Conference

PCNA 2018 Biennial Conference

The PCNA 2018 Biennial Conference was held at the Hilton Hotel in Brisbane on May 20 and 21, 2018.  The conference was a resounding success, with both attendance numbers and abstract submissions higher than in previous years.

Click here for the full program.

Click here for photos from the conference.

PCNA, through sponsorship from Department of Health, was able to offer a number of travel and professional grants.  10 successful grant recipients were able to attend from rural and remote areas of Australia.

The successful grant recipients had this to say about their attendance at the conference:

• If I had not received the grant from the PCNA/ DoH I would not have been able to attend this fantastic conference. I live and work in (regional area) and to attend any conferences it ends up being very expensive so this has been a great opportunity for which I am very grateful.
• Attending the conference provided such a valuable opportunity to meet other nurses who are working in rural and remote areas who may be facing similar problems or who have overcome similar problems. The opportunity to be at and hear the forefront of palliative care research, and learn about the different projects has provided so much food for thought and many ideas for similar projects or adaptations.
• The PCNA conference has provided me with so many ideas for innovation within our team, and I am sure this will benefit our team and our patients for many years to come.
• I think for me, the best thing was networking with other Aged care nurses, who have so much more experience than myself, and having their contact details, and joining the aged care special interest group. Also, the encouragement I received regarding writing my first abstract and presenting my first poster at the conference. Doing these activities have increased my confidence at work. Thank you!
• As a result of the networking around the ELDAC project, I am developing partnerships and a project in the my region with ELDAC and residential aged care facilities and strengthening referral pathways to specialist palliative care providers which is very exciting and came as a direct result of networking at the conference.
• As a sole professional in my role as Palliative aged care resource nurse, I value the networking opportunity that is such an integral part of attending these conferences with like-minded professionals. Due to my ability to attend the conference, I also had the opportunity to present a 6 minute speed talk which enabled some further great discussion.
• I work in a very isolated environment and am considered the ‘expert’ in palliative care regionally. There are no physicians, consultants etc and my CN and I are the team for the entire region, there are no community nurses in our region or 24hr patient care in the community. This can be very stressful. Being able to immerse myself in discussions on palliative care and listen to experts and others more experienced than myself was actually joyous. This really helped to give me renewed enthusiasm.
• I am very interested in continuing my relationship with PCNA through a Regional and Remote Nurses Interest Group.

(Above) PCNA President, Professor Jane Phillips with the successful Grant recipients