Endocrine Nurse Specialist Emma Bremner shares her experience of an action-packed three days at SfE BES 2026 in Harrogate.
As I write this, I’m just back from an eventful SfE BES in lovely sunny Harrogate. This year saw a great mix of science-based lectures, physiology and case studies.
My SfE BES experience kicked off early with a special meeting on the Sunday. Sherwin Criseno was, as always, top class and really helped me achieve a much better understanding of the mechanism of action of parathyroid hormone, and the importance of vitamin D in this process. Cosmina Schiteanu then brought this to life with some excellent case studies.
Monday morning saw a glorious blue sky over the North Yorkshire town, and the true start of SfE BES 2026. The ‘How do I?’ session was very informative, with excellent speakers and presentations. These included management of obesity in menopausal women (a cohort of women we all see in clinic), information on abnormal metanephrines, and patients with severe insulin resistance. Robert Murray gave a useful update on patients with acromegaly and Anna Mitchell was very enthusiastic about genetic testing. The industry-sponsored symposium on using metyrapone in Cushing’s was, as always when chaired by John Wass, informative and useful.
Monday evening’s quiz and curry was fun and a great chance to spend time with colleagues from around the country.
Tuesday was Nurses Day. It started brilliantly with the lovely Louise Breen rightfully receiving the Nikki Kieffer Award. The rest of the day’s sessions had been put together excellently, with a good mix of anatomy and physiology and understanding the patient’s journey. Caz Brown particularly spoke from the heart about her journey with Cushing’s and how lucky she had been throughout. I doubt there was a dry eye in the house.
The Conference Dinner later that evening was everything I hoped it would be: food, wine and a good boogie.
I spent some time on Wednesday morning in the Exhibition Hall, where I found an excellent poster by Lisa Shepherd and colleagues on the new Adrenal Insufficiency Action Plan. This is something I am now hoping to introduce here in Leicester. I also had a good chat with a number of the patient support groups and managed to take home several nice pens for the rest of my team!
It was then time to grab my lunch bag and jump on the train back down to the Midlands. I thoroughly enjoyed SfE BES this year; it really was a great mix of fun and information. Many thanks, Society for Endocrinology.
EMMA BREMNER
Senior Nurse Specialist, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
