Report on the 15th N-ECCO School at ECCO'24
Marie Andersson, N-ECCO Committee Member
 Marie Andersson© ECCO |
Some weeks have already passed since the 15th edition of the N-ECCO School took place in Stockholm, attended by 98 participants.
I can still remember my first N-ECCO School in Prague in 2010, when I was attending the ECCO Congress there. That was my very first international congress. At the time I was a nurse had not worked for very long with IBD. I was very nervous about travelling alone to a large congress without knowing anyone and also very unsure of the English language. Would I be able to handle it? What if I couldn’t understand what was being said or answered incorrectly if asked a question? I believe there are many of you who will recognise yourself in these comments.
For me this was a starting point and the beginning of a network with other nurses, and 14 years later I was able to welcome you to N-ECCO School. So even though my English is still poor, my commitment to IBD is even greater today than it was then, both at home and in Europe.
N-ECCO School is primarily aimed at nurses/dietitians in Europe and beyond who have limited experience working with IBD and who need basic knowledge on IBD and what it is like to be a patient and to live with the disease. Even though participants come from many different countries with differing care provision, the disease is the same and the patients have the same needs.
As in other years, the 15th N-ECCO School opened with discussion of anatomy and physiology in IBD. The programme then continued by addressing the psychosocial implications of living with IBD, nutrition and both surgical and medical treatment. The second and third sessions respectively considered case studies in the management of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis and discussed the multidisciplinary management of IBD.
One theme that recurs in the programme each year is Adherence: one cannot over-emphasise how important it is to understand this topic. Key questions are: How should we follow up our patients? and What is the nurse's role in IBD management? The School provides a good foundation of knowledge that can subsequently be built upon and plenty of ideas on how best to work with and develop the care of our IBD patients.
The lecturers are primarily nurses, doctors and dietitians involved in ECCO/N-ECCO. The content is updated with the latest developments in the field. This year we also had great commitment from the participants. We had more questions than we had time to answer, as well as many great discussions.
If it's not you we see next year, maybe you can advise someone else to go on this training programme. I believe that they will both enjoy the experience and learn a lot.
15th N-ECCO School at ECCO'24
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