Greece (GORNA) Educational and scientific activities 2020-2021
GORNA’s greatest scientific event, the annual Panhellenic Congress on Perioperative Nursing, is held every year in October. However, this year, due to the pandemic, we had to have it as a virtual congress. Although it was our first attempt, the 31st Panhellenic Congress on Perioperative Nursing was quite successful. Also, we had the opportunity to listen to a number of international speakers who shared their experiences with us. More than 200 Perioperative Nurses from all around the country participated in our Congress and were accredited with 20.5 educational points from EORNA ACE.
For the year 2020, GORNA had organized to implement various Perioperative Nursing meetings in rural areas of Greece, in order to facilitate and enhance the scientific evidence-based knowledge of Perioperative Nurses all around the country. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our plans and perspective for the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, even under these new circumstances, GORNA is committed to continue its effort to stand by Perioperative Nurses in particular, but also Nursing professionals as a whole, in their demanding work. In this context, we have implemented virtual seminars on psychological support for our members. Also, we upheld the task to collect all the up-to-date and credible publications, guidelines and research findings mainly regarding protection measures, and send it via email to all our members. In this process, we have been in close contact and collaboration with the International Federation of Perioperative Nurses (IFPN), the European Operating Room Nurses Association (EORNA), the International Federation of Nurse Anesthetists (IFNA) and the World Federation for Hospital Sterilisation Sciences (WFHSS), while at the same time we have been monitoring the actions and publications of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Hellenic National Public Health Organization (EODY).
Additional to its own educational activities, GORNA collaborates with many Panhellenic scientific associations in Greece and actively participates in their congresses with lectures, round tables, satellite symposiums and clinical seminars. GORNA currently works in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Health in order to upgrade Nursing as a profession and a scientific field, as well as to achieve the official establishment of Perioperative Nursing Specialty. Also, in cooperation with other European associations, GORNA participates in the European MYORCO project.
Furthermore, since before the pandemic outbreak, GORNA has been in the process of translation and electronic publication of the “Position statements and guidelines for Perioperative Nursing Practice Part 1” in the Greek language. The specific manuscript is an EORNA publication and an official permission has been given to GORNA for its translation and electronic publication.
In 2021, GORNA will be working with the National Central Authority for Health Provisions in order to assist in the design and construction of technical specifications for advanced medical technology and materials. Also, should the circumstances allow it, our 32nd Panhellenic Congress will be held on the island of Kerkyra in October.
Last but not least, GORNA publishes the unique in Greece online scientific journal “Perioperative Nursing”, which is available in the Greek and English languages at www.spnj.gr. “Perioperative Nursing” is indexed in the following databases: EBSCO, CINAHL, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, ZENODO, HYPATIA, OPENAIRE, DataCite and Emcare.
Ioannis Koutelekos
RN, MSc, MBA, MEd, CSN, PhD
GORNA President
Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
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