Volume 17 Number 2

The time seems apt to discuss rapid change in the current Australian environment for this issue of the Renal Society of Australasia Journal, in particular the incredible efforts of Association Professionals, the RSA Board and the Melbourne Conference Convening team for their seemingly effortless pivot to a fully virtual Annual Conference 2021. At incredibly short notice Melbourne entered a strict COVID‑19 lockdown, many of us cancelled our travel plans, and we converted to a virtual conference literally over a couple of days. As most of you would have experienced by now, changing travel plans is fraught with stress and disputes but the RSA Conference was the stand out exception. Stellar communications with delegates ensured that everyone could be assured that action would be taken in regard to reduced registration fees and refunds. That said, the Conference still had over 300 virtual delegates. The conference went off without a single hitch – an amazing feat. The keynote speakers all turned up, and the presentations were chaired beautifully via excellent tech support via Delegate Connect. Congratulations to all involved.

And on to other Pivots. Our Editorial in 2020 discussed the COVID‑19 outbreak and here we are in 2021 with many of us still being impacted by rapid changes – more specifically city shutdowns in a mere few hours. Toilet paper has become the new go to gift astonishingly but, on a more serious note, the world continues to battle this pandemic and may do so for several years to come:

It has felt like we are attending a worldwide lab meeting for the largest shared research project ever conducted (Arturo & Saphire, 2020).

A colleague of mine recently commented that, in relation to the COVID‑19 vaccination roll out, “we are the data”. So true, but also unnerving, and our thoughts are with all nurses and other healthcare workers across the globe who continue to battle the pandemic on a daily basis. But Arturo and Saphire (2020) also remind us of some positives in these dark times – our renewed appreciation of each other and our ability to adapt, deeper more meaningful communications, and a renewed sense of camaraderie. For those of you following the live chat during the RSA Conference you have seen this unfold before your eyes, in particular the outpouring of support for presenters, many of whom were ‘first timers’ and needed that collegial encouragement. All presenters are encouraged to consider converting their presentation/poster to a manuscript for consideration of publication in the RSAJ. If this leaves you feeling daunted, reach out to the Editor as we can pair you up with a member of the RSAJ Editorial Board to mentor and guide you through the process.

In closing, we are advised in Surviving lockdown to use isolation as a time to introspect and examine what is truly valuable to us (Cohen, 2021). Draw your friends, families and colleagues close to you in this shared trauma so that we can help each other to learn lessons for the future. The positives of ‘pivoting’ our social behaviour when we dig deep to find what truly matters is one of these lessons.

Author(s)

Dr Kathy Hill PhD MPH GradCert (Neph) BN RN
Lecturer in Nursing
School of Nursing and Midwifery City East Campus
University of South Australia, SA, Australia
Email Kathy.Hill@unisa.edu.au

References

Arturo, E. C., & Saphire E. O. (2020). Lifted up from lockdown. Cell, 183(1), 1–3.

Cohen, D 2021, Surviving lockdown : human nature in social isolation. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY.