N-ECCO

IBD nursing has developed a significant international community that originated humbly in Weymouth, Dorset, in 1993, with just one nurse. Today, it is recognised worldwide as a specialised field crucial to the care of people with IBD. ECCO'26 in Stockholm will mark the 20th anniversary of the N-ECCO Network Meeting.

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to invite you to ECCO 2026, the 21st Congress of ECCO, which will be held in Stockholm Messe, Sweden on February 18–21. The ECCO REACH strategy, introduced in 2024, is a five-year plan designed to improve IBD care, with ‘REACH’ being the acronym for five key goals: Rapid diagnosis and treatment, Equitable access to care, Attainment of sustainable IBD care, discovery of Causes of IBD and Holistic IBD care.

At the 21st Congress of ECCO in Stockholm, the Nurses of ECCO (N-ECCO) will host the educational activity for IBD Nurses, N-ECCO School, for the 17th time. ECCO intends to give nurses, who might be still in training and have an interest in IBD, the possibility to attend an IBD-focused course. The ultimate aim of this programme is to improve nurse education throughout Europe.

What drives nurses to join N-ECCO, especially when time and energy are often limited due to shift work and when association membership and travel are not supported to the same extent as for doctors? Goedele and Pearl share their inspirational outlook and motivation.

Tania Hermoso and Audrey Borel are both IBD Nurses, working in Paris, and designated N-ECCO National Representatives for France since 2023 and 2024 respectively. Until recently, there was no formal training for nurses wishing to specialise in IBD, and the position of an IBD Nurse is not officially recognised by the French health system. “In France, the main challenge is to gain recognition for the IBD Nurse role and to legally validate training for advanced practice nurses in IBD,” says Audrey.

The 16th edition of the N-ECCO School and the 19th edition of the N-ECCO Network Meeting took place during the 20th Congress of ECCO, held from February 19 to 22 in a cold but sunny Berlin. The N-ECCO School gives nurses and dietitians the opportunity to increase their basic knowledge in IBD, while the N-ECCO Network Meeting provides an overview of new insights in IBD care, presented by a mix of excellent speakers.

The N-ECCO Travel Award offers IBD Nurses an opportunity to visit other IBD Centres, to observe and learn from IBD nursing services. Sophie Craddock was awarded at ECCO’24 and travelled to the Meyer Children’s Hospital, in Florence Italy.

We are pleased to invite you to ECCO 2025, the 20th Congress of ECCO, which will be held in Berlin. As you know, in 2024 the REACH strategy was successfully introduced with the objective of focusing on a single letter each year. In 2025, the focus will be on the letter ‘A’, which corresponds to the objective of Attaining Sustainable IBD Care.

At the 20th Congress of ECCO in Stockholm, the Nurses of ECCO (N-ECCO) will host the educational activity for IBD Nurses, N-ECCO School, for the 16th time. ECCO intends to give nurses, who might be still in training and have an interest in IBD, the possibility to attend an IBD-focused course. The ultimate aim of this programme is to improve nurse education throughout Europe.

Two new members joined the N-ECCO Committee in February 2024: Maria de Jong from the Netherlands and Cathy Walsh from Ireland. We all share the same mission: promoting IBD nursing in Europe, rolling out educational and research programmes, and developing patient care and education. We are looking forward to working together, and here Maria and Cathy introduce themselves and their aims while on the committee...

Is there any specific training for IBD Nursing in your country? Until this year, there was no specific training. Every IBD Nurse learned ‘on the job’, with some having the opportunity to do an observership with another IBD Nurse. In collaboration with the Belgium IBD Nursing Association (BINAstoria), and together with rheumatology and dermatology nurses, we’ve now established a formal IMID (immune-mediated inflammatory disease) postgraduate training programme to support our profession. This postgraduate training will start in October 2024...

Stockholmsmässan, also known as Älvsjömässan, the largest exhibition and conference facility in Sweden, hosted the 18th N-ECCO Network Meeting. A total of 295 IBD Nurses from Europe and beyond were attracted by the interesting programme, in order to share current practice and research in the management of IBD.

On February 21 of this year, Stockholm became the hub for groundbreaking discussions at the 8th N-ECCO Research Forum during the 19th ECCO Congress. Designed to spotlight the pivotal role of specialised nursing in managing IBD, this biannual gathering underscored the importance of Europe-wide nursing collaboration in research and mentoring the next generation of IBD Research Nurses.

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.