Leadership Stream

Leadership Stream

Aspiring Leadership in Critical Care Nursing Stream: Developing the next generation of leaders across NHS Bands 5–8a, including ACCPs

Be part of shaping the future of critical care leadership. Share your story, your ideas, and your passion. Together, we grow stronger leaders.

The new Aspiring Leadership stream celebrates nurses stepping forward as the next generation of critical care leaders. Leadership isn’t defined by job title – it begins with curiosity, courage, and compassion. Open to anyone from Bands 5–8c, including Advanced Critical Care Practitioners (ACCPs), to share their experiences, challenges, and successes as they grow into leadership roles. Your story can help others learn, connect, and feel empowered to lead change.

We want to welcome abstract submissions, including the following: 

  • Leadership in practice: Real-world examples of leading projects, influencing change, or building confidence through transition.
  • Inclusive and compassionate leadership: Creating equitable, safe teams and leading with empathy and authenticity.
  • Developing and empowering others: Mentoring, coaching, or enabling colleagues to grow.
  • Innovation and impact: Quality improvement, culture change, or new approaches to leadership in critical care.
  • Leadership journeys: Honest reflections on resilience, self-discovery, and the people who shaped your pathway
  • Online media platforms and leadership 

Presentation formats

  • Oral Presentation (20 minutes including Q&A): Sharing the theme of aspiring leadership and encouraging reflection or discussion from delegates.
  • Interactive Workshop (45–60 minutes: Designed for active participation. Workshops may include short presentations, case examples, and group activities to build skills such as communication, self-awareness, coaching, or leading change. Sessions that offer practical tools participants can take back to their workplace.
  • Poster Presentation: An opportunity to showcase a project, leadership journey, or development initiative visually. Or work from a recent university module, the NHS Leadership Academy, or the Florence Nightingale Foundation leadership programmes, for example.

Evaluation criteria

Abstracts will be reviewed by a diverse panel using the following criteria:

Relevance • Learning value • Engagement • Inclusivity & diversity • Impact • Clarity

Inclusivity and support

We are encouraging submissions from nurses of all backgrounds and levels of presenting experience, both within the UK and Ireland and across the globe.

The BACCN Conference team, as always, is here to provide support and mentorship to anyone interested in submitting an abstract and presenting at the conference. Whether you are new to conference submissions or seeking guidance on developing your ideas, our team is here to provide encouragement, advice, and constructive feedback throughout the process. We are committed to helping you showcase your work and contribute to the success of this important event.

In addition to the overall Best Abstract and Critical Care Course Poster Awards, we will introduce a new Leadership in Action Best Abstract Award for submissions in this stream.