Innovating Care:
The Role of Specialist Nurses in Modern Healthcare
3rd Annual Nurses in Specialist Roles Conference
Friday 16 October 2026
Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne
Nurses in specialist roles are at the forefront of modern healthcare – delivering expert patient care, leading evidence-based practice, enhancing organisational systems, and driving progress in clinical practice, education and research.
Join us
Kindly supported by Newcastle Hospitals Charity, and taking place over the course of two days in September, this year’s conference will explore the vital contribution of NISR within today’s healthcare landscape and how we can support and shape current national agendas.
This year’s conference will once again provide a unique, dedicated platform for our NISR community to network, share knowledge and best practice, learn about advancements and innovations, and enhance their skills – all ultimately improving patient care and outcomes
We are delighted to be joined once again as our keynote speaker by Professor Alison Leary PhD RN FRCN, Senior Consultant at the World Health Organisation and Professor of Healthcare and Workforce modelling at London South Bank University, exploring the role of the Specialist Nurse in Modern Healthcare.
One of our Newcastle’s based academics, Professor Barry Hill, Professor in Nursing and Critical Care Practice and Associate Head of Northumbria University’s School of Healthcare and Nursing Sciences will also join us. He is Consultant Editor for the International Journal for Advancing Practice, Clinical Editor for the British Journal of Nursing, and a member of the Council of Deans of Health and will share his experience in these roles around the importance of sharing practice and writing for publications.
Representatives from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) will provide an update on the NMC’s Principles for Advanced Practice Framework which was published last year. There will be a breakout session dedicated to this update and our colleagues will also be hosting a Q&A session for anyone who wishes to choose a different breakout topic but would like to find out more.
Audience
We welcome all NISRs – Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Consultants, Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Clinical Practitioners, Clinical Educators and Research Delivery Nurses.
Breakout sessions
This year’s sessions will continue to explore the four core pillars of practice embedded within our roles: clinical care, education, leadership and research with topics including:
- Difficult conversations in clinical practice
- Delivering and growing a highly specialised service
- The role of the nursing associate in specialist teams
- Leadership and the nurse specialist role
- Embedding education to optimise outcomes
- The research champion role
(A full programme to follow).
You will be given the opportunity to choose from an exciting and topical range of interactive talks, presentations and sessions allowing colleagues to share resources, discuss challenges, and develop strategies for improving patient outcomes.
Poster displays – sharing accomplishments
We encourage colleagues to submit posters showcasing innovations in practice, education, leadership and research.
For further details please contact Rachel Orwin [email protected]
Fee
The fee for this national conference hosted at Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne is £175.
Payment
Payments should where possible be made via the online booking system.
If you request an invoice at the point of booking, invoice payment terms are strictly 30 days from the invoice date or 7 days before the start of the course whichever date is the earliest.
Cancellation and refunds policy
Should you no longer be able to attend the event on the booked date, please contact the Academy as we may be able to offer an alternative date subject to an admin charge.
Should you still wish to cancel your booking, you or your employer will be charged as per the fees outlined below. Please contact [email protected] to cancel your place.
| Timescale | Fee paying course |
| Over 6 weeks | £25 admin charge |
| 2 to 6 weeks | 50% of course fee |
| 0 to 2 weeks | 100% of course fee |
If you do not attend on the day, you will be charged the full cost of the event place.
See our Terms & Conditions and Cancellations & Refunds pages for more details.
Booking
To book a place on this course go to Tickets at the bottom of the page.
At checkout you can make an online card payment or enter a coupon code to make alternative payment arrangements.
Alternative payment arrangements include:
- requesting an invoice (INVOICE),
- The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust staff internal funding (NUTH) – you will need to complete a Trust study leave form.
Please see the Making payments & Coupons sections of the Help and FAQs.