EFN National Nurses Associations, representing 3 million EU nurses, met in Athens, Greece for the biannual EFN General Assembly, on 17 and 18 October 2019. This moment was a great opportunity for the 36 EFN Members, who shared views, best practices and analysed progress on the key political topics that are influencing the nursing agenda at the EU level, in addition to their impact on the nursing profession and the citizens of Europe.
The 110th EFN General Assembly Dr. Prezerakos, Secretary General for Health at the Greek Ministry of Health, a nurse himself, to discuss the concerns of the nursing profession on his country and in the EU. EFN members discussed topics such as the need of having nurses as co-designers of new digital health tools (such as and EU Electronic Health Record), value-based healthcare, and nurses’ education fostering their digital skills.
EFN Members updated each other on latest developments at the national level, and shared best practices with each other,and in particular regarding the infringement procedures that the European Commission has put in place against some EU countries for not being in compliance with the EU Directive 2013/55/EU.
The World Health Organisation has declared 2020 as the year of the nurse and the midwife, thus giving the opportunity to the EFN Members to reflect together on how to raise awareness on the importance of these professions during the upcoming year. Parallel to this, the Nursing Now Campaign will come to an end in 2020, of which the EFN has proudly been the European lead.
The EFN Members are strongly engaged in developing further the nursing profession, committed to continue working together towards the same goals and objectives, positively influencing the daily practice of nurses to achieve high quality and safe patient care outcomes.