The Oak April 2026
The conference is getting close and we are putting the final touches on the program. We are very excited to be bringing the perioperative nursing community back together again next month.
Our work on the strategic plan is progressing at a great pace. We are focusing particularly on sustainability and developing ways to support our members even more effectively. Your feedback and involvement continue to be crucial, and we are keen to ensure our initiatives reflect your needs and aspirations.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment and support. We look forward to seeing many of you at the conference and sharing more on our strategic direction in the weeks ahead.
Tracy Kerle
The public consultation process for shaping the next iteration of the ACORN Standards is drawing to a close. We have been encouraged by the significant and constructive feedback already received and look forward to your engagement with the last few draft standards.
Current drafts open for public consultation:
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Perioperative manager (consultation closing 6 April)
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Anaesthesia nurse (consultation closing 10 April)
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Circulating nurse (consultation closing 13 April)
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Instrument nurse (consultation closing 13 April)
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Day procedure service nurse (consultation closing 20 April)
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Perioperative Nurse Surgical Assistant (PNSA) (consultation closing 21 April)
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Registered nurse (RN) (consultation closing 21 April)
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Post Anaesthesia Care Unit nurse (consultation closing 21 April)
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Nurse educator (consultation closing 21 April)
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Asepsis (consultation closing 21 April)
We warmly invite all members of the multidisciplinary perioperative community, as well as end-point consumers, patients and those with lived experience, to contribute. We encourage you to share your perspective – together, we can ensure these standards are the strongest and most evidence-based they can be.
Thank you to all who are contributing expertise, perspectives and ideas. Together, we are building the most evidence-based and implementable standards ACORN has ever produced.
Beyond the count: Operationalising risk-based prevention of retained surgical items
Jed Duff
The impact of pre-operative anxiety on post-operative recovery outcomes in abdominal surgery patients
Yen Vo Thi Phuong, Hai Mai Ba
Post-operative patients’ lived experience of patient safety practices: A descriptive phenomenological study
Roselyn Butalid, Nijyll Cabañesas, Ma. Myca Florenly Y Cemini, Aiza Honorio
Relationship between patients’ pre-operative anxiety level and administration of anxiolytic premedication
Paul White, Ofelia Loani Elvir Lazo, Roya Yumul, Xiao Zhang, Loreta So, Waguih William IsHak, David Chernobylsky, Omar Durra, Hamed Sadeghipour
Prevalence of missed nursing care in the operating room: A scoping review
Pedro Ribeiro
ACORN 2026 Conference
14–16 May 2026, Brisbane Convention Centre
Papua New Guinea Perioperative Nurses Society (PNGPNS) Conference
16–17 July 2026, Port Moresby