Browse past issues of the CNENet newsletter below. Click an issue to expand its content.
I have been spending a lot of time in the garden over the past month. The winter is still weighing on me. I find that I struggle, at times, to find the use in the difficulty of the constraints that we are experiencing in practice and am anxious about what comes next.
However seeing the earth return to life has two positive effects for me. Firstly it reminds me of Kierkegaard’s observation that, “anxiety is the dizziness of freedom”. Even in constraint there is possibility. Secondly I see that there is life outside of our busy wards and departments - that life continues, grows, flourishes. I believe that we can do the same.
In this newsletter we have some excellent news of renewal. CNENet has released details of the 2026 conference, which we are excited about and you will find details of below. Beyond the network we also have the formation of a new Alliance of International Nurses and Midwives Diasporas, which is an important and positive development. These are good things for us to build on in 2026!
As a particular call for practical assistance with the conference - we would really appreciate any of our members who are handy with a camera to contact us if you would be willing to help photograph the conference! We're also looking for volunteers to help with stewarding on the day, so do come forward if willing.
In our Evidence section Dani has given us a review of new resources related to transformative simulation, which is a powerful paradigm for driving systems change and addressing challenging patient safety issues. Clinical educators are exceptionally well placed to lead the way, here, so I strongly recommend familiarising yourself with these resources. We also have a second feature article from NHSE about the 'Becoming Simulation Faculty' national training, which dovetails well with ASPiH's launch of their Development Framework this March. Simulation is one of the most exciting areas of clinical education right now.
In our selected evidence this quarter, we have not shied away from some of the difficult questions. There are two important papers on staffing, one that makes a robust case for nursing numbers and care quality — a paper worth having to hand in any workforce conversation. We also have a hard-hitting RCN report on the rising tide of violence against healthcare workers that moves beyond acknowledgement toward action.
I hope this newsletter leaves you feeling, as the garden has left me feeling, that the anxiety of this moment might just be the shape that possibility takes before it breaks through.
Finally, our new website continues to expand. You'll find this newsletter and future newsletters archived there for your perusal.
— Finn Tysoe, Deputy Chair, CNENet UK
Our biggest news is that the conference is open for abstract submissions AND registration!
Abstract submissions will close on 30 April, so please get yours in! We also have a number of excellent optional workshops this year that have limited availability. Please visit the website to learn more.
Our keynote speaker will be Professor Nicola Ranger. We look forward to seeing you on 10th July 2026 in Birmingham.
FONS have a number of their excellent training programmes open for application
The Richard Tompkins Nurse Development Scholarship and FoNS Social Care Scholarship arecurrently open and closing on 12 April.
The FoNS Residential Programme is also open with a focus on hospice care. The early bird pricing will be over by the time this newsletter goes out, but you can still apply!
The following message from FNF: "We are pleased to share progress on our Global Talent, Local Impact work, which explores the experiences and contributions of internationally educated nurses and midwives within health and care systems. Shaped by the insights and generosity of communities and partners across the country, this project identifies ways to retain, develop, and learn from the internationally educated workforce. For those working in FNF Member organisations, you can watch the Launch Webinar on the portal. We look forward to publishing the full report in June 2026. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to this important work."
On 31 March ASPiH launched their Development Framework. Well worth a look for those who are interested and inspired by our second Feature Article this Quarter.
More than 30 Diaspora nursing organisations formally united in a landmark public launch and oath-taking ceremony held on 30 January 2026 at St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford. The event marked the official formation of a powerful new Alliance grounded in community, collaboration, and collective responsibility.
Hosted by Steve Ford, Editor of Nursing Times, the ceremony brought together senior leaders and distinguished guests from across health and social care. Attendees included ambassadors, the President of the Royal College of Nursing, the National Nursing Officer of UNISON, the Chief Executive Officer of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, the Director of the Oxford School of Nursing and Midwifery, and representatives from the Nursing and Midwifery Council, alongside other key stakeholders.
While each Diaspora organisation remains independent and self-governing, their decision to unite under a shared Alliance signalled a historic step forward. The Alliance affirms a common purpose and unified direction while preserving the unique identity, heritage, and leadership of every member organisation.
Grounded in the values of solidarity, collaboration, excellence, empowerment, and respect, the Alliance is underpinned by an unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, freedom, and justice. Central to its mission is the responsibility to protect and promote the rights, dignity, and professional welfare of its member organisations and the healthcare professionals they represent.
By standing together, the Alliance strengthens its collective influence. A unified voice carries significantly greater weight in policy discussions, professional advocacy, and strategic engagement with national and international stakeholders. Through collective leadership, the Alliance aims to shape the conversations and decisions that affect healthcare workers, patient outcomes, and the communities they serve.
Ariel Lañada, Chair of the Alliance, emphasised the significance of this shared vision, saying, “As an alliance, we represent diverse nations, cultures, and professional journeys, yet we are united by a common purpose: to improve the lives of healthcare workers, enhance patient care, and strengthen the communities we serve.”
The launch on 30 January 2026 marked not only a moment of celebration but the beginning of sustained collaboration and purposeful action. By harnessing the strength of diversity and shared commitment, the Alliance is poised to become a formidable advocate for Diaspora nurses and midwives, and a catalyst for meaningful, lasting change across the healthcare landscape in the UK and beyond.
Website: Alliance of International Nurses and Midwives Diasporas UK
Over 25% of learners on national simulation educator programme are nursing educators
The national Becoming Simulation Faculty (BSF) programme supports the development of multiprofessional educators, practitioners, technicians and managers to design, deliver and evaluate simulation and immersive learning.
Launched in 2024, BSF was designed and developed by NHS England’s Simulation and Immersive Technologies team in collaboration with multiprofessional experts, including nursing educators, across the simulation community. It delivers a national approach to simulation faculty development, enhancing professional capabilities and supporting continuous professional development of multi-disciplinary teams.
BSF consists of 6 core elearning topics followed by a 1-day face-to-face workshop delivered locally to consolidate knowledge and develop practical skills for facilitation.
The core topics are:
Once learners have completed the core learning, they are eligible to attend a face-to-face workshop, which offers an experiential learning opportunity to extend and consolidate the knowledge they have gained from the core course. It also gives them the opportunity to discuss and rehearse some key skills and behaviours that are important when establishing a new simulation faculty.
There are also 4 advanced elearning topics:
The programme is Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited; 7 CPD points for the core course, 8 CPD points for the workshops and 1-3 CPD points per advanced topic.
Nationally, over 12,000 learners are enrolled on the programme and over 2,000 have already completed it. On completion of the elearning, 65% of learners have attended the face-to-face workshop in their region. There are over 180 Becoming Simulation Faculty trained facilitators nationally and they have delivered 95 workshops since programme launch.
Over a quarter of the learners have been nurses, indicating a strong relevance to nursing education roles. For clinical nurse educators, BSF can support practical priorities such as:
To find out more contact the team via england.simimmtech@nhs.net or visit the website
Author: Claire Huby, NHS England
The resources at the ASPiH Transformative Simulations Resources page include definitions of Transformational Simulation and of the seven types of simulation-based interventions that fall under the Transformational Simulation umbrella, along with a literature review of papers using those terms. There are also links to practice examples, webinars, and ongoing research on the topic.
The literature review paper (Weldon et al., 2023) describes the work of the Transformational Simulation Special Interest Group (a subgroup of the Association for Simulated Practice in Healthcare) to define Transformational Simulation as "a tool to transform health and care through collective understanding, insight and learning" — explicitly distinct from simulation used for educational purposes.
The authors initially sought out healthcare professionals conducting transformative types of simulation, organising Twitter Fests and cultivating communities of practice at healthcare simulation conferences and networking events. This outreach led to the establishment of the Transformational Simulation Special Interest Group (SIG). These activities informed both the broad definition of Transformational Simulation and the identification of seven keywords describing the range of simulation-based interventions within it: Innovation, Improvement, Intervention, Involvement, Identification, Inclusion, and Influence. These seven terms are depicted visually as a rainbow graphic.
The main body of the paper reviews existing literature featuring one or more of these seven terms to describe a simulation-based intervention. The authors found evidence from the past 14 years of successful application of simulation-based interventions to real-world healthcare problems, including: design and implementation of integrated care pathways; integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary services; definition of optimal healthcare team roles and scope of practice; identification of latent safety threats; and screening for unintended consequences of proposed solutions.
However, the review also found that over 68 different terms were used to describe this type of simulation activity, and that published evidence was highly varied in form — spanning case studies, reflective accounts, evaluations, research studies, theoretical papers, frameworks, and strategies. The authors attributed this fragmentation to the individualised nature of most interventions, which are largely driven by motivated healthcare staff applying simulation to local clinical or operational needs.
Few organisations were found to have embedded transformational simulation into routine practice, which the authors suggested is likely due to the absence of evidence-based implementation guidance. They concluded that developing such guidance would help to establish and embed these interventions more widely.
The remaining resources on the website link to case studies and papers describing simulation-based interventions in practice, alongside webinars, infographics, and opportunities to engage with the Special Interest Group's ongoing research.
Author: Dani Wade de Botero, Kingston & Richmond NHS Trust
As we have some great articles on simulation this month I thought I would include some good reading on the same topic. This first paper is a new piece looking at physical safety in simulation - revisiting a concern that we may have put aside in our pursuit for psychological safety.
And what do we mean by psychological safety anyway? To start answering this question you may like to consider two classic papers on the topic. Firstly 'Establishing a Safe Container for Learning in Simulation' by Rudolph et al and then 'Taking Sim out of its Safe Container' by Purdy et al. Great papers that make pyschological safety something solid, real and achiveable instead of a wafting empty concept.
This study looks at whether hospitals with better nurse:patient ratios tend to have fewer deaths than expected.
Researchers analysed data from 122 NHS hospital trusts in England over three and a half years, comparing two things: how many hours of care each patient received per day (broken down by registered nurses versus other healthcare workers such as healthcare assistants), and each hospital's mortality rate relative to what would be expected given its patients' characteristics.
Hospitals with higher RN care hours consistently had lower-than-expected death rates, while those with fewer RN hours tended to have higher-than-expected deaths. This pattern held across different types of hospitals and over time. Interestingly, other healthcare workers (such as healthcare assistants and nursing associates) showed a weaker and less consistent relationship with mortality. Registered nurses made the biggest difference.
This is not a new finding, but one that echoes previous work by researchers such as Anne Marie Rafferty.
The challenges of accurate workforce mapping are enormous - and this report is certainly not perfect. However the report is as interesting for what it does not say because these are the opportunities we have to change the narrative around workforce.
Insights from the 05 March webinar are accessible at the NHS Providers website.
This report outlines the rising incidence of violence against staff and health facilities, and presents accounts from nursing staff working in many war zones. It is grounded in the fundamental principle that health care workers must be protected, not persecuted. It does not align with any side in any conflict. It stands for the right of nurses and other health professionals to deliver care in safety, wherever they are.
This issue will cover upcoming events, recent publications, and highlights from our community.
This issue will cover upcoming events, recent publications, and highlights from our community.
This issue will cover upcoming events, recent publications, and highlights from our community.
As always we will highlight innovative approaches to clinical education, upcoming activity, and member news.
“Innovation is the key to shaping future clinical educators.”