Welcome to the BJARN's last issue of 2007, and what a year it has been. For me, the last 12 months have had a very international feel to them. Earlier in the year, myself and Manda Dunne attended the ‘American Society of Peri-Anaesthesia Nurses’ annual conference in California, a report of which can be found in issue 8(2). This experience helped to establish links with this association and we have been honoured to receive Pamela Windle, the immediate past president at our national annual conference. This conference also saw the return of committee members from the ‘Irish Anaesthetic and Recovery Association’ (IARNA), and delegates from as far away as New Zealand. This year also saw the appointment of Joni Brady as BARNA's International Representative.

To celebrate the links that BARNA has made this year, this issue of your Journal is a showcase of just some of the new connections we have been lucky to make. We hear from some of our American friends, with Joni Brady describing some of the personal strategies one can put in place to cope with the changing image of nursing, and Debra Morgan with some educational strategies for the PACU. We also hear from Daniel Moos, a certified registered nurse anaesthetist practising in Nebraska, USA. This is Daniel's second article for our journal and looks at the history of his role in the States, allowing us to make comparisons with our own roles.

Since becoming involved with BARNA, I have become aware of some of the amazing efforts of others to help better standards, and aid practice development in the third world. In this issue we hear from Kate Woodhead, founder and Chairman of trustees for ‘Friends of African Nursing’. This is a small UK-based charity that exists to educate nurses in the perioperative environment. This article gives an insight into the clinical conditions found upon arrival and the frameworks put in place to support the learning needs of these nurses. I am also privileged to present an article by Dr. David Uncles, a Consultant Anaesthetist, who became involved with the ‘Eyesee’ charity whose mission is to provide medical treatment to underprivileged areas of the world. His article describes the introduction, evolution and continued development of paediatric general anaesthesia in a hospital in rural Myanmar, formerly Burma. He describes the educational steps necessary to enable safe perioperative care in surgical ophthalmic procedures in infants, children and teenagers.

Also featured in this issue is a study into postoperative urine retention in a Danish recovery unit. This study takes a look at the relationship between the risk factors and the development of urine retention, and highlights the necessity for greater attention to screening patients for this postoperative complication. I hope you all enjoy this unique issue and that you will continue to join us online for the future of the BJARN. Please see our website and your easily downloadable future issues.