Dr Graham Williamson, a nurse academic at Plymouth University School of Nursing and Midwifery, reflects on why the Healthcare Educators NET Conference 2026 offers a welcoming and valuable space for healthcare educators to share ideas, learn from one another and build connections across professions.

For healthcare educators, the opportunity to come together with colleagues from different professions, disciplines and countries can be a powerful source of learning. The Healthcare Educators NET Conference 2026 will provide that opportunity online this year, before returning as a face-to-face event next year.

Dr Graham Williamson has been involved with the conference for many years, first as a presenter, then as a convener, and now as a member of the organising committee. Drawing on that experience, he describes the conference as both supportive for presenters and valuable for anyone seeking fresh perspectives on healthcare education.

A friendly and supportive space to share ideas

One of the conference’s strengths is the supportive environment it creates for those presenting their work. For Graham, this was particularly important when he was a novice researcher and presenter. Sharing ideas with peers, receiving positive responses and being asked thoughtful questions helped build confidence and opened up new ways of thinking about education practice.

That combination of encouragement and constructive challenge is central to the value of the event. It offers presenters the chance not only to disseminate their work, but to test ideas, make connections and engage with others who are working through similar questions in their own contexts.

“I found it a very accepting conference. The attendees were always very positive and asked lots of questions.”

Learning across professions and disciplines

As an international, multidisciplinary conference, it brings together attendees from across the healthcare professions and this breadth matters. “At a time when healthcare education needs to break down barriers and work across silos for the good of patients,” Graham says, “It will be beneficial to make wider contacts and think about how you can work with other professions.”

Graham reflects that, as a nurse, listening to presentations has “opened up my eyes to people in other professions, trying to make sense of education in theirs.”

What stands out, he says, is how much healthcare educators have in common, even when they approach their work from different professional perspectives.

Building wider connections for better healthcare education

The conference is an opportunity to make wider contacts, explore shared issues and consider how collaboration across professions can strengthen healthcare education. For presenters and participants alike, it offers a chance to learn from different approaches while contributing to a supportive community of practice.

Healthcare educators who attend the conference online in 2026 will be joining an event shaped by collegiality, curiosity and a commitment to learning across boundaries. For Graham, that is what has made the conference valuable over many years – and why he hopes others will take part.

Watch Graham talk about the Healthcare Educators NET Conference