At the British Journal of Midwifery (BJM), we are committed to providing our readers with up-to-date research, clinical reviews and professional articles that allow our audience to stay on top of developments in the midwifery field and important topics of discussion. To which end, the BJM Conference is an important event in our calendar and, as I am sure you are all aware, is to be held this year on 27 March at the America Square Conference Centre. I hope you are all looking forward to attending what I am sure will be a wonderful day of talks and exhibits.
The full programme for the 2024 conference is available online (MA Healthcare, 2024a), and is set to include a number of interesting and engaging speakers on a wide range of topics that we know will be of keen interest to our attendees. The day will include talks exploring gender neutral language in midwifery care, and two initiatives designed to support staff caring for families who experience baby loss, among many other topical subjects.
This year, our exhibitors include Abigail's Footsteps, a child bereavement charity that focuses on providing support for those who experience stillbirth or neonatal bereavement, and AVEENO Baby, a company specialising in skincare products for babies. The conference is being sponsored by a range of companies, including Nestle, Nutricia and Kendal Nutricare (MA Healthcare, 2024b).
We also have some exciting news to share regarding the upcoming launch of our new platform: BJM's CPD Launchpad. This platform will be officially announced at the BJM conference and, once up and running, will offer a free revalidation portfolio and continuous professional development (CPD) resource for midwives.
Revalidation is an important element of midwifery practice in the UK, and must be undertaken every 3 years (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2021), as many of you will be aware. Revalidation ensures that midwives are practicing safely and effectively, as well as facilitating maintenance of knowledge and skills. There are a number of requirements in order to revalidate, including logging at least 450 practice hours and 35 hours of CPD. Our CPD Launchpad will feature content from the BJM to help readers fulfil their CPD requirements. The portfolio will allow users to track their practice hours, CPD and attendance at learning events such as courses or study days.
We are sure that this new platform will be a useful tool for our all readers, and would encourage everyone to register their interest online. Additionally, I am looking forward to having the chance to meet some of you in person at the conference next month. It is sure to be an interesting and informative event, and I am very grateful to all our speakers, sponsors and exhibitors for the time they are dedicating to this excellent event.