Canadian OR nurses hold second conference

Toronto was alive with operating room nurses from all parts of Canada as well as France, Germany and the United States during the second National Conference for operating room nurses of Canada. A total of 1,166 operating room nurses participated and shared experiences at the four-day con- ference, May 14 to 17, at the Skyline Hotel.

The operating room nurses of the Greater Toronto area sponsored the conference. Easily identified by their perky white blouses and geranium red floor-length skirts, the members of the local sponsoring group were ever present to answer ques- tions and constantly exhibited a true sense of hospitality. Many long months of hard work had gone into the preparation for this meeting. The reward was an extremely smooth functioning conference.

A fashion show Sunday evening kicked off the social activities. His and her fashions were shown and the handsome male Canadian models provided just the right touch for a relaxed atmosphere in which nurses could get to know each other or renew old acquaintances.

The clinical sessions, starting on Monday, set the stage for four days of exploring, probing, solving and questioning by the reg- istrants. In the first session, "lnservice ed- ucation-who needs it?" a panel of four nurses shared the coverage of the topic in such a way that all aspects and all bene- fits of inservice education were discussed.

During the afternoon session of the first day, the use of the laser in ophthalmologi- cal surgery was explored. The speakers' presentation was enhanced by a film dem- onstrating use of the laser beam. To com- plement the surgeon's presentation, the second portion of the program dealt with the nurses' role in OR nursing for patients undergoing surgery of this nature.

Tuesday morning's program, "Germ warfare-aseptic technique and infection control," was interestingly and expertly presented. An element of surprise and amusement was created by real, live "bugs." When the time came for the monitors to col- lect the questions that were written to the panel, they swarmed through the doors

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dressed as fearsome, grotesque, but color- ful germs, complete with popeyes and an- tennae. The monitors for this session were members of the Central Service Nurses As- sociation of Toronto.

The afternoon session was presented en- tirely in French. A surgeon and a nurse dis- cussed "Cardiovascular surgery." For this session, as for all the sessions each day, simultaneous translation was available.

Preoperative and postoperative visits to surgical patients by operating room nurses proved to be a very lively session on Wed- nesday morning. Two surgeons and a nurse explored the topic from various angles. The goal of meeting the patient's needs, and various methods of achieving that goal were discussed. As is most important when change is contemplated, various ways of overcoming obstacles were an important part of the discussion.

A high degree of interest was maintained throughout the day. The afternoon session was about the controversial acupuncture. The speaker, an anesthetist-in-chief at a Toronto hospital, showed films and shared with the audience his experiences in per- sonal involvement with acupuncture. His talk was neither pro nor con, but stated facts pertaining to the history of acupunc- ture and to the experiments he had taken a part in as an attempt to get some docu- mentary evidence to prove or disprove acu- puncture efficiency. A slide presentation enabled the audience to understand the many complexities of this procedure.

The last day of the conference provided the medium for all registrants to participate actively in a learning experience. A pro- gram in nursing development entitled "Working together" helped the nurse under- stand the barriers which exist in the process of communication. The significance of nurses working together, and an explora- tion of the leadership role as it relates to individuals working together was dramati- cally presented by means of lecture, indi- vidual exercises, group exercises, role playing and group analysis. It was the per- fect note on which to end four days of sin- cere application in the quest for further knowledge.

Each day between 11:30 AM and 3:OO PM each registrant had an opportunity to view the many technical exhibits. Keen in- terest to inspect new products and learn about new techniques was evidenced by the procession of nurses from one booth to the other. The Canadian exhibitors were ex- tremely responsive to the needs of the OR nurse and saw to it that this second con- ference was a huge success.

Congratulations to our nursing sisters from the north for a conferencewell planned and our best wishes to the group that has already started to formulate the program for the third national conference of Canadian OR nurses to be held in Montreal, May 6 to 9, 1974.

Caroline Rogers Membership director

Surgery uncommon for fennis elbow Tennis elbow is most often cured by rest or hormonal injections, but occasionally surgery i s necessary, according to Harold B Boyd, MD, emeritus prdessw of orthopaedic surgery of the University of Tennessee medical school. Dr Boyd re- ported that only 40 of 871 patients required surgery.

The surgery relieves pain and restores full range of motion in almost all cases, he said. The patient must allow three to six months to regain full strength in the forearm, and average time for returning to work is six weeks.

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