EfCCNa Congress, Florence

EfCCNa Congress

October 9-11th, 2008

The 3rd European Federation of Critical care Nurses (EfCCNa) & 27th Aniarti Congress was held at Fortessa da Basso in Firenze. The theme was Influencing Critical Care Nursing in Europe.

The conference has definitely broadened my horizon on emergency and critical care nursing practices, research and professional nursing opportunities.

With over 2,000 professionals in attendance at the conference, the atmosphere was vibrant, active, inspiring and stimulating. I felt really privileged to be part of such a wonderful experience and such an amazing network of professionals. I really loved the opportunity to meet and talk with the various national and international colleagues. I conversed with greater ease in Italian and felt more confident and able to express myself. I'm just so thrilled to have attended. It was so impressive and one of the best conferences I've ever attended.


Although issues of concern in critical care appear to be universal, the strategies used to address these issues appears to vary greatly and often depends upon staff education and experiences, human resources, hospital funding, patient to nurse ratio, traditions and cultural emphasis.

The conference sessions were run simultaneously in four different salons, and were simultaneously translated into English and there were over 100 professional posters on display.
posters.

I attended a broad spectrum of topics presented by a cross range of international speakers: some talks presented the research from evidence based practices; some presented a summary of the current literature; and others discussed specific professional experiences and their management. Amongst the many talks I attended were: family presence in resuscitation (Italy); restraining patients in ICU (Turkey), the value of SVO2 monitoring in haemodynamic monitoring (USA); assessing delirium in patients in ICU (Denmark); managing noise levels in ICU (UK); therapeutic significance of nursing care (Poland, USA); MSF management of malnutrition in Africa (Italy); colostomy management of newborns (India); oral hygiene and maintenance (Israel).

http://www.aniarti.it/documentazione/programma.php?eventkey=51

EfCCNa Congress PARTY!

Let's PARTY

Friday October 10th, 2008

The Congress Party on Friday night was fabulous!

(Above) pre-party prepartion; (below) Congress PARTY photos - lots of wine, merriment & dancing in high heels.

They organised a cocktail party in the inner area of the Fortress and under the eves of the building was an endless selection of cheeses, fruit, bread, pastas, meats, wines and desserts. From the moment we arrived the DJ (who is apparently very well known in Italy) pumped loud contemporary music into the main room. A brilliant assemble which smoothly inter played music ranging from techno, pop, hip-hop and instrumental pieces. From the moment the first dance steps were initiated until the wee hours of the morning - everyone mingled, relaxed and danced.

What a fun and wild night!

Jules after pumpkin hour.

The penny drops

..."click"...

"There it goes again..."

"What is it....?"

"Its the sound of the penny dropping".

Confused?.... OK let me explain. Over the past few days the penny has dropped, that is to say that I have come to understand and accept that there is NO future for Marco and I and that I'm OK with that. No more tears, no more questions, no more searching, wanting or wishing.. and no more turning myself inside out. This overdue reality crystallised last week following a series of events and an extended period of illness (10 days sick at home with laryngitis!!!).

I've realised that we can't even be friends because Marco only wants to - see me, speak to me, or allow me to be a part of his life - when it's convenient for him. To be fair - I've allowed this to happen and facilitated it, because in the beginning: I was in love with him; I knew that I had returned to Florence mainly for him; I wanted his affection, love and a resolution; and I valued his companionship. The last three months however have been bloody awful at times. I've felt vulnerable, alone, scared and foolish and when I reflect back on those times, he wasn't really there for me as a confidant, true friend, companion, lover or a shoulder to lean on. Furthermore, he never once told me that he was happy I was back in Florence and even though I felt happy and secure in his company, the moment we parted and in the days that followed, I would feel sadness, loneliness and anguish at not being with him. I would often think about him, but didn't feel free to express myself and would feel a yearning and insecurity to see or hear from him again.

When you don't feel good or strong the next day after being with someone - this for me is an important sign. Anyway, Good-bye 'Mr Marco my Florentine Prince'. Our story was lovely but you are not my future and we were not meant to be.

Whilst 'the best is yet to come', I'm just so happy to be feeling healthy, strong and free again. I can breathe, I can dance, I can enter a room and smile, laugh and be me again... Now I've experienced being independent and self sufficient and I've experienced being in love and open hearted and for a time I had someone to share and dream with. This time the pendulum doesn't have to shift back to independent Jules it can rest peacefully somewhere in the middle. I'm glad I returned to Florence and I'm glad I returned when my heart was ready to love and be with him and I'm even thankful for experiencing all the emotions I've had to traverse to arrive at this realisation, because this time I didn't run away, shield or deny my feelings. As best I could, I stood on the edge of the high mountain cliff and with my arms stretched out wide and my face turned up to the sky, I dived in... I surrendered... I have lost what I 'thought I wanted', but in time I'll realise what I need and what is mine is still out there waiting for me.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, love and support.

Work opportunities

Searching for work opportunities

... Argh.. Because of the global economic problems, Firenze is in crisis and I can't find any work this year.. Its exasperating and difficult... What am I going to do?... Well as Gino said to me last week "Julie-Ann you need to place a few pans on the stove at once, because one will eventually catch alight". And that's what I'm doing.. I'm putting it out there and giving it my best shot!

Ideally I'd like to establish myself so that I can live in Firenze, Italy for 6-8 months; return home to live and work in Australia for a few months; and then between exchanges pursue the international aid projects (Tonga and Himalayan Health Exchange). Although its a dreamy idea, its also practical because nursing work in Italy isn't at the same professional standard it is in Australia and international work is contractual and seasonal.

Whilst I'm living in Firenze if I can work as a nurse that would be a fabulous experience (even if challenging and at times less autonomous than I'm use to); otherwise I'd like an opportunity to unleash my creativity and would love to work in design or something based upon contemporary art.

What I'm really aiming to achieve is to assist young contemporary artists in Firenze to exhibit their work and there is definitely a niche here that hasn't been tapped into yet. Anyway, I recently found a new restaurant in Firenze that is interested in establishing a reputation as a venue for contemporary art, music etc, and I have started discussions with the owner about acting as their mediator. I've visited enough art exhibitions and know enough young artists now to have a few months work arranged, but I just don't know whether I can do it... or if someone will give me an opportunity to do it.

Alternatively, if I can't find permanent work, I'm happy to take on a temporary work contract that way I'll have time to.. 'Maria' I'll concentrate on publishing my articles; 'Suz' I'll write the novel and you can turn it into a play/movie; 'Jamilla' I'll get out the exquisite brushes you guys bought me and start painting for the first solo art exhibit; and 'Mr RR, RAT pack, Corpy and Knop-py' I'll train up so I can: cycle with the "Italian guns"; and swim P2P with you guys next Summer.

Hey, have I told you that I've joined an International Florence based cycling group? and I've also met up with 'Australians living in Firenze' - an artistic and inspiring group - really delightful.. but I'll leave those stories for another time...

Museo Tessuto, Prato

Storia dei coloranti naturali
Saturday October 4th, 2008

Today I attended a one-day course held at the Museo Tessuto in Prato Tuscany. The course demonstrated and explained two professional techniques for dying fabric using natural ingredients:

1. warm water; and

2. cold water - an ancient Japanese technique.

What an interesting and stimulating day. I was able to take a small sample of dye home to experiment with and can't wait to dye some wool, which I want to then crotchet or knit into a shawl.

Arezzo, Toscana

The antique market in arezzo is held on the third Sunday of every month. It's wonderful.

Churches, museums & piazzas

Every corner is poetry

Images from left to right: Sculptures within the Piazza Signoria; Chiesa Santa Croce, San Croce; tomb of Dante Aligheri in the Chiesa Santa Croce; tomb of Michangelo Buonaratti in the Chiesa Santa Croce.

Frescoes and fountain within the courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio

Porcellino Market

Chiesa di San Lorenzo and marble wall carving in the Piazza San Lorenzo.

Famous San Lorenzo central market

Greve in Chanti

Jules' 38th Birthday

Giro Italia

This afternoon I was walking through Piazza della Republica on the way to Edison's bookshop to peruse some design books over a latte; when I saw a crowd of people in the main Piazza. Naturally I stopped to see what was going on - and just as well I did... because I got to see the finale to the female Giro Italia, the famous cycling race in Toscana.