JSTA December 2010 - Australian Association of Stomal Therapy ...

conference report
Carol Stott
I was fortunate enough to attend the BEECHAC Conference on
13 June, where I took part in two panel discussions and gave a
talk on Healthy Body Image. During my time at the conference, I
met many of the children, their families, organisers and speakers.
This is when I realised what a huge commitment it had been to
organise such an event and how committed the organisers were.
The term ‘BEECH’ is used collectively to describe the congenital
conditions of bladder exstrophy, epispadias, cloacal exstrophy
and hypospadius which are rare conditions of the genito-urinary
(GU) system. The defects range from bladder exstrophy, which
is a severe defect characterised by externalisation of the bladder,
splaying of the urethra and separation of the pelvic bone to
relatively mild defects such as glandular epispadias, which is
a minor defect on the top of the penile shaft 1 . The incidence of
such defects is rare, occurring in about 1 in 10,000 to 50,000 live
births, and is twice as common in males, than it is in females 1 .
Because the conditions are rare, it is often difficult for people
with BEECH conditions to access the care that they need,
especially holistic care – or to even understand exactly what care
is needed for themselves or their children.
WCEt report
32 Journal of Stomal therapy australia – Volume 30 Number 4
Preparing for cairns 2011
Brenda Sando CNC STN • The Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, QLD
The Adelaide WCET congress committee is still hard at work
to ensure the congress which is being held in Adelaide 20–24
April 2012 will be a congress which will attract people from
many different nations. They meet monthly and sometimes
more frequently as well as communicating via email. There is
still a lot of work to be done but they are meeting their timeline
requirements. The website is now up and running and you can
access it at www.wcetn.org as well as the AASTN website to
submit your expression of interest. You will then receive updates
on information about the congress.
There will also be a lot of information at the AASTN conference
from 3 to 7 July 2011, which is being held in Cairns, so register
online for this inaugural event Joint Conference with Tripartite
Colorectal Surgical Society. Log onto the Stomal Therapy website
at www.stomaltherapy.com and click on new and events to find
out more and register. If you register before 18 March, the cost
is only $525 for members, which is a great price considering
it is two conferences for the price of one. The theme of our
conference is: Leaders in Practice – Captured in Paradise.
Fees are now due for the WCET, so if your membership is due
by 31 December 2010 please go online and pay them now. You
The aims of the conference were to give Australian BEECHAC
members the opportunity to meet and network with each
other and strengthen support with health professionals and
agencies. There were guest speakers from similar associations
around the world including the UK and USA. There were
health professionals from all over Australia and other parts of
the world with an interest in BEECH conditions. The children’s
activities organised were for children with BEECH conditions
and their siblings and included a trip to Taronga zoo.
The conference was a huge success thanks to Alana Sullivan and
her team, which included Katy Hargreaves, Chris Sylva, Julie
Fitzhardinge and Imogen Yang. The feedback received from
attendees has been tremendous.
refereNceS
1. Wong’s nursing care of infants and children. Chapter 11, Conditions
Caused by Defects in Physical Development. St Louis: Mosby, 2003,
p. 482.
may like to pay for two years while the exchange rate is very
favourable and then you won’t have to remember next year. I
have sent a reminder to those whose membership is now due,
so if you did not receive that reminder it means you are paid up
until end of 2012 or, in a few cases, 2013.
By the time you read this report in the journal I will be retired. I
retired in my position as CNC STN on 28 October this year after
having been at The Wesley Hospital for 25 years, 19 of those
as an STN. I have had a wonderful career, especially in stomal
therapy nursing and have met many wonderful people along
the way as well as worked with a great team at Wesley. I would
like to thank my many STN colleagues that I have shared with
over the years for the friendship, care and sharing of knowledge
and assisting me to solve difficult problems. You are a wonderful
group of people who show so much compassion and care as
well as being innovative in ways that amaze patients and other
nurses.
I will be going to the AASTN conference in July next year as
I will fulfill my commitment as WCET Australian ID until the
2012 congress, so see you in Cairns.