Welcome to the first BJN Nutrition Supplement in association with the National Nurses Nutrition Group (NNNG). This is a fabulous opportunity for nutrition specialist nurses and other health professionals with an interest in nutrition to showcase and share their work—building and developing the nutrition specialist nurses' work-based community and embracing, supporting and sharing information to enhance good clinical practice. The NNNG is delighted to be working collaboratively with such a well-respected and established publication.
The NNNG's plan for 2020 was to celebrate the International Year of the Nurse—the history, our dynamic work of today and the future. No one could have predicted the path that 2020 would take and, for many, it was a year we will not forget. We didn't get to celebrate in a traditional fashion, but many of the postponed celebrations were held online—a format we have all become familiar with. Although we did not get the time, have the energy or have the COVID-19 safe venues to allow for celebrating, what we did do so well was to pull together, support each other and embrace the virtual world to reach out to each other.
Many of us found ourselves working in areas that we would not have naturally chosen or even contemplated. Collaborative sharing of practice norms and new ways of working were shared and adapted to quickly.
Support from professional bodies and specialty-specific groups and forums strived to support members through social media and virtual platforms. The NNNG continues to support members and in 2021 is continuing those celebrations that should have been, with some exciting developments to support, share good practice and collaborate to promote continuing professional development, with the common aim of safe and effective patient care.
In this first edition of the NNNG BJN Nutrition Supplement we share with you a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) embarked upon in collaboration with the charity Patients on Intravenous and Nasogastric Nutrition Therapy (PINNT) and the National Paediatric Parenteral Nutrition Nurses Network (NPPNNN). This aimed to enhance national pathways and support teams in the transition of young people with intestinal failure from children's services to adult care services. This began development in 2019 and progressed into 2020.
It was this work that led colleagues to nominate me for the BJN Nutrition Nurse of the Year Award and I was immensely proud to win the category in 2020.
The QIP and the award have led to further national and international collaborations and invitations to share the project details, resources, outcomes and ongoing work. Good transition pathways and care for young adults with nutritional needs are essential to build the future of not only the young adult but also that of the paediatric and adult nutrition teams nationally and internationally. Working together for a common aim builds an environment of development and learning to enhance patient care and wellbeing for all.
Embracing the virtual world, the NNNG committee has been developing a new updated website—watch this space (www.nnng.org.uk).
The NNNG 2021 conference details are soon to be confirmed and will be shortly released on the website—please save the dates 20–24 September in your diaries.
Finally, if you have work to showcase (QIP, audit, research, innovative practice or good practice examples, or you simply have an interesting idea to share) please do contact the NNNG (nationalnursesnutritiongroup@gmail.com) or the BJN for submission for future supplements.