Bergen University visits HEIW to celebrate partnership working

Published 23/11/2023

This October, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) was delighted to host a half-day visit for academic staff from VID Specialised University, Bergen Norway.

The overall two-day visit to Wales, which was coordinated by University of South Wales in support of the EPICC Project, offered an opportunity to share perspectives on a European network set up to enhance students’ competence in responding to individuals’ spiritual needs through innovative approaches to education and compassionate care.

The EPICC Project (Enhancing Nurses’ and Midwives’ Competence in Providing Spiritual Care through Innovation Education and Compassionate Care) was launched in 2017 to embed best practice approaches to spirituality within the training of nurses and midwives across Europe. Wales has been closely involved in progressing this work.

Spiritual care encompasses a holistic understanding of patient needs when faced with life-changing events and the provision of caring qualities such as warmth, compassion and empathy.

These fundamental skills ensure that the nursing and midwifery and wider healthcare workforce of the future is prepared to deliver the compassionate care we all expect to receive as patients.

The EPICC project is led by nursing and midwifery lecturers from universities spread across the UK, Norway, the Netherlands and Malta. There is an ambition in Wales for all healthcare students and trainees to have an understanding of spirituality as part of their academic and placement learning.

HEIW is working closely with universities in Wales to look to embed EPICC’s Spiritual Care Education Standards into the pre-registration nursing curriculum and placement experience, as well as e-learning and assessment within clinical practice.

Education Programme Manager at HEIW, Simon Cassidy, reflected on the recent visit:

“It was fantastic to welcome colleagues from Norway to HEIW and share the work we are involved in to address strategic and specialist workforce and education issues and in making Wales a dynamic place to train, work and live. It was interesting and reassuring to see the extent of our common approaches and understandings about education and learning. We are very grateful for the links we have made and look forward to ongoing contact.”

Professor of Nursing at University of South Wales, Linda Ross said of the visit to HEIW:

“The group was blown away, not just by the warm welcome they received by everyone, but by how Wales is so joined up in terms of its health policy, education and practice. Although they came primarily to see how spirituality had become integrated in our healthcare programmes, they could also see this application more widely.

“They were extremely impressed by HEIW’s role, and how we take care of our nursing students with personal tutor, practice supervisor, and practice assessor roles.”