The course was attended by 16 nurses from 4 regions of Romania and 2 resident surgeons.  The course was run by Christeen Smith Senior Paediatric stoma care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children and Jo Sica, CNS Stoma Care, Hollister Ltd.<!--more-->

Before the sessions began, the nurse lecturers asked each delegate to write what they hoped to achieve from the course; this was revisited in the final session.  Thankfully, all delegates said their objectives had been met.  Each delegate was given a course evaluation form to complete.  The course was evaluated as excellent; the sessions the students commented on as being very useful were the stoma care practical session and the psychological aspects.  These two sessions were divided into a PowerPoint presentation and a practical hands-on group session including the use of patient scenarios for the psychological work.  The nurses had the opportunity to present to the class the discussion from their respective group; course lecturers found this very rewarding to see as the delegates had started the week extremely timid and almost frightened to speak.

Every morning, the delegates were asked 8-10 questions on subjects covered the previous day.  This was not only a good icebreaker for the day but it also helped the lecturers ensure that the information had been delivered in an understandable format.

On the final day each delegate was asked to present what he or she had learned with a plan for ideas and new skills to take back to implement in their clinical practice.  Listed below is a very small collection of the delegates’ ideas:
<ul>
	<li>To teach their colleagues now to have a clear idea of how to use products</li>
	<li>Learning correct application of the products</li>
	<li>Has gathered ideas to think outside the box.  Will write competencies</li>
	<li>Learning how to use products correctly e.g. neonates.</li>
	<li>Want to talk with the procurement teams to try and address their lack of products</li>
	<li>Psychological care - involve parents in the process</li>
	<li>To have been able to have time out from the workplace and reflect on practice and really think how to take practice forward</li>
	<li>Even after the first stage of the stoma care course, I have already seen good results and shared this with my colleagues.</li>
	<li>Want to start a support group</li>
	<li>To produce an information booklet for children and posters</li>
</ul>
The evaluation forms were all positive, the delegates marking the course as excellent and indicating that the course  was pitched at the right level; this gave the nurses confidence in their ability to apply what they had learnt. There was also warm praise for the course content and teaching methods.

Other comments included:

“I liked the sessions showing me how to change a bag”;

“I will apply the techniques and <i>train</i> my colleagues”;

“The Psychological session was beneficial as we forget how important it is”;

“How to manage leaking bags – it is a big problem for us”;

“Premature baby stoma management is very helpful.  Did not know all the information about pre-term skin”;

“The teachers were well prepared and very nice, very patient with us all!”;

“The course was very educational and successful”.

The course lecturers wish to thank most sincerely Mrs Mazilu, <b>Vice President, Romanian National Order of Nurses </b>(RNON) who was extremely hospitable and presented all the students with their certificates at the end of the course.  Mrs Mazilu expressed the wish that stomatherapy will become a recognised speciality in Romania very soon and is working hard to make this a reality. ROPSF’s thanks also go to Cristian Dobré and Cristina Ghiran for their constant support and for their translation skills.

During the week, 8 nurses were identified as being ideally suitable for the next stage in the UK – both for their  English language skills and their enthusiasm to further their knowledge and practice.  This group will represent the four principal children’s hospitals.

Following the course a journalist from Politi de Sanatate (Healthcare Medical Journal) spoke to the course lecturers about the importance of stoma care specialist nurses and the content of the course.  She asked also about the difference between caring for adults and children.  The article will be published in a future journal.

After the course the lecturers visited the new hospice, Casa Sperantei in Bucharest and the Marie Curie Childrens Hospital.  Both had some impressive new facilities.

Please watch this space for the next stage!  We hope you enjoy looking at the photographs.

[caption id="attachment_195" align="aligncenter" width="498"]<a href="http://www.ropsf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stage-2-one.jpg"><img class="wp-image-195 size-full" src="http://www.ropsf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stage-2-one.jpg" alt="Stage 2 one" width="498" height="373" /></a> Delegates with the nurse lecturers, Christeen Smith and Jo Sica[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_196" align="aligncenter" width="600"]<a href="http://www.ropsf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stage-2-double.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-196 size-medium" src="http://www.ropsf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stage-2-double-600x225.jpeg" alt="Stage 2 double" width="600" height="225" /></a> Delegates during the practical stoma care session-really hands on![/caption]

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[caption id="attachment_192" align="aligncenter" width="600"]<a href="http://www.ropsf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stage-2-four.jpg"><img class="wp-image-192 size-medium" src="http://www.ropsf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Stage-2-four-600x450.jpg" alt="Stage 2 four" width="600" height="450" /></a> Presentation of the certificates by Christeen Smith and Mrs Mazilu – centre.[/caption]

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