Nursing Science
Nursing Science
Welcome to the website of the Department of Nursing Science!
Prof Rebecca Palm's Department of Nursing Science was founded in October 2023 at the Department of Health Services Research. The department focuses on the scientific implementation of Advanced Nursing Practice in Germany. This includes the conception and responsibility for the content of the Advanced Nursing Practice degree programme, the scientific monitoring of the development and testing of clinical fields of action and academic appointments of Advanced Practice Nurses as well as the evaluation of care-relevant outcomes.
One focus is on research into the care of people with dementia and delirium living in inpatient care facilities. Research into the care of people with dementia focuses on people who show severe symptoms of the disease and require a specialised form of care. The initial aim of addressing the topic of delirium is to sensitise care professionals and enable them to recognise and prevent delirium.
Another focus is on the concept of practice development. The working group is investigating the significance and implementation of this internationally recognised concept in Germany. The aim is to further advance the theoretical foundation of the concept in Germany in order to be able to use the concept of practice development in scientific studies to support implementation processes. The working group actively supports the work of the Practice Development Section of the German Society for Nursing Science.
Annual conference of the European Delirium Association 2025
Under the motto "Delirium: Many Factors - One Approach", this year's annual conference of the European Delirium Association (EDA) took place in Hamburg from 12 to 14 November 2025. The event brought together leading international researchers from geriatrics, psychiatry, neurology, anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine, psychology, nursing science and neuroscience to share the latest findings, discuss innovative research approaches and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our Department of Nursing Science was prominently represented with two poster contributions. In addition, the conference programme offered inspiring keynote speeches, a best-abstract session and diverse specialist discussions on the topic of delirium. The event was complemented by exciting guest lectures from the American Delirium Association (ADA), which contributed valuable transatlantic perspectives and further enriched the scientific exchange.
The congress provided important impetus for current international delirium research and showed once again how central the nursing science perspective is for a comprehensive understanding, prevention and care of delirium.
Impressions from the Capital City Congress - Session on the integration of extended nursing skills in practice
At the Capital Congress, Robert Jeske, Director of Nursing and Member of the Board at Ulm University Hospital, Prof. Cornelia Mahler from the University of Tübingen, Leah Dörr APN in Central Wound Management at Bonn University Hospital, Dr Tobias Weimer, specialist lawyer for medical law and Dr Antje Schwinger from the GKV Spitzenverband discussed the integration of extended nursing skills in practice under the moderation of Prof. Rebecca Palm.
You can watch the whole session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spwxyLHv9z8
You can watch an interview with Prof Palm here:
https://www.hauptstadtkongress.de/2025/04/17/3-fragen-an-prof-dr-rebecca-palm/
Final event of the DeliA project - a complete success!
Oldenburg, 13 June 2025 - The EWE Forum Alte Fleiwa hosted the festive final conference of the three-year research project DeliA (Delirium in Elderly Care Facilities). The event offered not only an overview of the latest scientific findings, but also impressive practical examples - a valuable exchange between research and care.
As part of the project, a large-scale prevalence study was conducted to determine how often acute delirium occurs. At the same time, nursing staff and GPs were interviewed and trained in order to strengthen their skills in dealing with delirium. A specially developed e-learning tool was trialled and presented.
The participants were offered impressive insights into the diverse results of the individual sub-projects - for example on medication aspects, barriers to care and the practical relevance of interprofessional training. The practical impulses were particularly illustrative: Maria Erdmann reported on the challenges of dealing with delirium from a nursing perspective, while Dr Volker Nüstedt shed light on the topic from a medical perspective.
The closing event clearly showed how urgently the topic of delirium needs to be brought to the forefront of care in care facilities for the elderly.
The DeliA project was funded over three years with around 1.4 million euros.
consortium partners were:
- German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases e. V. (DZNE), Witten site
- Private University of Witten/Herdecke gGmbH
- Ruhr University Bochum
- University of Oldenburg (consortium lead)
Further information at: www.delia.info
4th International Conference of the German Society for Nursing Science e.V. in Berlin
The 4th International Conference of the German Society of Nursing Science took place in Berlin from 8 to 9 May 2025. The conference offered a wide-ranging and stimulating programme of current nursing science research and promoted international scientific exchange in nursing.
The Department of Nursing Science was represented with a presentation on "Evidence-based development of an e-learning to impart delirium-specific knowledge for geriatric nurses and general practitioners in nursing homes" . In her presentation, Johanna Seiters presented the evidence-based development of an e-learning module that addresses delirium-specific expertise for nurses and general practitioners in inpatient care facilities. The structured evidence-based development process of the training programme and the importance of interprofessional collaboration in the care of people with delirium were also discussed.
Overall, the conference was characterised by numerous exciting and high-quality presentations that provided important impulses for research and practice. The team from the Department of Nursing Science returned home with numerous new scientific ideas and inspirations, which they look forward to incorporating into their future work.
Lecture on the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in geriatric care at the Oldenburg State Caritas Association's Day of Geriatric Care
Under the title "Genie in a Bottle?: AI potentials against information loss in geriatric care", Prof Rebecca Palm presented possible application scenarios in which AI can contribute to improving the care of people with dementia at the Oldenburg State Caritas Association's Geriatric Care Day on 20 March. The presentation focused on how AI can help to better understand challenging behaviour and provide more targeted care for those affected.
This was followed by the session "Acceptance, practicability and benefits of artificial intelligence in care", which discussed the extent to which the care sector is ready to embrace AI technology. Participants were invited to take an active part in the discussion and discuss together how AI can be meaningfully integrated into care practice.
The event impressively demonstrated that artificial intelligence can be a promising tool to support carers and improve the quality of life of people with dementia. At the same time, it became clear that the implementation of these technologies requires a critical examination of ethical, practical and organisational issues.
The Smart House Oldenburg lecture on the potential of Advanced Practice Nurses
This year's lecture series at The Smart House Oldenburg opened on 24 February 2025 with an exciting lecture by Prof. Dr Rebecca Palm. Under the title "Nursing care of the future - what potential do advanced practice nurses have?", the focus was on the development and significance of this extended specialist nursing role.
Prof Palm explained the historical and international development of the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) and classified its possible establishment in the German healthcare system. Particular attention was paid to the question of what opportunities APNs offer for nursing care in Oldenburg and beyond.
Practical examples were used to illustrate how APNs can contribute to improving patient care in various care settings. Following the presentation, the audience had the opportunity to engage in a lively discussion about the challenges and potential of this professional role.
The event provided valuable impetus for the further development of nursing care and emphasised the relevance of innovative nursing concepts for the future.
Discussion at the Capital City Congress on academisation in nursing care
On 26 June 2024, Prof. Rebecca Palm discussed current issues relating to the further academisation of nursing with Prof. Patrick Jahn, Prof. Astrid Stephan, Helmut Schiffer and Prof. Corinna Trebst as part of the Capital City Congress, moderated by Ms Vera Lux. One important message was the demand for greater involvement of university medicine in Germany in the process. In principle, too few nursing staff are academically trained to achieve improved care. The target of 20% defined by the German Council of Science and Humanities has not been reached for a long time.
To the article in the Ärzte Zeitung:
First network meeting of the Oldenburg University Hospitals on Advanced Nursing Practice
To mark the start of the new "Advanced Nursing Practice" degree programme in winter semester 2024/25, representatives from Oldenburg University Hospitals met for the first time on 11.06.2024 for a constituent network meeting. The primary aim of the network is to exchange experiences with the implementation of Advanced Practice Nursing in their own institutions, current health policy discourses on the topic of APN and scientific results on the evaluation of APN. Another aim of the network is to pool interests for scientific projects, provide suggestions for practice-oriented courses and jointly organise events.
From now on, the network will meet regularly every three months.
Rebecca Palm elected as a member of the board of the German Society for Nursing Science
Rebecca Palm was elected as a new member of the board of the German Society for Nursing Science.
Rebecca Palm appointed
Rebecca Palm was appointed to Carl von Ossietzky University on 1 October 2023.