Special Interest Groups
The purpose of the ACORN Special Interest Groups (SIGs) is to combine the expertise and experiences of like-minded perioperative nurses to collaborate, create and support each other with a special interest focus. As the peak professional representative group for perioperative nurses across Australia, ACORN is in the unique position to have the opportunity to create, support and maintain SIGs with the mission of advancing safe, quality perioperative nursing care for Australians.
If you are interested in joining one of the ACORN SIGs, please complete the expression of interest form by clicking here.
The aims for this special interest group include:
- Develop a consensus document for the translation of the definition of a quality/risk management and monitoring system
- Improve the safety of implant loads and understanding of the chemical indicator technology and best practice in OR sterility checks
- Build on the collaboration between the OR and the CSSD pathway for instrument safety
- Adaption and uptake of a quality improvement tool to drive safe and best practices in reusable device reprocessing
SIG goals:
- Build a multidisciplinary SIG group to integrate representation from both the OR and CSSD to improve sterilisation safety and collaboration
- Establish a meeting momentum
- Consolidate and integrate best practice standards in sterility safety through the development of a consensus document to support the up-and-coming Australia/New Zealand Device Reprocessing Standards
- Progress the consensus adoption to support the clinical uptake and transition of best practice instrument safety in the OR
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Sterilisation safety special interest group, please use the expression of interest form by clicking here. Please email any enquiries to standards@acorn.org.au.
This group is supported by 3M.
The overarching aim for this special interest group is peer-support and mentorship for perioperative managers to provide a consistent, and high-quality perioperative experience for all perioperative nurses across Australia.
SIG goals:
- Peer support group
- Sharing of management and leadership resources and strategies
- Creation of resources and strategies to address deficits identified
- Promote positive perioperative nurse experiences in theatre to encourage retention and recruitment of nurses
- Sharing of lean operational management strategies and resources to ensure consistency, safety and efficiencies across perioperative environments
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Perioperative Managers group, please use the expression of interest form by clicking here. Please email any enquiries to education@acorn.org.au.
The primary goal for this special interest group is peer-support and mentorship of fellow perioperative enrolled nurses in Australia. In doing so, the group aims to raise the profile of perioperative enrolled nursing in a supported and connected way.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Perioperative Enrolled Nurses group, please use the expression of interest form by clicking here. Please email any enquiries to education@acorn.org.au.
The overarching aim for this special interest group is peer-support and mentorship for perioperative nursing preceptors and facilitators to provide a consistent, and high-quality perioperative experience for all novice perioperative nurses across Australia.
SIG goals:
- Peer support group
- Sharing of resources and strategies
- Creation of resources and strategies to address deficits identified
- Promote positive student and novice perioperative nurse experiences in theatre to encourage retention and recruitment of nurses
- Provide preceptor and preceptee education bundles to ensure consistency across perioperative environments
Our Preceptor and facilitator SIG has been hard at work creating resources and templates for our perioperative nursing community. Please visit the Preceptor and Facilitator Resource page to check out their amazing work. This is a member-only resource page, so remember to sign in to access the content.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Preceptors and facilitators group, please use the expression of interest form by clicking here. Please email any enquiries to education@acorn.org.au.
The primary goal for this special interest group is peer-support and mentorship of fellow perioperative PhD students in Australia. In doing so, the group aims to raise the profile of perioperative nursing higher education and research, in a supported and connected way. Keep an eye out for their annual webinar to share their journeys with the ACORN members.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Periop PhD Group, please email your contact details, and your current stage of the perioperative PhD journey, to education@acorn.org.au, or use the expression of interest form by clicking here.
If you are still in the planning phase and have not yet commenced your PhD journey, we will have a new Special Interest Group starting for you soon!
Our Perioperative PhD Group SIG has been hard at work creating resources for our perioperative PhD nursing student community. Please visit the Perioperative PhD Resource page to check out their amazing work. This is a member-only resource page, so remember to sign in to access the content.
