Taking the Future Nurse Movement Global

This week, I had the privilege of taking our Future Nurse movement to Norway to listen, learn, and collaborate with inspiring colleagues from across the Nordic region.

The week began with a dinner hosted by the Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NNO). We reflected on the progress they’ve made as early pioneers in developing a nursing terminology for electronic patient records (EPRs). With government investment, the NNO contributed to the creation and promotion of the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP)—a vital step in achieving interoperability and information sharing. While being further ahead in this regard the familiar themes of involvement and education emerged as shared challenges.

?? The next day at EHiN (Norway’s premier e-health conference), a focus on person centred care shone through. The event kicked off with the Ministers for Health and Digitalization and highlighted the Nordic Health 2030 Strategy by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies. This strategy’s emphasis on personalized, preventive, and participatory care should inspire those working on the NHS 10-year plan.

The message reflects the findings of the recent Darzi review and its recommendations for three shifts: ?? From sickness to health ?? From hospitals to communities ?? From analogue to digital

However, these are not new ideas, and like many others, I wonder—what will be different this time? Will the third shift, which is fundamental to achieving the first two, be accelerated, or will the same old approaches cause progress to move at a glacial pace?

The answer may lie in the Estonian approach. Their Health Minister outlined a refreshing, no-nonsense strategy focused on fostering a mature dialogue with the public. This approach has driven faster progress in digital transformation, enabling the critical shifts needed in healthcare.

This sentiment echoed the call to action by Sue Tranka (CNO Wales) at our recent Future Nurse Nursing Times Conference, emphasizing the urgency of moving forward with purpose and clarity.

Standout Moments:

• At the Epic stand, I reconnected with fellow nurse Martijn Antonius who provided vital peer to peer professional support when I led UCLH’s go-live. He shared exciting advancements in AI and ambient technologies in Epic, aimed at saving time for nurses and surfacing safety critical information for better patient outcomes—tools I can’t wait to see in action.
• Participation in a nurse leadership panel chaired by Clayton Hamilton digital lead at the World Health Organization Euro Region featuring Sally Bibb PA Consulting highlighted the unique strengths of nurses to meet the challenges ahead: Power located in their professional knowledge and expertise The courage to call out issues and behaviours Openness to new ways of working The ability to inspire and liberate talent

?? A highlight of my visit was to VAR headquarters, a healthtech company owned by nurses. VAR has spent 25 years developing clinical guidelines and a decision-support tool designed by nurses, for nurses. Their product is used by 98% of Norwegian universities and healthcare providers—a remarkable testament to the impact of nurse-led innovation.

This visit reinforced the Future Nurse mission: to promote more products like VAR’s—solutions created by nurses, grounded in the realities of nursing practice, and designed to improve care. To collaborate with healthtech companies that share this vision and those yet to recognise the value of working with the nursing community for better care.

?? Key Takeaways:

Person-centred care is gaining momentum globally—our unique knowledge and expertise as nurses mean our time to lead is now.

Nurse entrepreneurs like the VAR team prove that nurse-led solutions can transform practice, and their pioneering work deserves widespread recognition.

Future Nurse must be resourced to incubate and scale technologies that enable better care for all.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this thought-provoking trip possible. I ?left with a renewed sense of purpose and am reflecting on the global nature of the Future Nurse mission and how we factor this into our plans. Reach out if you want to get involved and support this social movement.

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