The economic and professional crisis in Greece has strongly affected the nursing and caring sector. While the health care needs of the citizens has increased, the professionals, as the core of care services, are called to take all necessary actions in order to dynamically protect public health. The improvement of nursing care is based on continuous education of its members. Conferences, workshops and information days significantly contribute in the evolution of Nursing Science. The acquisition of new knowledge has expanded scientific horizons and awareness in the use of the results in clinical practice. It is also improving health care and contributing in the development of the scientific experience.
On the 29th and 30th of March a second nursing workshop entitled ‘With the ultimate aim of Health’ was held in Ptolemaida. Mrs. Anna Konstantinidis, Director of Caring Service said “Our workshop finds carers in very difficult times. The deprivation of resources and the lack of staff are the two major negative factors for our sector. The participation of health professionals in workshops like this guarantees the acquisition of knowledge and offers the opportunity to exchange experiences for approaching remarkable results”.
Following the success of the nursing workshop a parallel to the TEDxNijmegen event (http://tedxnijmegen.nl/) was organised in Thessaloniki, with the support of the DISCOEVR project (http://opnhealth.gr/). Innovative practices in the health sector were presented by Greek researchers in Thessaloniki and sessions of the TeDx event in Nijmegen were presented via live streaming.
The DISCOVER project was presented in the conference as a means to tackle the problem of the digital gap in the new required profile of carers. Also a sample of e-learning content and systems/frameworks under development were demonstrated by Prof. Panos Bamidis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, core partner of DISCOVER. Prof. Bamidis also outlined the importance of pilot studies on assistive systems for elderly people/patients/citizens, but also the key role of training carers in new technological advancements and sharing best practices. “These new practices can be exploited for the benefit of patients, connecting entrepreneurship, innovation and science”, concluded Prof. Bamidis
Stathis Sidiropoulos
Research Associate
Lab of Medical Informatics
Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
