Universitas Indonesia (UI), as the best campus and inclusive university, through the Faculty of Nursing (FIK), held the 9th Biennial International Nursing Conference (BINC) on October 17, 2024 at The Margo Hotel, Depok. This international conference was attended by 100 participants from various countries such as the United States, England, Taiwan, and Malaysia, demonstrating broad international involvement in discussing nursing issues in the digital era.
The Dean of FIK UI, Agus Setiawan, in his remarks, emphasized the importance of nurses as a significant pillar of health, considering that nurses comprise 49% of all health workers in Indonesia. He said that nurses not only play a role in supporting doctors, but also have the main responsibility in patient recovery, health care, and public health promotion. According to him, nurses are often the first point of contact for patients and play an important role in supporting disease management and health education.
The theme carried by this conference, “Advancing Nursing Education and Practice for Future Global Health in Digital Health,” is very relevant amidst the development of global health technology. Agus highlighted that technologies such as telemedicine and artificial intelligence provide opportunities for nurses to improve the quality of services through data-based health management, enabling them to face future health challenges with greater readiness.
The Chairperson of the 9th BINC Committee, Ns. La Rakhmat Wabula, also added that nursing education must adapt to the needs of the digital era. Nurses need to master digital skills in order to improve health services. These skills are considered important to face global challenges and optimize technology-based services. That way, nurses are expected to be not only clinically competent but also skilled in using technology.
This conference presents expert speakers from various fields of health and digital technology, including Prof. Hugh McKenna from Ulster University, England; Prof. Kuei-Ru Chou from Taipei Medical University, Taiwan; and Dr. Robert Griffiths from the University of Manchester, England. Their presence provides new insights regarding the application of technology in nursing, as well as discussing best practices in technology-based health services.
In this conference, UI reaffirmed its commitment as the best campus and inclusive university by supporting the important role of nurses in the digital era. UI through FIK hopes that this conference will be able to encourage collaboration between countries to create a more effective and inclusive global health system, with nurses as the spearhead. This also emphasizes UI’s dedication to creating an academic environment that is responsive to technological developments, as well as maintaining the relevance and sustainability of the nursing profession in the future.
