1992
In August the Day Surgery Nurses Interest Group was formed in N.S.W. At this time there was an overwhelming thirst for knowledge and information on this emerging specialty.
1995
The Interest Group became incorporated in February as the ‘Day Surgery Nurses Association Inc. NSW’.
The Inaugural State Conference, held in July was a great success and saw the membership rise dramatically.
The Association entered into discussion with other day surgery groups in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia regarding the formation of a National Association.
1996
In February the first educational workshop was held in Bateman’s Bay.
As a result of discussion with other states, the Australian Day Surgery Nurses Association (ADSNA), of which DSNA NSW is member, was formally established in November.
1997
Stryker Australia Ltd. provided generous sponsorship for our first national competition. This allowed one of our members to have an all expenses paid trip to the International Congress held that year in London.
A two-day Day Surgery course was conducted in Coraki. This course was organised by the Association in conjunction with the College of Nursing.
In March the DSNA NSW newsletter evolved into the ‘Day Surge’ national quarterly journal. This became the basis for the national journal ‘Day Surgery Australia’ published by the ‘Australian Day Surgery Nurses Association’, which commenced in 1999.
2008
DSNA NSW was approved by the Royal College of Nursing to award CNE Points to all our delegates for the first time for our State Conference. The conference was an outstanding success.
Funds from the State Conference were injected into the Scholarship Fund and allowed members to attend IAAS in Brisbane in July 2009.
Credit card facilities were made available to members for easier membership renewal and payment of fees
2009
DSNA NSW was involved in the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS) Congress in Brisbane in July. It was the first time this international conference had been held in Australia and was attended by many NSW delegates.
In conjunction with the N.S.W. College of Nursing, the first continuing education course for Day Surgery nurses was held at the College. The course was an introduction to and an overview of Day Surgery practice. Further courses have been held and will continue to be held as part of further education.
2010
With the introduction of National Registration members were further supported by the Association with the development of a Portfolio template. This assists in the preparation and maintenance of Continuing Professional Development evidence.
The Scholarship Fund provided assistance to four members to attend the IAAS Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The needs of those working in the administrative side of day surgery practice were recognised and an administration component was included in the 2010 State Conference program. This innovation was well received and was a first for any Day Surgery Association in Australia.
2011
The Australia Day Honours list included our past President and founding member, Celia Leary. Celia was awarded OAM General Division for services to nursing particularly in the field of day surgery.
Recognising the need to present a contemporary image, a new logo was designed and unveiled. Originally developed in 1995 by the then members of the committee to coincide with the incorporation of the association, the logo had served DSNA well.
For the new logo, the original colour theme was incorporated into a modernised, simple yet stylish form emphasising the name of the association. The logo is easily recognisable and more web friendly. Reference to ADSNA had been added in 2006 but this was removed as some members had trouble differentiating between the state and national associations.
2020
In the year of a global pandemic we were presented with significant challenges. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions many of our planned events had to be cancelled.
2020 education officer Sonia Jones inaugurated the association with the Australian Digital Health Agency, where at the AGM an educational webinar was organised in regards to My Health Records awareness for day surgery nurses.