The heart of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) is the annual conference where we have the opportunity to meet, share, marvel and learn together. The Nursing Steering Committee has started to plan the programme for the 50th Congress of SIOP, in collaboration with the nurse representatives from the local organizing committee. We hope that you will join us in Kyoto, Japan in November 16-19, 2018.

Nursing Group 2017

Some of the Japanese nurses attending the SIOP conference in Washington DC together with present and previous members of the nursing committee.

We also need to work in between the conferences to reach our goals. The vision of SIOP is not achievable without nurses. However, even though excellent cancer treatment and care is only possible in collaboration with nurses, the focus on medical treatment/research is often given priority. Thus nurses need to continue to strive to improve the lives of children with cancer and their families worldwide. For example, nursing representatives need to actively engage in the Continental Branches of SIOP.  Furthermore, the Nursing Committee is having a dialogue with the SIOP Executive Board about the role of the nursing group within SIOP.

Good news

The voices of nurses need to be heard and the SIOP Nursing Committee is delighted to announce that WHO has appointed a chief nursing officer. This appointment is following a campaign to increase nurse representation in the leadership of WHO: https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/politics/who-makes-appointment-to-new-chief-nursing-officer-post/7021640.article Furthermore, please check out the Nursing Now! campaign which “aims to raise the status and profile of nursing globally so that it can make an even greater contribution to improving health and well-being.” http://www.icn.ch/what-we-do/Nusing-Now/

The Pediatric Oncology in Developing Countries (PODC) nursing group

The PODC nursing group meets on the third Thursday of each month via Cure4kids (www.cure4kids.org). If you are interested in joining, please contact the co-chairs Rehana Punjwani (rehana_punjwani@yahoo.com) or Lisa Morrissey (Lisa.Morrissey@childrens.harvard.edu). January’s meeting (1/18/2018) will feature Ethics Rounds facilitated by Dr. Jonathan Marron, a pediatric oncologist and ethics specialist from Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Hospital. Cases from the field will be discussed in an ethics rounds format.  All are welcome to participate.

The MCM Award and the new mentorship program

Thanks to the generosity of Sanofi Espoir, the SIOP Nursing Committee is once again grateful for the opportunity to promote the launch of the My Child Matters (MCM) Awards for Pediatric Oncology Nurses with a deadline March 1st, 2018. This is the third time that the award program has been offered, with “the aim to reward and stimulate nurses’ initiatives for projects that help fight against childhood cancer in the three areas of education, improving professional practice, and research.”  Please visit the Sanofi Espoir webpage for more information: http://fondation-sanofi-espoir.com If you are thinking about applying for the MCM award or submitting an abstract to the SIOP conference, the nursing committee is putting together a list of mentors that could assist you in your work. This list will be available shortly on the SIOP webpage.

Nomination of individuals for recognition

Finally, the nursing steering committee have decided to give a yearly recognition to individuals who have significantly contributed to the goals of SIOP nursing. The goal is to officially honour these individuals and to acknowledge their efforts and also to highlight the good examples and role models. If you would like to nominate someone for this recognition, please send a short motivation to me via e-mail (pernilla.pergert@ki.se) before the end of June, 2018.

On behalf of the SIOP Nursing Steering Committee,

Pernilla Pergert (Chair)