Interview with N-ECCO National Representative Denmark
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Denmark |
N-ECCO National Representative:
Anne Hindhede
Job Title:
IBD Nurse
What influenced your decision to apply for the role of N-ECCO National Representative for your country?
I was working in IBD and I thought that it was important to improve the level of information and good clinical practice of my Danish colleagues. Also, Else Mikkelsen and Palle Bager asked me to join them.
What IBD nursing initiatives, N-ECCO network opportunities or developments in IBD care are happening in your country?
Else and I translated the N-ECCO Consensus Statements into Danish, which will help many nurses who do not read or speak English. I am Chair of the National Association for Gastroenterology Nurses; we have a yearly two-day meeting and one full day is dedicated to IBD. Unfortunately our meeting in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19.
What are the challenges for IBD nursing in your country, both on a personal and on an organisational level?
Personally I do not have any challenges as such. My head nurse is very interested in developing good IBD care. I wish that the Danish Council of Nurses would plan to develop further education in IBD. It is a specific topic compared with diabetes or heart disease and that is the real challenge.
Please can you tell us from your point of view: What are the opportunities that N-ECCO offers you?
In my opinion, the greatest opportunity is the possibility of learning about the latest trends in IBD care in the EU and incorporating the best evidence into our practice so as to provide optimal care for patients suffering from Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis.
Else Mikkelsen and I work well together, even though we are located in different parts of Denmark. We hope to inspire, educate and inform the new IBD Nurses by communicating to them all the good evidence, new information and opportunities provided by N-ECCO. We also share knowledge through a sub-group under the National Association for Gastroenterology which I chair and which affords an opportunity to inform the Association. I just want to be a good role model for new nurses and inspire colleagues to always become better – and to seek the best results for our patients.
Do you need assistance from N-ECCO in this role? If ‘yes’, what kind of assistance do you need? If ‘no’, what works well?
Yes, it would be nice for both National Representatives to be invited to important meetings with N-ECCO, and perhaps receive a low level of financial support when we are away from work. It would then be easier for our head nurse to say “go and learn”, but we do have demanding jobs. It would help and make it so much easier to share and implement new information if both N-ECCO National Representatives attended meetings.
How would you like to see N-ECCO develop? Please give us two or three ideas.
N-ECCO could try to incorporate more practical models or ideas for nurses. Over the last few years there has been a focus on Masters degrees and research groups and less attention to the nurses doing a fantastic job with patients in hospitals or sitting with patients in outpatient clinics – it is not always something that you read which gives the best result in a real situation.
What plans do you have in your role as National Representative to promote ECCO to other nurses in your country (including the N-ECCO School, Research Forum and Network Meeting)?
I would like to remain as an N-ECCO National Representative for more than two years to have a real impact.
How are you planning to execute your plan? What is working well and what challenges do you have in your role as an N-ECCO National Representative? How are you planning to overcome the barriers?
Else Mikkelsen and I want to create further opportunities to promote N-ECCO. As a team we do much better.
The N-ECCO Travel Award offers nurses an excellent opportunity to learn and share best practice by visiting a centre of excellence in another country or your own country. Have you promoted this Award to nurses in your country? If ‘yes’, how? If ‘no’, why not?
Every year, I promote the N-ECCO Travel Award on the Gastroenterology Nurses Facebook page and also via our National Association. Else and I find it very important to promote this Award and to motivate new nurses to participate in the N-ECCO School and the ECCO Congress.
Do you use the N-ECCO Consensus Statements to deliver care to IBD patients in your country? If ‘yes’, how do you use them? If ‘no’, why don’t you use them?
We use and have translated the N-ECCO Consensus Statements into Danish and have had an article in the Danish Association Nurses’ magazine. We will soon create a tutorial for the use of all Danish IBD Nurses. We are hoping that it can be used as an educational tool to provide nurses with better skills and better knowledge of basic and advanced care for IBD patients.