AORN travelers on the steps of the Mater Miseflcordiiae Hospital in Sydney.

Australian symposium reveals common concerns During the sixth international AORN sym- posium, we discovered that we share with our colleagues “down under” many common con- cerns relating to operating room nursing.

Eager to meet American nurses, 150 New Zealand and 125 Australian nurses attended the symposium seminars. In Sydney, the OR schedule was kept to a minimum to allow many OR nurses to attend.

The nurses worked hard to provide interest- ing speakers and topics. Twelve hospitals in

the Sydney area hosted the AORN travelers. Tours of the surgical facilities ended with American and Australian nurses comparing notes over tea.

The first seminar was on nursing educa- tional programs with Judith Cornell of St George Hospital, Sydney, discussing both postbasic and postgraduate programs. The American counterparts were described by Jerry Peers, AORN executive director.

In a seminar on the interdisciplinary struc-

260 AORN Journal, February 1976, Vol23, No 2

ture of medicine, nursing, and paramedical disciplines, different opinions were expressed on the role of the RN in the OR. In Australia, technicians are not currently employed, but student nurses or community nurses (equiva- lent to practical nurses) circulate while RNs scrub. Surgeons on the panel were emphatic that they wanted an RN to scrub, but AORN nurses questioned how the scrubbed RN can act in emergencies or observe breaks in tech- nique.

AORN films, “Microbial sampling of the OR environment,” and “Proper operating room at- tire,” were shown.

Caroline Rogers, director of membership, spoke on “Malpractice and professional negli- gence.” While liability litigation is still rare in Australia, the nurses were aware of its possibil- ity and interested in knowing how American nurses adjusted to the threat.

Three Australian and three American nurses participated in a panel on working conditions showing the many possible variants in employment, not only with a single country, but worldwide. It was apparent that many prob- lems nurses face in the OR are the same world over.

The final session, “Management by crisis or objective,” presented by Rita Stahl, president of the New South Wales Theatre Nurses As- sociation, offered a concise and intelligent ap- proach to eliminate or at least cope with OR problems.

Sydney is probably the most beautiful deepwater harbor in the world. The Sydney Opera House dominates the water’s edge of Bennelong Point. The city’s most historic area, “The Rocks,” is located at Sydney Cove. Through the work of the Redevelopment Center, the prisons used 100 years ago are now a boutique shopping area.

Sightseeing in town, we saw where Captain Cook first sailed into Botany Bay in 1770. Pad- dington, a residential section with grillwork, ter- raced houses, Hyde Park, and clusters of tall apartments hug the numerous bays and inlets that form a chain of golden-sanded beaches. A bay cruise gave us a magnificent view of the dramatic city skyline.

We took a chartered cruise up the Hawkes- bury River north of Sydney. An American, who has lived in Australia several years, pilots his yacht with guests up the river to his home

where he cooks steaks for all. After dinner, he places his guitar astride his ample midsection and plunges into a delightful rendition of “Waltzing Matilda.”

Returning to town, we stopped at Ku-Ring- Gai sanctuary where we petted and played with kangaroos, watched the dingoes, wal- labies, and emus. To our disappointment, we met only one koala bear with its baby hanging

A cup of tea or coffee is a universal sign of hospitality. Here, Barba Edwards (left.), AORN president-elect, chats with Sister Mary Felix Thorburn, OR supervisor and nursing supervisor, intensive care unit, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne.

sleepily to a branch of a tree. The koala bear, a nocturnal animal, is almost extinct. The gov- ernment is trying to increase the population and, therefore, takes extremely good care of those in captivity.

We tried our skill at boomerang throwing. After an initial lesson, those who succeeded in getting the boomerang to return were given one as a prize.

We spent a week in Auckland, New Zealand, a beautiful harbor city. Four hospitals hosted the AORN group. The seminars provided a stimulating discussion on the role of the pro- fessional nurse in the OR. Seated together at tables, American and Australian nurses en-

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There are some differences. An Australian nurse waits while her compatriots organize a tour.

gaged in lively discussion on continuing edu- cation, orientation to the OR, and OR policies and procedures.

From Auckland we drove to Rotorua through some of the most beautiful landscape imagin- able. Sheep dotted the hillsides with their new lambs reminding us of springtime’s new life as they played and romped across the fields.

Rotorua, the geothermal area in New Zea- land displayed its majesty with constant bub- bling mud pools and hot geysers. Here, we saw much of the Maori culture. A Maori feast and concert for AORN registrants provided not only delightful entertainment but also a glimpse of traditional costumes and dances. The Maori language in song can be either soft and lilting or fierce and warlike depending on the nature of the song.

Many Maoris live in the area and some still cook their food as they did centuries ago by placing the food in a cloth bag and lowering it into one of the pools of boiling water. There is an effort to interest young Maoris in perfecting the art of woodcarving to preserve these spe- cial skills. The Institute of Maori Art was estab-

lished in Rotorua by the government, and young men apprentices work to produce much of the present day carvings using ceremonial and ancient designs.

We visited the Agradome where a show is presented daily to inform tourists of the intricacies of sheep farming. The sheep popu- lation in New Zealand is about 60 million compared to 3 million people. An acre of the rich lowlands provides grazing for six or seven sheep. There are about a dozen different breeds and a champion of each breed was paraded around the arenawhile pertinent facts of quality production of meat and wool were explained. The finale was a demonstration of working of sheep dogs.

We were delighted when our colleagues from “down under” expressed interest in plan- ning an overseas seminar for their members.

If someone in your chapter went on the sym- posium, get them to show you their pictures and share their experience.

Caroline Rogers, RN Director of Membership

264 AORN Journal, February 1976, Val 23, No 2