APCP MATTERS - Conference 2017 - A great success!

The conference was a sell out ! The Welsh APCP Committee gave us a warm and traditional Welsh welcome and as well as the range of interesting lectures there was a vast trade exhibition and an excellent conference dinner with a lively post conference dance with ‘Pluck and Squeeze’.

The keynote speaker was Karen Middleton, CEO of the CSP, who inspired us to see the opportunities and challenges that are ahead for the physiotherapy profession and encouraged us to pull together to ensure everyone understands the importance of physiotherapy, #Rehabmatters. 

There were then so many speakers but after talking to the national committee the following were the parts that really stood out for them ….

“The presentation by Marilyn Poole was inspiring and very well executed. It gave me hope that I could go into research. Thank you ”- Jade Kant

“I loved the lively presentation by Charlie Fairhurst about the NICE guidelines on Cerebral palsy - rather than only hearing details of the guidelines, he gave a great insight into the NICE process for producing guidance, and his experiences being on committees peppered by some amusing incidents which made it very memorable - it gave a much better picture of the process than what I had previously been able to gain from the NICE website. 

Marilyn Poole gave a fantastic presentation on her research journey - it was inspiring and explained the highs and lows, the different aspects of the process, made it feel achievable and suggested ways to get funding and support. Being at a similar stage myself but with a slightly different journey, I really related to it and found it very encouraging.”- Virginia Knox 

“The best conference so far, packed full of inspirational, passionate speakers around a wide variety of topics with a common theme. A great event for networking with longer lunch breaks this time and a fantastic celebration on the Friday night with a fun packed dinner. I went back to work wanting to do more and be better, what more could you ask for!”- Natalie Drane

“This conference experience reminded me why I went into paediatrics in the first place.  Inspired me to return to work on Monday and approach each child/ family with renewed enthusiasm.”- Julie Johnson

As well as the main presentations there was also the free papers and the many poster presentations. The APCP research officer explained,

“It’s always incredibly interesting to view the APCP conference posters and free 

paper. This years the overall standard was not only very high quality but demonstrated clinical paediatric physiotherapists exploring what they are doing, why they do it and the potential impact upon service delivery and patient outcomes from a developing the evidence stand point. I felt proud and inspired by the work on show.”

The winner of the Free Paper presentation was Gemma Kelly and the winner of the Poster Presentation was Rachel Keetley- well done both. We are fortunate many of our speakers have given us permission to share their presentations, you will need your Conference delegate log-in to access them.

Lucy Bolton also wrote about her conference experience and wanted to share this with the APCP membership.  

'This was my first year attending the APCP conference as a physiotherapy assistant. I was open minded about what to expect at conference and looking forward to the weekend ahead.

Friday morning was an early start, but all the team were keen to find out what was in store for the weekend. Our team had all looked at the itinerary for the days ahead to find out what lectures we would like to attend and which lecturers we were keen to see. Dr Sally Jary’s presentation on the EI SMART was the lecture that stood out for myself. The presentation had lots of great content looking at how important early intervention is for cognitive and motor development.

Friday was full of good lectures and as the first day of conference came to an end it was time for the evening meal. A good evening was had by all our team, with the evening accompanied by the welsh band ‘Pluck and Squeeze’. We were even taught some welsh dance routines, which had everyone up dancing and having a great time.

Saturday morning soon arrived, and it started with Engaging Disabled People in Active Recreation lecture. This was a very interesting lecture and led nicely into other participation based presentations. The presentation on implementing the gym programmes was of interest as a physiotherapy assistant and will benefit me in my practice.

Sophie Christiansen was a brilliant way to bring the conference to a close. I think most people would agree that she was the most inspirational speaker and it would be great to see more people like Sophie at conference next year.

My whole experience of conference was great, as a Physiotherapy Assistant I was unsure how much information I would take in and understand not having the years of physiotherapy training, and although some of the information was very overwhelming at times I took away a lot of information that was very helpful and that i can implement in my job role as a physiotherapy assistant. I’m looking forward to next year in Manchester for another busy weekend with the team. Thank You APCP.'

Overall it seems the conference was enjoyed by all as well as being a valuable learning opportunity made better by the opportunity to reflect and discuss the issues with like-minded colleagues and friends. We are all looking forward to the next conference in Manchester 2018 when the venue will be bigger and better than ever.