 | | Martin Kloeser |
It was exciting for me to participate in such a large congress, which was efficiently organised since even from July last year one could conveniently register at the official EAU website (www.eauparis2012.org). I have been busy preparing my abstract and how to present it, but fortunately I had until November 2011 to submit the abstract.
After my abstract was accepted, I had to prepare and it was very helpful that there are detailed instructions on the EAUN website on how a presentation or a poster should be created. More importanly, I received support from the doctors and nurses in our department and from the hospital administration, making my preparation for the conference much easier. By mid-December, my abstract was accepted as a poster presentation, which meant that I had to prepare a poster and a presentation in English.
Fortunately, I again recieved timely support, enabling me to finish on time and rehearse my presentation. In Paris, there was a hectic atmosphere with the technical exhibition located on three floors and a long queue at the registration. But since I already had an online registration number, everything went quickly and smoothly. Since I was due to present on Monday, the last day, I used the time to attend conference events and poster presentations. I also found time to visit some sights in the city, an experience I really enjoyed.
Finally, on Monday I presented my poster “Teaching self-catheterization for patients with neurogenic bladder - Nursing experiences from a spinal cord unit.” Since I was the first speaker in that poster session, the rising tension and excitement could never have been more intense. The experience could be intimidating for first-time participants with the large, darkened hall, many unknown faces and a very attentive audience. The presentation itself was over in five minutes. There was some time for questions and discussion, and some people in the audience threw in some questions.
Fortunately, the panel moderation was friendly. The EAUN prizes for best poster presentations concluded the conference and to my great surprise I won the first prize for the best EAUN poster, flooding me with a feeling of surprise that I could hardly contain! The experience was certainly special and after the annoucement I was at a loss for words.
Assessing the conference, I definitely have learned a lot of new, exciting things and met many colleagues from various European countries. Hopefully with my experience and this report, I can inspire my colleagues in Germany to consider attending the conference in Milan, Italy next year. And why not prepare an abstract and join the presentations? My experience proves that one will certainly not regret doing it. See you in Milan and as they say in French, au revoir!
Martin Kloeser, Rn
Werner Wicker Klinik
Bad Wildungen (DE)
Article from European Urology Today, volume 24, No. 2 |
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