Every year seems to go quicker than the previous year; here we are again in the second half of the year, some of us in lockdown again and others going into lockdown for the first time – so much for normal... what is normal these days?
Hope everyone is doing OK; please remember to check in on friends, colleagues and family. Many people are doing it tough out there. You think it has come to a head and then an explosion happens and we are back in the unknown.
The National Executive continue to work behind the scenes representing the TNA on various advisory groups, including the COVID‑19 National Transplantation Task Force, Transplant Liaison Reference Group and now the Vigilance and Surveillance Expert Advisory Committee (VSEAC). The VSEAC reports on any adverse events that may have happened during organ donation or transplantation in order to update policies/procedures to prevent future incidents from happening. For information on other TNA and transplant-related activity keep an eye on our social media – Facebook and Instagram – and your emails. You can also log onto the TNA website www.transplantnurses.org.au for the latest information.
The TNA National Conference is being held in Adelaide this year, 20–22 October. The venue is U-City on Franklin Street. We are looking forward to seeing as many faces there as possible – old and new. Information has been emailed to all members and information is also on the TNA website; please mark it in your diaries and register. The conference program is available on the website, and registrations are available to attend either face to face or via an online platform. The SA/NT TNA conference organisers have been very busy and have put together a great program, both educationally and socially. It would be great to be able to mingle with as many of you as possible, COVID‑19 compliant of course. Should COVID‑19 restrictions prevent attendance face to face, your registration can be converted to a virtal online registration, with re-imbursement of the difference in cost of registrations. We urge you to consider this so you can still take advantage of this professional development and educational opportunity. We also need as many members as possible to attend the national AGM on the Thursday afternoon. The AGM will be available to attend online.
Our TJA Editor has been working hard to source content for the TJA this year. We need your help to ensure we can continue to provide topical, relevant and current transplant information to our members through our TNA journal. Please consider submitting a paper for publication – it could be a case study, a quality improvement project, research or even a unit or role profile. First-time authors will be provided with support and assistance to write their manuscript. Feel free to contact our TJA Editor Elyn Montgomery if you would like to discuss an idea for a paper or would like advice on how to get started – tjaeditor@transplantnurses.org.au
Finally, thanks to all members that have renewed their membership and for continuing to support the TNA. We also thank all the state executive members for their continued commitment and who continue to organise education sessions for members.
Stay safe everyone, check on others and hopefully we will see many of you in Adelaide.
Julie Pavlovic
TNA National Treasurer
Author(s)
Julie Pavlovic
TNA National Treasurer