Dear members of the European Society of Paediatric Urology Nurse group, ESPUN

I wish you all a happy New Year 2009 gaining new knowledge and good clinical experiences.

Our next meeting in Amsterdam is getting closer and once again the board has been doing a fantastic work in organizing it. There were 34 abstracts submitted to the ESPUN meeting. The board accepted 24 abstracts (18 oral and 6 poster presentations).

The meeting will start with the language course on Wednesday May 6, still generously supported by Astra Tech. Then, for the first time, there is a state of the art lecture by Tryggve Neveus on Thursday May 7 about “The bladder, the brain and the words we use”. The ESPUN programme includes 4 sessions about bladder exstrophy/epispadia/hypospadia, neuropathic bladder, functional voiding disorders and clinical practice. There will also be one workshop “How can you motivate children to manage their own bladder dysfunction”. In the afternoon Coloplast is arranging a symposium on Bowel dysfunctions which will be very interesting for all of us. On Friday May 8 there is also a lecture/practice on research school; “What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative methods”, which I hope you will join! For further information, please look at the website! The programme and all abstracts are available now.

I am sorry to notice that no one has applied for the scholarship yet? The scholarship is a great opportunity to broaden your knowledge and competence which is also in agreement with our goals for the future. If you are interested or curious about how to do it – every board member will be happy to tell your more and to help you find a clinic/hospital to contact. Do not hesitate to contact any of us!

I hope you have enjoyed receiving and reading some articles in the Journal of Pediatric Urology. It is a great opportunity to keep updated within the urological field.

On next meeting I will step down from the board. I have been the president of the ESPUN for almost 4 years and I would like to say it has been a great experience in many ways. I am still honored to have been given your confidence in leading our group and I hope I have met the needs of our group in a satisfying way. In Amsterdam I will wish a new board good luck, convinced that once in a while there is a need for new eyes to look at our group and how to develop it.

I hope you will be able to join our next meeting on May 6 – 8 and I wish to welcome you all to Amsterdam! Maybe you’ll bring a colleague along who will become a member of the ESPUN? 

Warm regards,
Ulla-Britt Jansson
ESPUN President