Our work

• Conveying expert opinion in the field of fertility nursing.
• Leading across the breadth of our specialism whilst improving practice and delivery of care.
• Supporting the learning and developmental needs of members working within fertility nursing.
• Raising the professional profile and promoting the visibility of policy and practice in fertility nursing.
• Leading and influencing the public health agenda to promote high standards in fertility nursing care.
• Engaging with other stakeholder groups in assisted reproduction.

Read the Fertility Nursing Forum 2023 Charter

We have two key projects we are currently working on:

• Consensus statement following the impact assessment on our Fertility Nursing Career Framework, which has been in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders and will be published in spring 2023
• Creating guidelines for nurses developing skills in Ultrasound scanning in Fertility Care. This project is in collaboration with BFS and SING.  
• And, we will also be updating our current Fertility care and Emotional wellbeing publication. 

We are also running a series of fertility nursing mini seminars:

• 18th April POI (premature ovarian insufficiency) in fertility Care
• 11th July Natural killer cells” “Should we, or shouldn’t we?
• 26th Sept Recurrent miscarriage: what are the recommendations in management
• 12th Dec Fertility and nutrition: Is there a role for nutrition in fertility care?

Joint meetings with representatives from BFS and SING continue in order to enhance collaboration and engagement in workstreams.

We are currently planning our Fertility Nursing National Conference for Thursday 6 October 2023.

• Read our Fertility Nursing Forum Annual Report 2023
• Transitions from Fertility to Maternity Care (2022). This guidance is primarily to raise awareness of possible pathways of care for women and others (their partners/support networks) as they travel through fertility treatment and pregnancy, and how they can best be supported by the health care professionals they encounter along their journey.                                     
• An RCN Education and Career Progression Framework for Fertility Nursing (2021). This is a comprehensive framework highlighting recommended education and training pathways toward career development for fertility nursing. It can be used to facilitate a conversation and enable career development for all nurses and HCSWs in fertility services. See also: Impact Assessment of the Education and Career Progression Framework for Fertility Nursing.
• Fertility Preservation: RCN guidance for nursing staff [January 2021]. This publication provides information and guidance for nurses who are supporting and caring for those beginning treatment for potentially life-limiting diseases and those who may wish, for non-medical reasons, to defer having children until later in life.
• Fertility care and emotional wellbeing [RCN, 2020]. This guidance has been developed as a resource for all health care professionals in all areas of fertility care and acknowledges the differences between emotional support and wellbeing, implications counselling and therapeutic counselling.
• The responsible use of treatment add-ons in fertility services: a consensus statement [HFEA, 2019]. The RCN was a member of the consensus working group.

Read our recent project completion and evaluation reports

• Project Completion and Evaluation Form - male factor fertility
• Project Completion and Evaluation Form - mini seminar series
• Consensus statement on RCN Education and Career Progression Framework for Fertility Nursing
• Fillable PDF on the RCN Education and Career Progression Framework for Fertility Nursing

Julie Morgan, MSc, RGN, APM (PFQ) explores immunology in the context of fertility treatments and its alignment with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). This includes consideration of the role of natural killer cells, a key component of the immune system in fertility challenges and treatments.

The Royal College of Nursing Fertility Nursing Forum invited Debi Cale, who is a registered Nutritional Therapist specialising in fertility, reproductive health for men and women, pre-conception and hormones, to discuss the importance of nutrition on a fertility journey. During the seminar Debi focused on foods, vitamins and minerals that will help to support reproductive health for both men and women and gave some great tips that nurses can pass onto their patients. Watch this 1 hour session chaired by Anne Howard, RCN Fertility Nursing Forum committee member to understand the importance of nutrition within a fertility journey.

Download the presentation

References

• Female Fertility - covering Mediterranean diet, microbiome, diversity in diet, plant based and foods to avoid
• Mediterranean Diet in Male fertility
• Rochester Study (Dairy and Sperm health)
• Fertinut Study (Nuts and sperm health)
• Vitamin D and female fertility

The RCN Fertility Nursing Forum invited Natalie Sutherland, partner at Burgess Mee Family Law, to lead a presentation on the proposed draft surrogacy bill 'Building Families Through Surrogacy: A New Law', and what this means for those working with patients in clinics as part of a surrogacy arrangement. Natalie took us through the recommendations outlined in the Draft Bill and how this may change the future of surrogacy law in the UK.

Watch the 1 hour session, which was chaired by Francesca Steyn, Chair of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum, to understand the draft surrogacy bill and learn more about the proposed changes.

The RCN and its forums are invited to participate in many cross working and multidisciplinary workstreams. Below are a selection of some of the activities that members of the Fertility Nursing Forum are involved in on your behalf.

• Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA). The RCN is represented on the HFEA professional organisations stakeholder group (PSG).
• Sally Cheshire CBE, outgoing Chair of the HFEA, acknowledges the role of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum in combined efforts to improve fertility treatment and embryo research across the UK.
• Human Fertility journal. Human Fertility is the official journal of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum.
• British Fertility Society (BFS). Members represent the Fertility Nursing Forum at BFS meetings.
• Fertility Fairness. Members of the Fertility Nursing Forum sit on the steering committee of Fertility Fairness, which campaigns for people to have comprehensive and equal access to a full range of appropriate NHS investigations and treatments for infertility.
• Senior Infertility Nurse Group (SING). We continue to strengthen links with SING to increase access to education for fertility nurses.
• All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on surrogacy. Members of the RCN Fertility Nursing Forum are represented on this group.