With summer over (yes, we did have one) and the arrival of darker evenings, my mind turns to the forthcoming Society for Endocrinology BES conference, which will be held in Brighton.

Our article for this issue (on page 33) has been written by Alison Milne from Aberdeen. In it, she shares her perspective on attending the conference and the opportunities it holds for nurses. Alison highlights the evolving role of endocrine specialist nurses and the importance of maintaining current evidence-based practice. The SfE BES programme caters for nurses new to endocrinology and also for the more experienced practitioners amongst us. We should not forget the importance of collaborating and networking with our colleagues, which allows us to compare and develop our practice.

Several UK nurses recently presented at the 17th International Congress of Endocrinology in collaboration with the 15th Annual Meeting of the Chinese Society of Endocrinology (ICE–CSE 2016), on 31 August–4 September in Beijing, China. This was the first time a nurse programme had been developed for this meeting, and it was the result of a global nursing collaboration: the Federation of International Nurses in Endocrinology (FINE; www.endo-nurses.org/FINE). We look forward to on-going collaboration and participation with this group, improving international nurse practice and patient care.

I hope you enjoy the opportunity to attend SfE BES 2016 in Brighton. Members of the Society’s Nurse Committee are looking forward to welcoming you. If you would like to present your work or share your ideas for future programmes, please let one of them know.

Lisa Shepherd

Nurse Committee Chair