THE University of Northampton’s Waterside campus was opened to health professionals from across Europe last month as the university showcased midwifery and nursing education across the institution.
The influential Florence Network chose the UK as the destination for its annual conference and visited the two universities who are their only members in this country.
Delegates spent Monday evening and Tuesday with their first hosts, the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Coventry University, then travelled to Northampton to tour the university’s new campus and sample the teaching facilities.
The included trying new, virtual reality software for nursing students before embarking on trips to visit the University’s Competence Test Centre for internationally qualified nurses and midwives.
Other delegates visited two of the university’s key health partners, Northampton General Hospital and St. Andrew’s Healthcare.
The Florence Network is a partnership of 40 healthcare focused education institutions across Europe. Its main objectives are to make nursing and midwifery more visible in Europe, offer exchange opportunities for students and teachers, compare curricula, improve the quality of nursing and midwifery education and co-operate for research.
Dr. Steve O’Brien, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Society at University of Northampton said: “As one of only two universities in the UK to be members of the Florence Network, it has been a privilege to welcome our nursing and midwifery peers from across the continent.
“The title of the conference made their visit to our new, £330m campus at Waterside particularly apt. ‘Future forward: the future of nursing and midwifery in a changing health arena’ captures not only the outlook for the professions, but also reflects how universities such as Northampton are embracing new technologies in our state-of-the-art simulation suite and educational innovations to help shape future generations of nurses and midwives.”
