Intravesical instillations in focus at the Scandinavian Congress of Urology

The Scandinavian Congress of Urology took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, in early June. During the congress, it rained both literally and with educational and inspirational sessions, scientific dialogue and an excellent atmosphere! Approximately 450 attendees participated, including 35 urology nurses. The Swedish committee delivered a comprehensive programme that covered various aspects of urological nursing, including acute urology, e-rehabilitation for prostate cancer patients, complications related to cancer treatment, and educational programmes in Sweden.

The EAUN was represented by members from several Scandinavian countries, including board members Rikke Knudsen and Lisbeth Leinum, as well as Bente Thoft Jensen, the chair of the Bladder Cancer Special Interest Group. During the congress, we presented our work on a national educational strategy for nurses administering intravesical therapy.

Steering groups have been established across the Nordic countries Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, to develop educational courses for urology nurses who provide intravesical instillation therapies. The need for formal training was initially recognised by Medac, the manufacturer of commonly used products such as Mitomycin C and BCG, which subsequently initiated the formation of these steering groups.

Sweden and Denmark have successfully completed two courses in 2024 and 2025, while Norway held its first course in May 2025. Finland is still in the development phase. Working towards the same goal presents a unique opportunity to share experiences, learning objectives, pedagogical approaches and teaching methods, as well as thoughts regarding content and format. In late September, the steering committees from the Nordic countries will convene in Malmö, Sweden, to discuss experiences with intravesical instillation courses. We hope this meeting will foster collaboration across Scandinavia.

During the Scandinavian Congress of Urology, we shared insights from the Danish perspective. We explained how the steering group was established, the considerations that guided the course’s development and design of the course, as well as the necessary adjustments made during the second iteration of the course.

The Danish courses comprised theoretical sessions provided primarily by urologists, an introduction to the EAUN guideline on intravesical instillations presented by guideline panel members, and hands-on sessions for participants to practise their skills and become familiar with new equipment launched in 2025. We also included a group work that encouraged participants to evaluate their local guidelines against the international recommendations provided by EAUN. Additionally, a workshop facilitated discussions on optimal consultation practices, gathering patients’ experiences of side effects, and providing support in managing those side effects.

Moreover, our joint efforts in course development led to a research collaboration across all Danish regions aimed at evaluating the course from the nurses’ perspective, as well as understanding patients’ experiences through individual interviews. This project was presented at EAUN24 by Theresa Junker and was awarded the Best EAUN Nursing Research Project 2024. We look forward to sharing our results.

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By Rikke Knudsen (DK) and Lisbeth Leinum (DK)