Dear Colleagues

It is with great pleasure and of course some anticipation that I embark on this most honorable role as EORNA President.

I would like to congratulate the out going president Irini Antoniadou for her dedication and commitment to the role during her tenure in the post. On behalf of the Board of Directors of EORNA I wish her continued success and happiness in her future pursuits and look forward to her continued contribution to EORNA. Gratitude is also extended to the Swedish association SEORNA, for their contribution and support during this time.
Olivier Willième (AFISO - Belgium) continues as vice-chair in which he has excelled over the previous term and I am so delighted to have him as one of the officers, bringing experience and continuity to the team.
Christine Robin (Sigop/Sidops - Switzerland) remains for a second term as treasurer. She has done a marvelous job controlling and recording the finances and I am very appreciative of having her continue in this role. Her expertise and support is of great importance and highly valued.
As AfPP. come to the end of their term of office as the secretariat, I would like to extend sincere gratitude to Karen Richards, Karen Roberts and AfPP. for their excellent and most valuable contribution to the Board and the Organization during this period. Yale Eddy and Ahuva Friedman (IPNA - Israel) were elected to the secretarial role and were shadowed in this in Larnaca by Karen Richards; they will commence their term of office in Strasburg in the spring 2010. I welcome them both and look forward to working with them as executive officers of EORNA.

Much has been achieved over recent years in the development of EORNA and indeed its collaboration and relationships with other Organizations and valuable links have been initiated with industry which assists greatly in our aims to enrich educational opportunities for members.

The EORNA Congress in Copenhagen was an excellent event both from a scientific programmed and a networking perspective. Sincere congratulations to all involved.
The EORNA ACE Accreditation project is in operation and the e-learning section has commenced we encourage all to utilize this excellent facility. The workgroups are involved in many different projects which are evolving well and I am confident will have fruitful rewards and create further opportunities for all members. Under the umbrella of the EORNA Academy,many projects are in negotiation and at review stages. The out comes we will share with you all as they materialize. The EORNA Competency document was launched in Copenhagen and has had very positive feedback and we hope to make further advances in this area. Again this is a document we should all be employing at ground level. It gives guidance and development pathways for preoperative practice. The core curriculum for preoperative nurse education is currently being reviewed with a view to updating same.

These are just to mention a few of the activities initiated and ongoing within the Organization. I sincerely hope to continue to build on these and promote further the educational, research and learning objectives of EORNA. The planning for EORNA Congress in 2012 in Portugal has commenced and I am sure it will be another exciting and hugely educational networking event. I believe we must continue to strive to represent our proud profession in a positive fashion, promoting the Preoperative environment as an exciting and challenging career option. We must continue to be heard as the voice of the preoperative nurse and all whom we represent. I feel it is important to keep a patient centered focus and remain close to action on the ground. One of the current most topical agendas is Patient Safety, an issue common to all members. We will continue to develop in this area and that of provision of quality care and will continue to promote these core values on European Preoperative day on February 15th 2010.

I look forward to working with all the officers, chairs and the Board of Directors in the best interest of all member associations and the individuals we represent. Together as a unified team I am confident we can continue to advance and strengthen the position and voice of EORNA in the world of Preoperative care. I value your continued support and assure you of my most honest commitment to EORNA and to all of you.

Wishing you all well

Caroline Higgins
EORNA President.