European Association of Urology Nurses (EAUN) Meeting, Paris 2006
In April of this year the EAU held its 21st Annual Congress in the beautiful city of Paris, and the EAUN held its 7th International Meeting in conjunction. Through the work of the EAUN Board under the guidance and direction of the EAU, an exceedingly extensive programme was created.
Commenting on the continued growth and need, EAUN chair Aase Grundal made specific mention of the latest booklet in the "Good Practices in Health Care Series". This latest guideline document provides information and advice on Intermittent Catheterisation. It was written by a team of EAUN members with the generous support of Hollister.
Acting on advice from previous years, the EAUN held a pre-conference workshop that focussed on presentation skills in English. This session, presented by Anne Hagan from Northern Ireland, was found helpful by those attended. The formal EAUN programme began with an enlightening presentation by Dr. Johan Mattelaer on the topic of veneration, ornamentation and mutilation of the male genital in arts and cultures. Day 2 started with the first EAUN Breakfast Symposium, sponsored by Coloplast A/S. The symposium generated much discussion and debate among participants. The session demonstrated the enthusiasm and experience that exists throughout Europe in urological nursing care.
Another first for the EAUN occured on Day 2 with an ESU Course in Anatomy and Pathophysiology of the Urinary Tract. Evaluation of this course suggested that a greater nursing focus would be appreciated by delegates and this will be borne in mind as the Berlin meeting is on its way.
The day ended with an abstract session followed by a workshop on blocked catheters and state-of-the-art lecture on suprapubic catheterisation.
Following the very late night that was caused by the dance evening, Day 3 saw a quiet start with a presentation on finding information on the internet. This session opened the internet and its riches to those who attended and many sources of information were identified, many of them new to delegates. The second abstract session, presentations on Uro-stomas and state-of-the-art lectures on cystoscopy and stone management brought the EAUN meeting almost to a close. It was evident from both oral and poster abstract sessions that there is much information to be shared with a wider nursing audience throughout Europe.
