Developing a new perioperative organisation in Papua New Guinea

A request to the International Federation of Perioperative Nurses (IFPN), by some nurses in Papua New Guinea led to Kate Woodhead and Phyllis Davis running a workshop in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. They set out to help the perioperative nurses establish their own organisation to advise the government on policy which affected their service, and to serve as a forum for perioperative education and motivation. This article describes the process, the enthusiasm which greeted them and the mechanisms by which the Papua New Guinea Perioperative Nurses Association came into being.