Program

Education program

Each day of the conference will have a range of presentations to choose from, across three rooms, with topics covering new perioperative nursing research, quality improvement projects and the latest clinical updates and education activities.

On Thursday 28 November, the program starts at 8.00 am with the Welcome Ceremony and Judith Cornell Oration, this year given by the remarkable Phyllis Davis AM. Concurrent sessions will follow until 5.00 pm.

On Friday 29 November the incomparable Julia Baird opens the second day of the conference with her keynote address which will leave attendees feeling uplifted, motivated and ignited as they head into the day's education sessions. Concurrent sessions across a range of clinical and research topics will continue throughout the day, ending at 5.00 pm leaving just enough time to get ready for the Gala Dinner.

On Saturday 30 November, our final day of conference, concurrent sessions begin at 9.00 am with a keynote address and closing ceremony at 1.00 pm.

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Speakers and topics

Phyllis Davis AM Judith Cornell Orator	From Trainee enrolled nurse at Royal Newcastle Hospital to director of nursing Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital Dubai Phyllis Davis has had an exciting and rewarding career. As inaugural president of the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses (ACORN) Phyllis presided over the first Judith Cornell Oration, delivered by Judith Cornell. Phyllis has experience as an instrument and circulating nurse, project coordinator with the Ministry of Health, nursing unit manager and then nurse manager of the Randwick campus operating suite prior to her move to Dubai. For the last decade, Phyllis has worked with perioperative nurses in Papua New Guinea providing support and assistance to the Papua New Guinea Perioperative Nurses Society. Phyllis received the ACORN Excellence in Perioperative Nursing Award in 2018 and later that year Phyllis received the Order of Australia in the General Division (AM) for services to nursing, nursing education, nursing leadership and nursing international relations.

Dr Julia Baird Keynote speaker	Julia Baird is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author. Her writing has appeared in a range of publications including Newsweek, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Guardian, Good Weekend, Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun, The Monthly, Time and Harpers' Bazaar, as well as hosting the weekly current affairs panel show The Drum for eleven years. In her books, Julia continues to write with depth about life. Her book, Bright Shining: How grace changes everything, follows the unforgettable, award-winning bestseller, Phosphorescence, and her much-lauded biography of Queen Victoria was published in several countries and made one of The New York Times best books of 2016. Baird's PhD in history, about female politicians and the media, formed the basis of her first book, Media Tarts: How the Australian Press Frames Female Politicians (2004).

John Mangos MC	John Mangos has been a familiar face on Australian television for the past 45 years. His career spanned more than 40 years in television news on the Nine Network, Seven Network and Sky News. He is currently a regular on Nine’s Today Extra program. John began his career with the Nine Network where his roles included general news, a three-year stint in Canberra in the federal parliamentary press gallery, chief parliamentary correspondent to the Parliament of New South Wales, and three years as Nine Network’s bureau chief in the United States of America (USA). He returned from the USA to work with Graham Kennedy on Coast to Coast, anchored Network 10’s Eyewitness News and became the international reporter for Nine’s Midday Show, then hosted his own morning chat program, At Home With John Mangos, for the Seven Network. John currently runs his own strategic communications company where he works as a political adviser and media trainer to leading business and political figures.

Martine Beaumont Invited speaker	Martine Beaumont is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Select Wellness and Select Counsellors. Martine's experiences operating Select Counsellors in the mental health space, in particular the Employee Assistance Program, demonstrated to her the importance of early detection of potential issues and the power of wellbeing interventions. This lead her to founding Select Wellness – expanding the concepts of assessments and tailored interventions to wellbeing at work. Martine has a law degree and has worked her way up to c-suite roles during a ten year career in the reinsurance industry. After the birth of her two boys, Martine left corporate life and undertook further postgraduate training in psychotherapy, couples therapy, executive coaching and counselling. She has been in private practice for 15 years in the eastern suburbs of Sydney specialising in relationships and emotional wellbeing. Martine has appeared as an expert on Seven Network’s The Morning Show as well as being asked to contribute her opinion to various online and print media outlets and the book A Girl’s Guide to Turning your Idea into a Business.