Volume 5 Issue 2

Hello AVAS members,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mark Sutherland and I am your new President. First, I would like to thank Sam Keogh for her hard work, dedication and drive, which has seen the society continue to grow from strength to strength throughout her tenure as President.

Who am I? I am a registered nurse who trained through the hospital-based system at the Prince Henry and the Prince of Wales Hospitals. As a post-graduate registered nurse, I further developed my clinical skills working in neurosciences and intensive care. In the ICU, under the mentorship of intensivist John Lawrence, I developed a fascination for vascular access.

I have carried this fascination forward into my current role as Clinical Nurse Consultant, Vascular Access and Enteral/Parenteral Nutrition, a position I have held at the Prince of Wales Hospital since 1991. As with all elements of my role, I have seen vascular access grow and develop into the much more complex and evidence-based practice it is today. It has been a very interesting era, one I would not trade for anything. I have been there through many changes, such as when sharp safety devices were considered a privilege, the introduction of PICCs on the piggy-back of hospital-in-the-home programmes, and the development of the many and varied speciality nurse proceduralists.

The growth and development of my role, skill and knowledge could not have been as successful as it is without a professional network such as that which AVAS provides through its membership and peer support. Through a growing membership, AVAS will become a key voice in policy development and in providing invaluable support to the future of effective vascular access via its educational and scientific publications and events, which, in turn, support our patient care.

Kind regards,

Mark

Author(s)

Mark Sutherland RN, ICCert(NSWCN), BHSN
President, AVAS