It is the end of another year already. How time flies. What a year it has been for BARNA, one of forging new friendships in far-off places and setting the ground work for partnerships in education and practice. This issue of the journal is a small celebration of those contacts, old and new and remembering that we cannot reach our ultimate goals alone.

This month, we feature an article by Sandra Ouellette and Betty Horton from the Committee of the IFNA (International Federation of Nurse Anaesthetists). This celebrates 20 years of the association and sets out the vision, mission and objectives of this exciting autonomous role that combines 11 countries. We also take a look at the annual conference for the Irish Anaesthetic and Recovery Nurses Association (IARNA) in Galway, Southern Ireland. This was attended by our Chair Natalie Quine who gives us a breakdown of some of the educational sessions she attended. BARNA and IARNA have supported each other for many years now and are once again uniting to form the International Conference for peri-anaesthesia nurses in Toronto, Canada in October 2011. This will really cement our European position in International affairs. Keep a look out in the newsletters and the website for further information regarding this. We need to represent our country on this exciting circuit.

A little closer to home perhaps is the idea that we also must remember the many roles that support and work in conjunction with our peri-operative departments. In honour of this, I feature an article by previously published BJARN author Corrine Jenkinson. Corrine is an advanced practitioner in the pre-assessment department of the Elective Orthopaedic Centre in Southwest London. This is a critical review of the literature on the prevalence of uncontrolled and untreated hypertension among an adult population presenting to the pre-assessment department prior to major orthopaedic surgery. From my experience in my present role, it goes without question that their expertise is a vital cog that makes an excellent patient experience and outcome in the field of elective orthopaedic surgery. We also hear from another previously published BJARN author, theatre and recovery staff nurse Tracey Roberts. Tracey developed and implemented a PASS (Post Anaesthetic Scoring System) for her unit and takes a look at their advantages.

I hope it has been a good year for you. It has been for BARNA. Join us next year for a packed programme of education, representation and collaboration.