The Oak November 2024
Happy Perioperative Nurses Week (PNW) 2024! PNW provides a special opportunity to recognise and celebrate the vital contributions of perioperative nurses in advancing clinical excellence and delivering exceptional patient care. This year’s theme, UNITE, highlights the critical role of collaboration and partnership in the delivery of perioperative care.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each of you for the dedication you show in working alongside your colleagues and supporting your patients throughout their procedural journeys, all in service of the highest standards of care. Your ongoing support of our state and territory perioperative nursing associations, and your partnership with ACORN in advocating for, supporting and collaborating to maintain the highest standards in education and innovation is also deeply appreciated.
As PNW 2024 unfolds, I encourage you to take a moment to engage with the beautiful resources curated by our team. And with the conference rounding out November, let’s carry the momentum from PNW forward as we reconnect in person, in Sydney, at the end of the month.
I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the invaluable support of our corporate partners. Industry plays a critical role in perioperative nursing – fostering innovation, by combining clinical expertise with leading-edge technology, and helping to bring to life the projects and research that enhance safe patient care. And without the engagement of our corporate partners, many initiatives and member benefits offered by ACORN would not be possible. For those attending the conference in Sydney, I encourage you to connect with our many sponsors.
Until we meet at conference, I wish you a very happy PNW 2024!
Caroline Johnson
ACORN Board Chair
This month is a most exciting time with Perioperative Nurses Week (PNW) this week and our international conference at the end of the month (28–30 November) at Royal Randwick in Sydney. As the conference theme suggests, it’s time to unite and ignite as a community.
We are all very excited about the conference and looking forward to seeing so many wonderful perioperative nurses and exhibitors together in one place again. We are hosting about 50 exhibitors, many with some unique and fabulous plans for delegates. Make sure you visit them to learn about the latest and greatest products on the market and be able to receive some great incentives, gifts and prizes.
In the past, the ACORN Annual General Meeting has coincided with conference. In June this year, we held the obligatory Annual General Meeting for regulatory purposes. At the conference, we will hold a Special General Meeting of members on Thursday afternoon. Please visit our website for more information.
Having managed medical conferences for years, I know what it takes to create something special, and this is truly special. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my staff of Angela, Edwina, Eleanor and Sarah who have been taking on many roles during the conference planning. We also must thank the ACORN Board of Directors, led by Caroline Johnson; the Censor Panel, led by Ruth Melville; as well as the Events committee – Tarryn Armor, Grace Loh, Veronica Hill, Tracy Kerle and Justine Vost. Our super volunteer and company archivist, Ruth Hibbard, has now become the champion of managing the gala dinner, along with our Education officer, Angela. Although we are sharing many of the conference activities with you all, we have some surprises for you as well.
Huge thanks to Julia Baird, our keynote speaker, and plenary speaker Martine Beaumont of Select Wellness. Of course, we are all grateful to Phyllis Davis AM for being our 2024 Judith Cornell Orator. I would also like to thank the very talented John Mangos for his support as MC throughout the days and nights of the conference.
The education program has a range of presentations covering new perioperative nursing research, quality improvement projects and the latest clinical updates and educational activities. The Welcome Reception and Gala Dinner are great opportunities to connect and network with old friends and new. Please dress with a ‘touch of sparkle’.
We are pleased that so many of you have registered. If you haven’t done so yet, please register now to make sure you are with us at this important and exciting conference. Registrations, including day registrations, are still open.
On a personal note, I am looking forward to meeting many of the community I have served daily in my 19 months at ACORN.
Diane Harapin
ACORN Chief Executive Officer
Investigating the relationship between self-esteem and body image in patients scheduled for rhinoplasty
Elif Karahan, Tugba Baloglu, Sevim Çelik and Sibel Altintas
Investigation of post-operative comfort levels and factors affecting comfort in urology patients
Eda Dolgun, Büsra Dalfidan Sayin, Esma Özsaker and Yelda Candan Dönmez
Perioperative anaphylaxis: Management and risk reduction strategies in 2024
Mishelle Dehaini
Improving access to quaternary and tertiary health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients by addressing their social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing
Yashni Kander, Tania Davidovic, Geoffrey Binge, Patricia Kennedy and King Law
Political declaration of the high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance
Global leaders have approved a political declaration at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), committing to a clear set of targets and actions, including reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial AMR annually by 10 per cent by 2030.
Working together to achieve sustainable high-quality health care in a changing climate (ACSQHC joint statement with medical colleges.)
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC), in partnership with the interim Australian Centre for Disease Control and Australian medical colleges, has released an historic joint statement that signifies a shared commitment to address the health impacts of climate change. All specialist medical colleges affiliated with the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges and the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association have endorsed the joint statement.
AORN perioperative care of the adult transgender patient tool kit
The purpose of this tool kit is to equip perioperative nurses with the knowledge and confidence to provide inclusive and high-quality care for transgender or gender-diverse patients undergoing surgical procedures. The information in this tool kit can be used to promote awareness, plan care and develop evidence-based policies and procedures.
Australian College of Nursing (ACN) white paper on climate change
Nurses play a crucial leadership role in responding to climate change emergencies, providing front-line care and helping to mitigate future crises. They are well-positioned to lead emissions reduction efforts within and beyond health care. As both professional and personal leaders, nurses are vital in addressing climate-related health impacts. The ACN supports the National Health and Climate Strategy and aims to contribute to the Climate and Health Expert Advisory Group (CHEAG), though it is disappointed by the limited inclusion of nursing leaders in its formation and operation.
American Nurses Foundation launches well-being program
The American Nurses Foundation, in partnership with the United Health Foundation, has launched the Nurse Well-Being: Building Peer and Leadership Support program to improve organisational mental health culture. Funded by a three-year, $3.1 million grant, the program has reached over 1000 nurses across four pilot sites, led by 50 participating nurses. It provides a color-coded system for expressing stress levels and helps nurse leaders engage in difficult mental health discussions while fostering healthy teams and self-care. Early survey results show that 88 per cent of nurses found the program easy to use, with participants reporting a 28 per cent decrease in burnout after six months.
Research
Operating room design can help shorten surgery
A new study suggests that the size and layout of operating rooms can impact the length of knee- and hip- replacement surgeries.
Risk factors for wrong-site surgery (A study of 1166 reports of informed consent and schedule errors.)
One of the most feared errors is that of wrong-site surgery. This study examined four years of data from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) database to examine consent and scheduling issues. The authors note that ‘The accuracy of informed consent and procedural schedule are important components in a process for preventing wrong-site surgery.’ Of the 1166 event reports examined, the study found that ’56 per cent described a schedule error, 34 per cent had a consent error, and 10 per cent involved both error types’.
In the media
Surgeons successfully conducted a remote operation on a pig as part of a collaborative experiment between ETH Zurich and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. From 9300 km away, researchers in Zurich performed a magnetic endoscopy using standard computers and robotic technology in Hong Kong, facilitated by high-speed internet. This teleoperated platform could expand access to minimally invasive gastrointestinal procedures and serve as a training tool for local operators.
Perioperative Nurses Week 2024
10–16 November 2024
ACORN 2024 International Conference
28–30 November, ATC, Randwick, Sydney
8–9 August 2025
