Canadian Operating Room Nursing Journal: SORNG Conference

WE ENJOYED THE VIEW IN WASKESIU!

The Saskatchewan Operating Room Nurses Group had the pleasure of hosting its biennial conference in June 2004 in Waskesiu, SK - the beautiful north woods of Prince Albert National Park. The event was well attended by both S.O.R.N.G. members and industry representatives as well as a couple of special guests from Manitoba. A golf tournament and a welcome social kicked off the weekend in style.

Conference highlights included guest speaker Richard Elson, a lawyer from Saskatoon, who presented "Legalities in the OR" employing some of the delegates to hold a mock court session. Dr. Arsiradam, an anaesthetist, covered the basics in patient monitoring in his presentation "What Are We Measuring?"

We were also fortunate to have Francis Loos, Clinical Development Educator of Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and Day Surgery from Regina, SK, present "Care of the Morbidly Obese Patient (Bariatric Care)". Not only was it a relevant topic but it was also fantastic to have one of our own nurse colleagues presenting at our conference!

Keynote speaker Meg Soper, an OR nurse from Ontario and renowned comedian, presented "Humor is One Size Fits All'. She had everyone howling with laughter and effectively demonstrated how laughter can be good medicine for OR nurses working in the trenches.

The social highlight of the Conference was also the talk of Waskesiu. Our Tacky Tropical Casino Night truly was tacky!! There was a pig roast followed by indoor surfing and Volleyball and an evening of blackjack. The Regina nurses reigned superior in the area of tackiest costumes! A special thank you goes out to BCORNG for sending us the six-foot tall palm trees!

We were successful in living up to the theme, Nurturing Knowledge & Nature - we nurtured knowledge despite the typical Saskatchewan weather that attempted to dampen the festivities. In the end, we all learned new things, we chatted with old friends, and we partied like only prairie nurses can! We may be a small group, but our commitment to continuing education and improving perioperative practice is considerable.

Submitted by Linda Socha, SORNG President.