The Duties of a Seminar Nurse

If you are a registered nurse with a recognized qualification and several years of practical experience, you can help others by becoming a seminar nurse. Seminar nurses, also known as nurse educators or nurse informaticists, have a variety of duties. These can be undertaken alongside regular nursing tasks or as a separate job role. Seminar nurses are needed to keep the public and staff up to date on the latest diseases and techniques and train others in best practice. You can work as a seminar nurse on a freelance basis or be employed by a training institution or hospital.

Public Seminars

• Seminar nurses interact with the public, conducting seminars that are typically free of charge and open to the public. These raise awareness and offer advice and information on best practices for safe sanitation, maternal health and nutrition, amongst other activities. They also inform the public of new and emerging diseases and of local problems such as flu epidemics, giving information on how to control them. Seminar nurses also work with schools, teaching children about issues such as puberty and safe sexual health. Typically these seminars are given in public places such as town or school halls and community centers. To be successful, they must use few medical terms and be conducted in simple language.

Training Seminars

• Seminar nurses partner with a university or training hospital and give students regular seminars on practical and technical issues, such as patient care and condition diagnosis. Seminars supplement core lectures and involve more student interaction and application of theory. The best nursing seminars will draw on the nurses' practical experience. Here, technical language can be used, although the students' knowledge will not be as deep as the nurses'.

Research

• To give informative training sessions, seminar nurses must stay current on the latest techniques and best practice methods in their field. This can be achieved through conducting practical and internet research or by attending lectures given by other medical professionals. Seminar nurses also need to keep up to date with current laws on suitable techniques. A national association is good starting point for research on current nursing issues. It is good practice to keep written records of your research projects for referral purposes, as well as to simplify and summarize your research into layman's terms for public information leaflets and brochures.