Out and about: BACN autumn conference, Edgbaston

A record 300 nurses flocked to the Edgbaston Cricket Ground for the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) autumn conference. 

The event was held over two days, with 100 attending on the first day for a workshop day and 300 for the main conference on day two. 

Two big announcements were made at the event: the establishment of the BACN Church Pharmacy Bursary Fund for members, and a 12-month project to develop a new competency framework for the Specialist Aesthetic Nurse Career Profile.

The bursary scheme will launch this month (January 2019) and will offer financial support to BACN members wishing to undertake a broad range of education, CPD and specialist training. 

The project will be overseen by the Education and Training Committee and will be led by aesthetic nurses prescribers and BACN board members Anna Baker and Mel Recchia. The aim is ‘to establish a clear education, training and competency-based framework for establishment of levels of the Specialist Aesthetic Nurse in the UK’. 

Sharon Bennett, chair of the BACN said, “I am delighted with the largest conference we have had to date. The exhibition hall was fully sold and feedback from both delegates and exhibitors has been very positive. The conference concentrated on reinforcing the message of accountability in cosmetic practice and the need to develop the role of the specialist nurse.”

The BACN’s 2019 conference will take place at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on November 7-8.