ABC(Nursing) training in Abu Dhabi

Advanced Burn Care (Nursing) forms part of Interburns integrated comprehensive approach to improving the quality of burn care in low resource settings. The 5 day training is highly participatory and involves a mix of lectures, small group work and practical sessions with patients. Faculty represent all aspects of the multidisciplinary burn team and are drawn from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Advanced Burn Care (Nursing) was developed in 2015 and has been iteratively improved to incorporate new topics with an increasing focus on ongoing quality improvement. It has previously been delivered in Bangladesh (2016), Ghana (2017), Nepal (2018), Ethiopia (2019), and Tanzania (2023).

ABC (Nursing) Abu Dhabi was funded by the Abu Dhabi Department of Health and held at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) from 4th -8th December 2023. 20 nurses attended, 13 from SSMC and 7 from: Madinat Zayed Hospital, Danat Al Emarat Hospital, Burjeel Medical City, and Tawam Hospital.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive and includes: ‘A great opportunity to see people from different parts of the world and how to work with less resources. It gives us a wake up call about the importance of our roles regarding early mobilisation, scar management, wound management, QI and teamwork – an excellent faculty’. 

The training was led by Interburns Nursing Lead, Dominique Potokar, supported by nurses Charlotte Leach (UK), Catherine Delacourt (France), Swapna James (India), and Al Sebin (UAE); nutritionist Pratibha Sharma (India); surgeon Rojina Shilpakar (Nepal); rehabilitation therapist Alberta Rockson (Ghana) and Deborah Pierce (New Zealand), assisted by Marlon Labot and Katherina Fischbach; anaesthetist Nadia Depetris (Italy) with observers Emmie Viyuyi (Malawi), and Sanne Lenaerts (Belgium) 

We would like to thank the staff and management at SSMC for graciously hosting the event, in particular Deborah Pierce, Rafika El Zaatari, Mohamed Hamdan and Nazir Ahmad. 

We look forward to ongoing partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.