Bursary Reports

I was fortunate to be awarded a bursary to attend this year’s ARNS conference in Lincoln. I always look forward to this event, and once again it did not disappoint.

The conference opened with a thought-provoking talk by Lucy Easthope, author of “When the Dust Settles”. It was a powerful reminder that even in the most difficult situations, attention to detail and remembering the small things remain important and can make a real difference.

Throughout the conference, there was an important reminder to be mindful of our fragile environment and to recognise that there are changes we can make which can have a positive impact. This was demonstrated powerfully by David Shukman, who showed footage of the frightening impact of climate change while also leaving us with a sense of hope and the knowledge that we can act and that all is not lost. From a nursing perspective, this could be as simple as focusing on small but meaningful choices, such as selecting the most appropriate inhaler for each patient.

Pippa Heylings took to the stage on Friday morning and, by sharing her experiences of responding to environmental challenges, also left us with a sense of hope. By collaborating with relevant agencies, and developing an empathetic understanding of each agency’s agenda, meaningful change is possible.

Collaborative working is essential for the NHS and will help us deliver better services for our patients. The ARNS conference is a wonderful example of this collaboration, offering an opportunity to meet colleagues, share ideas, and be inspired by fellow members of the respiratory community. There were many examples of excellent nursing practice throughout the conference. I always leave feeling inspired and impressed by the nurses who are driving impactful service improvements that will greatly improve patients’ experiences and with the growth of biologics, it certainly feels like an exciting time to be in respiratory nursing.
 

Thank you for providing a bursary to support my attendance at the ARNS Conference 2026. I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend this valuable educational event, which has made a significant contribution to my professional development and clinical practice.

The conference brought together respiratory nursing professionals from across the UK to share knowledge, research, and best practice in respiratory care. The programme covered key areas relevant to current clinical practice, including COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary rehabilitation, patient education, and staff wellbeing. The sessions were evidence-based, engaging, and delivered by experienced clinicians, offering practical insights applicable to daily practice.

A key highlight was receiving the Oral Presentation Award. This recognition of work within our service provided an opportunity to showcase practice on a national platform. It has strengthened my confidence in presenting and encouraged further involvement in quality improvement, research, and future presentations.

The conference provided valuable updates on advances in respiratory care, including patient-centred approaches, clinical guideline developments, and emerging technologies in diagnosis and treatment. A key learning point was the importance of early intervention and patient education in supporting self-management of chronic respiratory conditions, improving outcomes, and reducing hospital admissions.

Multidisciplinary teamwork was a consistent theme throughout the event, highlighting the importance of collaborative working in delivering high-quality respiratory care. The conference also provided excellent networking opportunities, enabling the exchange of ideas and best practice with colleagues from across the UK.

The knowledge gained will be shared with colleagues and incorporated into clinical practice to support service improvement and enhance patient care. The bursary has therefore provided excellent value by supporting both my professional development and wider team learning.

Overall, attending the ARNS Conference 2026 was a highly worthwhile experience. It enhanced my clinical knowledge, confidence, and commitment to delivering high-quality respiratory care. I am grateful for the financial support provided and would strongly recommend continued bursary funding for future educational opportunities.

Thank you again for your support.

Thanks to the support of the ARNS bursary, I was able to attend my first international conference - the General Practice Respiratory Infections Network (GRIN) Conference - and it certainly did not disappoint. Hosted in the beautiful city of Würzburg. The event was complemented by opportunities to explore the city, including the Nightwatcher tour.

I was delighted to present the preliminary results of my qualitative study, which explored the views and experiences of healthcare professionals and people with asthma on the prescribing of antibiotics for acute respiratory symptoms in both adults and children with asthma.

The conference was also an opportunity to learn about the most up-to-date research on infections in primary care. The most memorable message for me was the power of behavioural interventions in antimicrobial stewardship, and the significant overlap in factors influencing antibiotic use across different infections. I was particularly interested in a new approach to integrating both qualitative and quantitative studies — the Pillar Integration Process (Johnson, 2019). I also learned that antimicrobial resistance was first described by Mary Barber as far back as 1947.

Attending GRIN was an inspiring and educational experience, and I am grateful to ARNS for making it possible through bursary support.

I applied for an ARNS bursary to help provide some additional support to attend the TSANZSRS (The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand) conference in Adelaide in March this year. The bursary covered some of my registration costs for the meeting, to make it worth my while I had submitted 3 abstracts from some of the research I have been involved in over the last year or so. I was very excited to find out that all three were accepted, 2 as posters and one as an oral presentation. The conference was in an amazing setting, overlooking the river Torrens and opposite the Adelaide Oval. The conference was smaller than I expected but still around 1600 participants. Everyone was very friendly and approachable, and it was great to see talks from people whose papers I had read and meet up with old friends.  There was a mix of lots of different sessions, including a nursing session and a focus on the impact of high temperatures, climate change, sustainability and air pollution and some amazing presentations from early career researchers.

The posters were up for the whole conference to allow everyone to dip in and out, and the poster sessions were a cheese and wine event, this was a lovely way for everyone to mix with each other.  Although one of my posters was nominated for a prize (a top ten poster) unfortunately I didn’t win. 

1.  Does being a nurse reduce likelihood of current smoking: an analysis of nationally representative data to investigate smoking across the UK nursing workforce.
2. Does the mMRC Dyspnoea Scale or stage of pulmonary rehabilitation completion impact on preferences for education?

The posters are usually published later in the year but if anyone wants a pdf copy of either poster please get in touch. The oral presentation was a good opportunity to network, this was presented in a smoking cessation session.  The project was funded by ARNS and explored the exposure of nurses to second hand smoke while visiting patients at home (will be reporting back at the ARNS conference in May!).  It was really interesting to hear the views from those working in a different country and setting and talk about other work that we are undertaking. We are now working on writing up this work for publication, and I’ll share the publication when we get to that stage.

I did try and explore Adelaide and as it was such a long trip I also organised meeting up with respiratory colleagues in Melbourne. We set up a webinar (from Monash university) which was supported by the Australian Lung Association on personalising pulmonary rehabilitation which went really well.  I also went and observed pulmonary rehabilitation at the Alfred hospital (thanks to all the team there especially Janet for managing the mountain of paperwork), which was great fun and had a fantastic view! 

My final activity was to present some of my work around pulmonary rehabilitation at Victoria University in Melbourne, which Prof Clarice Tang kindly set up and then I had a bit of time to be a tourist before heading back to the UK.  I really recommend going to an international conference, especially to link in with researchers and clinicians that you’d like to connect with.  It is also worth organising a visit to any local universities and hospitals/clinics to see how things are done.

Nicola

Professor in respiratory healthcare delivery

This year’s BTS Winter Meeting was a truly fantastic experience, providing an excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and friends in the respiratory field, fostering meaningful discussions and collaborations.

Highlights of the meeting included a session on interpreting NRAP audit data and defining high-quality respiratory care. Additionally, thought-provoking talks by Professor Francine Ducharme on whether children “grow out” of asthma and Professor Stephen Turner on how paediatric care impacts adult lung health stood out. These sessions underscored the critical importance of prioritising paediatrics to improve long-term outcomes, emphasising that today’s children are tomorrow’s adults.

While many attendees were engrossed in discussions about the newly published BTS guidelines, I delved into the session “Brave New World – Asthma in the New Era.” This fascinating presentation showcased cutting-edge asthma research and initiatives, such as the UK Severe Asthma Registry, reflecting the advancements that are shaping the future of respiratory care.

I was also particularly inspired by a session on evidence-based nurse-led practice, where passionate nurses and allied health professionals shared innovative strategies and practical insights to enhance respiratory care delivery.

Finally, during this year’s conference, I had the opportunity to present my poster on the impact of virtual wards on paediatric asthma readmission rates, which sparked engaging conversations and insightful exchanges with attendees.

Overall, the BTS Winter Meeting was an enriching and highly productive event, combining a stimulating scientific program with the joy of engaging with the respiratory community.

Aleks Gawlik-Lipinski, Vice Chair of the ARNS Research and Education Sub Committee

I should start by saying that the ATS conference is huge, it does take a bit of planning to decide what you are going to attend. As such with such a big conference it is expensive to attend, I applied successfully for an ARNS bursary to help with the registration costs.

This year’s conference was in San Diego, I have been part of the pulmonary rehabilitation conference organising committee and submitted an abstract, and a symposium proposal (as a group) around pulmonary rehabilitation education.

I facilitated a pulmonary rehabilitation poster session with 3 colleagues, this was great fun and a good way to hear about lots of new work. My abstract was accepted as an oral presentation on what pulmonary rehabilitation participants want their educational sessions to comprise of. Our pulmonary rehabilitation symposium discussed delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation, focusing on the staff, education, CBT, education, literacy amongst other topics. My final responsibility on the last day was to attend our conference programming meeting to get ready for next year – a bright and early meeting at 6.45 am.

So my highlights, it is great to get a bit more involved, and see other interesting sessions and posters. Thanks ARNS for helping me to attend, it was exhausting but really worthwhile. Do consider applying for a bursary to attend an international conference.

Nicola  

A bursary from ARNS part-funded and facilitated the opportunity for me to attend the RCNi conference in September this year.

The RCNi conference is an annual conference appropriate for any nurses interested in nursing research. The conference showcases the best of nurse research and provides an excellent platform and opportunity for networking, sharing ideas, affords an opportunity to learn from each other and also to hear from some inspirational and thought-provoking key-note speakers.

As a nurse consultant in severe asthma, often I attend conferences with a respiratory theme, for me personally the highlight of the conference was being exposed to the extraordinary research which spanned all spheres of nursing to see and recognise that irrespective of our specialty we all face the same challenges yet can collaborate to learn from each other and overcome these challenges.

The conference this year had a theme of “Inclusivity in nurse research working together to make a difference” and this theme ran strongly throughout the agenda.

Professor Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi, in her keynote address – “Nursing whilst Black: Trials, tribulations, and successes”, shared her own personal journey, challenges and experiences of discrimination within her nursing & research career. Whilst facing discrimination, she has manged to accrue a successful research portfolio, with a significant list of professional accolades and has made substantial improvements in patient care, through promoting equity of access to eye health, in underserved communities. Listening to her honestly speak about her negative experiences really was emotive and hard to hear but needed to be heard, discrimination in any guise has no place in nursing. She really provided an opportunity to reflect upon our own perceptions, behaviours and how as a collective we can address and have a zero tolerance to inequality in healthcare and challenge racial and gender discrimination.

Professor Annette Hand spoke about the importance of the career, and how often when caring for the patient the carer and their needs is overlooked. She spoke about the substantial contribution to patient care made by carers and her doctoral work which focussed on carer burden (often emotional, physical and financial). The 2021 census estimated there are around 5million unpaid careers in the UK, of which I’m sure a significant proportion care for patients with respiratory disease. This really made me reflect upon my own area of nursing and consider how both myself and team can begin to consider and support carer burden within our own cohort.

Patient and public engagement ran strongly through the agenda and a plenary session on the importance of involving patients in planning research, co-presented by health professionals and patients involved in research design was particularly insightful, and really highlighted how involving patients and their lived experience from the development of a research idea, throughout all phases of research can help to develop better research and maximise recruitment.

Undertaking my own PhD exploring outcomes, experiences and support needs of young adults with severe asthma, I have begun to highlight young adults are a underserved and under recognised group, with their outcomes often being lost amongst paediatric and adult datasets. At the conference Tara Searle presented her initial research outcomes highlighting that teenagers and young adults (15-24) are often being excluded from cancer trails due to research exclusion criteria is often based upon age rather than having a biologic basis. The implications of this is that, this age group are being considerably hampered in accessing novel treatments, which consequently impacts upon quality of life, prognosis and upon survival rates. This really highlighted the importance of ongoing nursing research across young adults and highlights how as nurses we really can use research to advocate for our patients, to question existing care and process’s using nurse research to help improve patient care and outcomes, particularly in underserved under-represented groups.

Finally, I was delighted to be able to deliver a spoken session, presenting the first phase of my own PhD “the psychosocial experience of living with severe and uncontrolled asthma as a young person: A qualitative synthesis” My study highlighted that young adults with severe and uncontrolled asthma often live with a significant negative impact upon their psychosocial wellbeing as consequence of living with their disease. This review also highlighted that more research is required within this cohort to begin to understand their experiences and support needs, which leads me into my second phase of my PhD, that hopefully I will be able to present at RCN international nurse conference next year!

Leanne-Jo Holmes, ARNS Research and Education Sub Committee