opposite side. My colleague told me that, they are planning to go to superstore for shopping to stockpile provisions and utilities. To justify this, my colleague added, we would go to lockdown soon following France.

Lockdown? is it static or dynamic? is it increasing or keeping the Entropy constant?

Stockpile? is it static or dynamic? is it increasing or keeping the Entropy constant?

Soon the Government issued a statement that “people ‘must’ stay at home and certain businesses must close”. A state of zero Entropy?

Wait a minute, do you recall if anyone mentioned anything about flatulence, diarrhoea or indigestion etc, remember stockpiling toilet rolls?

There are economic and psychological aspects to this, “In Auckland, New Zealand, supermarket spending shot up by 40% comparing to the same day the previous year”.

It is rational to prepare for something bad that looks like it is likely to occur,” says David Savage, associate professor of behavioural and microeconomics.

Ben Oppenheim, senior director at San Francisco-based infectious disease research firm Metabiota, agrees. “It’s probably true that panic buying is ultimately a psychological mechanism to deal with our fear and uncertainty; a way to assert some control over the situation by taking an action.”

Physical disorder continued, “Evidence to the Commons EFRA Committee from the British Retail Consortium stated that the main difficulty in meeting the rapid increase in retail demand was the logistics of moving food through the supply chain quickly enough, with deliveries to stores increasing by 30%.” [Source]. “News of empty supermarket shelves and other disruptions in the food supply chain in countries already affected by COVID-19 influenced UK consumer behaviour and led to relatively short lived ‘stock piling’ buying behaviour to prepare for a worst case scenario.” [Source].

A state of lockdown meant zero Entropy, carbon emissions fall down by more than a third, should it continue, there is a chance of Entropy is going in the reverse direction, thermodynamically it is not possible. Stockpiling added to Entropy.

When the lockdown was eased, eat out to help out, we went to several local restaurants to make our contributions to local economy.

We also went to Stonehenge, it was a gorgeous day and outdoor coffee was a bonus, what? Stonehenge is static, I am a dynamist.

When will the Entropy stop and what would the scenario look like?

There is always a gradient therefore change in pressures and temperatures, flow of water, heat flow: boiling or freezing water will continue to take place. No flow means equilibrium, it is a local phenomenon, a lake. And for example, mechanical equilibrium, a seesaw should be dynamic (interesting) when both persons on either end change their loading configuration, seesaw will move up and down. If the load (person on each side) is equal then seesaw would not move, it is static, it is local equilibrium (limited to seesaw), it doesn’t mean that temperature is not changing or the tides are not going out or coming in. I did not stockpile anything because the flow must happen. Stockpiling meant excessive gradient, must be followed by accelerated supply and production – increased Entropy.

Destination is static; the uncertainty associated with destination distracts from the process, the journey. The destination is a state of absolute zero, I will let you interpret this. Challenges will not go away and opportunities will never be lost – absolute zero cannot be reached, Entropy will always increase or if we are very lucky then it could remain constant. Globally Entropy must increase, journey must continue, challenges will be there and opportunities will cross our path.

Each end of a process is a destination, but that is also the final point of a process, so the process hence the journey must continue to connect to the next initial point of another process in the cycle. Presence in the process and enjoying the journey will lead to impactful outcomes.

COVID is just a process within a cycle, and we are on its final point.

BU Gypsy, Roma, Traveller expert invited to contribute to a Governmental cross-departmental forum.

The gap in health service provision for Gypsy, Roma, and Travellers communities is well documented in Dr Vanessa Heaslips’ extensive research. Vanessa, an Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing Science was invited to present her work ‘“Inequalities in health of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller, Communities” to sixteen staff from departments including Dept of Education, Office for National Statistics, Minister of Housing and Communities, Department of Health, Department for Social care, Cabinet office and Dept for Work and Pension.

The presentation titled started with an introduction to ‘Alice, my husbands’ nan’. Alice was a Romany Gypsy and a member of the Showman community. It was being with Alice at the end of her life and witnessing the interactions between healthcare staff and herself which inspired the research. The presentation went on to explore on-going challenges such as poorer health outcomes, social exclusion, discrimination, and lack of cultural sensitivity that many Gypsy, Roma, Travellers face. As well as current problems posed by a lack of robust data collection as healthcare organisations do not use include Gypsy, Romany and Traveller as part of their ethnicity data collected. Dr Heaslip argues argued that failure to do so negatively impacts on developing robust public health initiatives to address these poorer health outcomes and is a key factor in understanding why so little progress have been made over the past two decades.

 

A wide ranging discussion regarding engaging with individuals in these communities ensured, and the session concluded with some thoughts as to how to move this significant national agenda forward. More information on this research is available from https://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/vheaslip#publications  and follow Vanessa on Twitter @HeaslipVanessa, @Nursing_BU, and @N4LTH

Congratulations to PhD student Raksha Thapa

This week BU PhD student Raksha Thapa  heard from the editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health that her  manuscript “Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review” has been accepted for publication [1].  Raksha is supervised in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences by Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Vanessa Heaslip and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.  The paper is a systematic review and the protocol for it was published in PROSPERO early on at the start of her PhD studies [2].

Well done!

 

References

  1. Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2021) Caste Exclusion and Health Discrimination in South Asia: A Systematic Review, Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health (accepted).
  2. Thapa, R., van Teijlingen, E., Regmi, P., Heaslip, V. (2018) Caste exclusion and health discrimination. Prospero CRD42018110431crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?ID=CRD42018110431

IMSET Seminar: Modelling land use in the ancient Near East

Thursday 22 April at 4pm 

Modelling land use in the ancient Near East: methodological problems and interpretive potential with Dr. Dan Lawrence, Durham University 

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have important biophysical and biogeochemical effects on climate via a variety of mechanisms. The PAGES working group LandCover6k aims to produce global reconstructions of land use and land cover based on archaeological data to provide climate modellers with datasets for sensitivity testing. The Ancient Near East has a long history of agricultural and pastoral exploitation, and as such represents a key area for the understanding of human induced landcover change. This paper will discuss the methods through which land use has been reconstructed by the Middle East group of the Landcover6K project. It will also show how these methods can also be used by archaeologists to investigate socio-ecological systems through time, building on datasets collected through the ERC funded Climate, Landscape, Settlement and Society (CLaSS) Project. This project aims to collect all archaeological settlement, zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data available for the Fertile Crescent over the Holocene. Combining land use modelling with archaeologically derived evidence for past population and subsistence practices has significant interpretive potential. We illustrate this by presenting new results on the impact of the 4.2kya event, a period of drought associated by some with the collapse of the Akkadian empire and widespread population decline. We will also discuss preliminary work on long term trends in social complexity, productivity and resilience. 

Find out more and book your place.  

 

Happy New Year 2078 (in Nepal)

Bournemouth University wishes all its Nepali students, staff and collaborators in both the UK and in Nepal a Healthy and Happy New Year 2078 today.

 

 

 

Congratulations to Debora Almeida on latest publication

The journal Resuscitation Plus published a systematic review with Debora Almeida in the Department of Midwifery & Health Sciences as lead author.  Her latest paper ‘Do automated real-time feedback devices improve CPR quality? A systematic review of literature’ is co-authored with colleagues from Brazil.  The review assessed the effectiveness of automated real-time feedback devices for improving CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) performance during training, simulation and real-life resuscitation attempts in the adult and paediatric population.  The paper concludes that the use of automated real-time feedback devices enhances skill acquisition and CPR performance during training of healthcare professionals, and secondly, that further research is needed to better understand the role of feedback devices in clinical setting.

Congratulations!

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health (CMMPH)

 

Reference:

  1. Gugelmin-Almeida, D., Tobase, L., Polastri, T.F., Peres, H.H.C., Timerman, S. (2021) Do automated real-time feedback devices improve CPR quality? A systematic review of literature, Resuscitation Plus,
    6, article: 100108

Some thoughts about PhD supervision in Public Health

Recently, Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health published our article on ‘PhD supervision in Public Health’ [1].  The lead author is Dr. Pramod Regmi, with co-authors Prof. Padam Simkhada (FHSS Visiting Faculty) from the University of Huddersfield and Dr. Amudha Poobalan from the University of Aberdeen.  The paper has a strong Aberdeen connection, the fifth oldest university in the UK.  Three of us (Poobalan, van Teijlingen & Simkhada) use to work in the Department of Public Health at the University of Aberdeen (one still does), and three of us (Poobalan, Regmi & van Teijlingen) have a PhD from Aberdeen.

Reference:

  1. Regmi, P., Poobalan, A., Simkhada, P., van Teijlingen, E. (2021) PhD supervision in Public Health, Health Prospect: Journal of Public Health 20(1):1-4. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/HPROSPECT/article/view/32735/28111

Can technology help to address the shocking health statistics of our homeless population?

Bournemouth University is investigating potential technological solutions to assist those sleeping rough to access healthcare services and self-manage complex healthcare needs

Homelessness in the UK is on the increase (Open Government 2018). Health outcomes for those that are homeless are far poorer than of the general population with an mean age of death of 45 years (men) and 43 years (women) compared to 76 ( men) and 81 years (women) for those living in homes (Office for National Statistics 2019). The South West region had the third highest number of rough sleepers in 2018 (Homeless link 2017) and this project will take place in Bournemouth and the surrounding area.

Using technology to access healthcare is nothing new; accessing virtual consultations with your GP or using one of the wide range of apps to access information and advice on is increasingly common, particularly during the current pandemic. However, this does require access to appropriate technology and internet along with the knowledge of how to use it.

Although there is a growing use of technologies amongst homeless people (McInnes et al 2015) to connect with their peers, there is no current research exploring the role of technology in assisting people who sleep rough in locating and accessing appropriate local services.

In partnership with colleagues from the Providence surgery, Dorset Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the Big Issue and Streetwise; Staff at Bournemouth University are conducting a research project with the aim of developing a freely available app enabling navigation and access to resources to self-manage complex health and social care needs.

The Research Team

Dr Vanessa Heaslip
Vanessa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing Science at Bournemouth University and is the Principle Investigator for this project. Her research interests are in the field of vulnerability and vulnerable groups in society whose voices are not traditionally heard in the academic and professional discourse.

Dr Sue Green
A Registered Nurse with experience in acute and continuing care environments, Sue has been at the forefront of the development of clinical academic careers for nurses. Sue’s research programme focuses on aspects of clinical nutrition. She has a long standing interest in the process of nutritional screening and its effect on care.

Dr Huseyin Dogan
A Principal Lecturer in Computing at Bournemouth University (BU). Dr Dogan’s research focuses on Human Factors, Assistive Technology, Digital Health and Systems Engineering. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research group.

Dr Bibha Simkhada
Bibha works at Huddersfield University in the School of Health and Human Sciences. Her research interest includes Technology in Healthcare, Ageing research mainly in Dementia, Health and Wellbeing of BAME population and women’s health. She has methodological expertise on narrative and systematic review and qualitative research.

Stephen Richer
Stephen is a part time PhD student and working part time as the project research assistant. His background is in Mental Health Nursing and he has worked in numerous roles within the NHS and for various mental health charities.

Rachel Bailey
Rachel is a Research Administrator at Bournemouth University. She also works as a Youth Advisor for a local charity and previously worked in FE delivering Careers Advice.

As the research project progresses, this blog will be updated on our methods, progress and results.

We are keen to hear from any local organisations working with the homeless that could assist with research. Please contact Stephen Richer sricher@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

 

 

ADRC adapting to COVID-19 Part 2

A screenshot from a coffee morning meeting

Dr Michelle Heward in a previous post discussed how BU’s Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC, @BournemouthADRC) have been engaging with older people to discuss research being undertaken,  pitch new ideas of research we want to undertake, and listen to what this group believe we should be researching.  The first 2 coffee mornings were led by Professor Jane Murphy discussing her research on nutrition, and Professor Jan Weiner discussing his research on wayfinding. The 3rd coffee morning was led by Dr Michele Board discussing how nursing has changed over the last 40 years, and her research exploring the role of Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP’s) looking after older people during the COVID19 pandemic. Using pictures to generate discussion those attending discussed their own healthcare journeys and concerns about nurse education. ‘Bring back matron’ and why nurses needed to go to university were questions that generated much discussion. Michele explained that healthcare has dramatically changed since she started nursing. As an example 35 years ago women undergoing a hysterectomy would be in hospital 2 day pre operatively (!) and 10 days post operatively. Today  women will be admitted on the day of their operation and remain in hospital between 1-5 days post op. Another example is in the care of those following a stroke. Patients would be in hospital for a long period of time and sat in ‘buxton chairs’ and tipped back because their balance was poor. Our understanding of post op care, and the care of people following a stroke has increased dramatically in that time, with shorter length of stay (Home is best suggests Board and McCormack 2018), and significantly better patient outcomes. The buxton chair has gone! These advances alongside an ageing population with multi-morbidity, increasing frailty, has led to an increase in acuity of care in acute hospital environments and in the community. Nurses need to be critical thinkers, challenging how we care and what is best for each individual patient. Nurses have to deliver excellent hands on care, with expert holistic assessment and evaluation skills. They lead teams and influence how care should be delivered from the bedside to strategic decision making. For those reasons nurses need to be knowledgeable, to critique the evidence as well as  create the evidence to support how care should be delivered. That is why a university education, supported by 50% of their course in practice settings, is essential. That is the nurse I want to care for me and my loved ones, compassionate, kind, caring, and knowledgeable. To illustrate this further Michele shared examples of the research she is undertaking of the brilliant nurses and allied health professionals working as ACP’s during COVID19. During focus groups and 1-1 interviews the research team (Dr Dawn Morely, Dr Janet Scammell, Kelsie Fletcher,@AN4LTH) and 3 practitioners from Dorset Healthcare, Cliff Kilgore, Mary Edwards and Dr Pippa Collins,@DorsetHealth), heard how the ACP’s advocated for patients, led to the development of services, their responsiveness, flexibility and adaptability during an enormously challenging period  – it was very inspiring. Their advanced critical thinking skills ensured the care they delivered was holistic and person centred. Hopefully those attending the coffee morning were convinced that a university education for nurses and the new role of ACP’s illustrated the expertise of postgraduate nurses delivering care on the front line.