The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Library and Museum has announced an extensive autumn and winter programme exploring the evolving intersections of nursing history, technology, material culture, and healthcare practice. Featuring hybrid exhibition launches, scholarly lectures, architectural tours, and online seminars, this curated series invites researchers, clinicians, and historians to examine how technical and social innovations have transformed nursing.
Exploring the Digital Frontier: Exhibition Launch and Architecture
At the heart of the forthcoming season is a critical examination of technological integration within modern healthcare. Both in-person and digital attendees can engage directly with archival records, material artefacts, and scholarly discourse shaping contemporary historical understanding.
Launch: The Digital Revolution — Nursing in the Age of Technology
- Date & Time: 16 September | 5:30–8:30 pm (Talks commence at 6:00 pm)
- Format: In person (London) & Online
- Overview: The public opening of this major exhibition interrogates the historical role of data, computing, and technological devices in nursing practice. Attendees will also have the opportunity to view items from University College London’s (UCL) special collections addressing the history of data science and eugenics.
Architectural Heritage: A Home for Nursing
- Date & Time: 7 October | 3:00–4:00 pm
- Format: In person (London)
- Overview: A specialized guided tour of the historic RCN headquarters (dating back to 1729), examining its iconic period staircase, institutional evolution, former inhabitants, and legendary lore.
Literature, Material Culture, and the Annual History of Nursing Lecture
This season places significant emphasis on interdisciplinary dialogues, bridging creative literature, material culture, and trade unionism in healthcare history. For researchers tracking recent publications and academic outputs, our curated books section offers complementary reading lists.
Reading & Discussion: The Left-Behind Child with Romalyn Ante
- Date & Time: 21 October | 6:00–8:00 pm
- Format: In person (London)
- Overview: An evening reading and discussion featuring nurse, poet, and author Romalyn Ante, exploring themes of migration, care work, and familial separation through her debut novel.
Annual RCN History of Nursing Lecture: Into the Ring: The Rise of Unionism
- Speaker: Professor Sioban Nelson
- Date & Time: 29 October | 6:00–8:00 pm
- Format: In person (London)
- Overview: Professor Sioban Nelson delivers the flagship Annual Lecture, investigating the material culture of nursing alongside the sociopolitical rise of nursing unionism and professional collective action.
Online Seminars: Informatics, Statistics, and Critical Care
A comprehensive series of evening online lectures provides international researchers with accessible virtual access to key themes in historical nursing informatics and biomedical history. You can also monitor our wider calendar for upcoming international nursing history events.
- Cli-Fi Book Club: Hum by Helen Phillips: 27 October | 5:30–7:00 pm
- Data, Statistics and the History of “Normal” Health: 10 November | 6:00–7:30 pm
- Digital Inclusion and Digital Exclusion: A History of Nursing Informatics: 30 November | 5:30–7:00 pm
- The “Star Trek Unit”: A History of Critical Care: 21 January | 5:30–7:00 pm
- From Commodore 64 to the World Wide Web: Computers and Nursing: 2 March | 5:30–7:00 pm
Late-Night Gallery: Sci-Fi Futures
- Sci-fi Futures: Florence Meets the Machine
- Date & Time: 17 February | 6:00–8:30 pm
- Format: In person (London)
- Overview: An interactive late-opening evening blending speculative fiction, artificial intelligence, and historical nursing philosophies to envision the future of clinical practice.
Registration and Booking Details
Full programme details, venue access notes, and booking registrations are available directly via the official RCN Library and Museum Events Portal