The Oak September 2024
Welcome to September! As we move closer to the end of the year and our upcoming conference, Australia will once again focus on RUOK? Day. This important campaign encourages us to ask a simple question that can lead to meaningful conversations and potentially save lives. For those of us in the perioperative nursing community, navigating life’s complexities requires resilience. This makes strong connections and support systems within our workplaces essential. I am incredibly proud of how our community consistently supports one another, offering help and creating space for each other during challenging times. I’ve personally experienced and deeply appreciate this generosity, especially when others have reached out with care.
Our upcoming conference will underscore the importance of connection, support and wellbeing through sessions dedicated to nurse wellbeing and team building. If you haven’t registered yet, I strongly encourage you to do so. Attending the conference will not only be an investment in your professional growth but also a valuable opportunity to strengthen your teams and grow together.
Additionally, I want to highlight the significant partnership between ACORN, the national organisation, and the seven state and territory perioperative nursing associations (the local associations). This collaboration has been a cornerstone of ACORN since its early days. In 1977, at the inaugural conference, the decision was made to establish the Australian Confederation of Operating Room Nurses. The initial aim of the confederation was to organise future conferences and maintain a national presence dedicated to supporting and advocating for operating room nurses across Australia.
Since its inception, ACORN (no longer a confederation) has remained a steadfast entity, engaging with the perioperative community through conferences and expanding its mission to provide accessible, evidence-based practice standards and education for perioperative nurses and organisations nationwide. ACORN’s mission is to advocate for safe, quality perioperative care for every patient on every occasion. And ACORN is dedicated to driving this mission forward in partnership with state local associations.
By joining your local association, you gain access to numerous benefits provided by the national organisation ACORN. ACORN national provides the members of local associations with access to educational and professional development resources, discounts on certain products and services, and eligibility for opportunities including grants and scholarships.
Resources
ACORN has developed a range of resources for perioperative nurses. Membership of your local association entitles you to access these resources, free of charge. The resources include:
- The New ACORN Standards for individuals, published by ACORN and available through the ACORN app
- educational webinars, presented and recorded by ACORN and made available for members to view
- clinical resources, templates and guides developed by ACORN
- the ACORN e-newsletter, The Oak, and peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Perioperative Nursing
- the ACORN clinical team, employed by ACORN to develop resources and respond to clinical enquiries.
Discounts
ACORN has negotiated discounts for a range of products and services. Membership of your local association enables you to obtain these discounts including:
- 50% fee-waiver discount for enrolment in selected perioperative postgraduate programs at University of Tasmania (UTAS)
- 35% discount on personal indemnity insurance through Guild Insurance
- 15% discount on enrolment in ACORN education courses
- 15% discount on Medcast Advanced Life Support course registration fees (Adult and Paediatric ALS)
- 10% discount on fourth edition of perioperative nursing textbook Perioperative Nursing: An Introduction (due for release in 2025)
- 10% discount on Wellness Footwear
- discounted corporate membership of QANTAS Club
- significant discounts on registration to attend ACORN conferences and Perioperative Leadership Summits
- discounted fee for ACORN’s assistance with conducting a research survey
- discounts at partner hotels such as the Shangri-La Hotels group.
Opportunities
ACORN provides scholarships, recognises achievement and supports professional networking. Membership of your local association makes you eligible to:
- apply for a full scholarship for certified Bravura Laser education courses
- receive awards and prizes during significant events such as Perioperative Nurses Week, PeriAnaesthesia Week, International Nurses Day and ACORN conferences and Perioperative Leadership Summit.
- join an ACORN committee and/or special interest group and extending your network, influence and knowledge
- have your contribution to perioperative nursing recognised by receiving ACORN Fellowship or Life Membership of your local association.
These member benefits, along with necessary administrative support, are partly funded through a capitation arrangement with the local associations, whereby each local association contributes about $30 per member per year to support ACORN activities. The partnership between ACORN and the local associations is crucial for advancing ACORN’s goals and supporting the perioperative nursing community. Together, we have achieved significant milestones, and in the spirit of our partnership since 1977, ACORN remains committed to engaging with not only the state and territory perioperative nursing organisations but also the broader perioperative nursing community.
I look forward to seeing many of you at our conference in November, celebrating the resilience of our community and seeing ACORN thrive into the future.
Warm regards
Caroline Johnson
ACORN Board Chair
ACORN 2024 conference update, two new webinars, education scholarships, special interest groups and periop fundamentals courses.
ACORN 2024 Conference
What an exciting line-up of speakers and topics we have for our conference! If you haven’t already, have a look at the program overview. As well as three concurrent streams of presentations, we have our own Phyllis Davis AM presenting the Judith Cornell Oration, Dr Julia Baird and Martine Beaumont as keynote speakers and John Mangos as master of ceremonies. Register now – early registration ends on 28 September.
Webinars
Two new webinars have recently been made available:
- Perioperative deteriorating patient program (DETECT) presented by Pooja Bhusal
Evolution of surgical gowns: Infection control insights presented by Menna Davies
ACORN Education webinars are free for all ACORN members – this is a benefit of your membership. Simply log in to your ACORN account to access these webinars.
Grants and scholarships
Applications for the second round of Bravura Education scholarships applications opened on 1 September.
Bravura Education offers scholarships for ACORN members to complete a laser safety officer (LSO) training course (surgical and operating suite).
This laser safety officer course is suitable for those who work in an operating suite or other clinical environment that uses lasers. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the operation and hazards of lasers. The course is delivered online and takes eight to ten hours to complete. You can study at your own pace, in your own time and take as long as you like to do it. Assessment is a two-hour, online, open book exam.
Courses
ACORN offers a range of courses ranging from 16 to 20 continuing professional development (CPD) points. The courses available include:
- Fundamentals of intra-operative nursing
- Fundamentals of anaesthetic nursing
- Introduction to perioperative practice (medical company representatives)
If you know which course you want to do, click on it and follow the prompts.
ACORN members receive a 15 per cent discount on all course registration fees! Simply email education@acorn.org.au to receive your member discount coupon code.
Special interest groups
If you are you passionate about a particular area of perioperative nursing, please consider joining one of the ACORN special interest groups (SIGs) to connect with like-minded passionate nurses and industry experts.
Amendments to the PPSPNs, new ASIP tool available for download and what’s happening in the world of perioperative nursing.
Amendments to The New ACORN Standards Professional Practice Standards for Perioperative Nurses (PPSPN)
The Australian College of Perioperative Nurses (ACORN) has completed an extensive review and consultation process to update the Professional Practice Standards for Perioperative Nurses (PPSPN), incorporating feedback from ACORN directors, members, health service organisations and external bodies, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA).
Changes are reflected in both the PPSPN for Individuals and PPSPN for Organisations and are effective as of 2 September 2024.
A full list of amendments and a webinar about these amendments can be found on the ACORN website.
You may also provide feedback about these amendments via the ACORN website.
Please note: You may need to refresh and/or clear your browser to view the updated version.
New ACORN Standards Implementation Planner (ASIP) tool.
ACORN’s practice standards are vital for implementing best practice to ensure safe, high-quality perioperative nursing care for every patient, on every occasion.
The ACORN Standards Implementation Planner (ASIP) tool was developed to assist health service organisations, perioperative management, quality and safety departments and clinicians to implement ACORN standards in their organisations.
The ASIP tool is an editable tool that can be adjusted to the local health service environment and requirements and is a resource to assist the perioperative team in implementing best practice. This tool can be used to implement new standards, for quality improvement projects, in response to a critical incident, as an education tool and for clinician professional development in quality and safety.
Download a copy of the ASIP tool from our website. An example and educational video are also available.
You may also provide feedback about this tool via the ACORN website:
What’s happening in the world of perioperative nursing?
To ensure that ACORN remains up to date with advancements, practices or research pertaining to perioperative nursing on a global scale, the clinical excellence portfolio includes regular briefings and updates to the ACORN Board of Directors about what has been happening in the wider environment. See below some of the highlights for August 2024.
Research
- Would surgery duration affect the microbial concentration in operating rooms? Implications for sustainable and low-carbon health care environments.
- Developing the green operating room: Exploring barriers and opportunities to reducing operating room waste.
- Povidone iodine vs chlorhexidine gluconate in alcohol for pre-operative skin antisepsis: A randomised clinical trial.
- Enhanced recovery after surgery programs: How much do perioperative nurses know?
Regulatory body reports, reviews and frameworks
- Therapeutic Goods Administration: Post-market review of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) devices.
- Australian Department of Health: There has been significant progress on the Scope of Practice Review.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC): AI Implementation in Hospitals: Legislation, Policy, Guidelines and Principles, and Evidence about Quality and Safety. Literature Review and Environmental Scan Report. The ACSQHC engaged Macquarie University and the University of Wollongong to undertake a literature review and environmental scan to identify principles that enable the safe and responsible implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.
- World Health Organization: Epidemiological updates – COVID-19 and Mpox.
Advancement and innovation in perioperative procedures or techniques
- Korean researchers have developed a new type of 'smart' surgical suture that monitors the recovery process of a wound.
Education
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in the USA has published this Issue Brief that describes how simulation can be a valuable asset, how to use simulation resources to improve patient safety and how to collaborate with simulationists.
Other documents of interest
The Asia–Pacific intra-operative navigation market is rapidly expanding, with a current value of about $900 million and a compound annual growth rate exceeding 15 per cent.
We look forward to collaborating with our members, local associations, corporate partners and the wider perioperative community to ensure clinical excellence in the perioperative nursing space, consistently, across Australia.
Enhanced recovery after surgery programs: How much to perioperative nurses know?
By Bridgid Gillespie, Josephine Lovegrove and Georgia Tobiano
Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols have been shown to
improve recovery and reduce patients’ risk of morbidity and mortality1.
Some researchers have noted 30 to 50 per cent reductions in post-operative
hospital length of stay2–4, reductions in surgical site infections5 and
decreases in admission costs6–9. Over the past two decades, ERAS protocols
have been developed to cater to the specific needs and nuances across
surgical specialties and subspecialties including general surgery (e.g. breast,
hepatobiliary, colorectal and upper gastric surgeries), neurosurgery and
gynaecological, orthopaedic and vascular surgeries2,6. ERAS protocols cover
the entire surgical journey, including pre-admission, pre-operative, intraoperative
and post-operative phases in the pathway2.
ACORN’s work is supported by seven state and territory perioperative nursing associations (the local associations or LAs).
While each of the associations retains its own integrity and independence, together we find strength in unity to provide professional leadership in perioperative practice and the advancement of safe, quality perioperative nursing care for Australians.
Garry Stratton has dedicated over 27 years to the field of perioperative nursing, serving as a perioperative nurse unit manager for two decades. His extensive career includes five years on the ACORN Board of Directors, during which he served a year as president and also chaired the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for four years. Garry is recognised for his leadership in the profession, co-chairing the inaugural ACORN Perioperative Leadership Summit and currently serving as Chair of Calvary Healthcare's Interventional Community of Practice.
Garry's commitment to advancing perioperative nursing is reflected in his passion for upholding ACORN standards for practice and ensuring excellence in patient care across health care settings. His blend of operational expertise and advocacy for professional standards continues to shape the future of perioperative nursing practice.
15 June, 6 July, Burnside War Memorial Hospital, Adelaide
ACORN Queensland state conference
25–26 October, Marcoola, Queensland
ACORN 2024 International Conference
28–30 November, ATC, Randwick, Sydney
