Iam fortunate, if that is the correct word, to have several responsibilities other than those of my day job. One of these is Chairman of the Scientific Programme Committee of the Pain Society. Indeed, as I sit writing this missive with one hand, the other hand is busy packing my bags for this year's annual 4–day meeting in York. The General Synod of the Church of England hold their meeting on the University of York campus every year, so it will be no surprise for those of you who know any members of the Pain Society that it is perfect for their needs.

In many ways anaesthesia has become a victim of its own success. In the eyes of many, both clinicians and patients alike, anaesthesia has become safe and predictable. The demands placed upon anaesthesia services in the hospitals is increasing. Anaesthesia provision has diversified into many fields, and the input of the anaesthesia team is noticeable in many areas of the hospital including A&E, wards, radiology and Coronary care units.

In view of recent events regarding paediatric cardiac surgery in Bristol, the medical and nursing profession have been encouraged to embrace clinical governance. Clinical governance ranges from departmental to hospital level and encourages all hospital staff to examine clinical practice by setting standards and measuring up to those standards. Clinical audit can help to achieve this aim

The workload of the recovery unit can be considerably increased by patients suffering post operative nausea and vomiting (PONV). The unit can often become blocked by patients too sick to discharge back to the main ward. Via a review of the literature and a small research study in the authors own recovery ward, it was concluded that PONV causes patients to stay in recovery longer. In fact the study reveals of those patients who did not receive an antiemetic perioperatively, 31% suffered PONV and those who had PONV spent 29 minutes longer in recovery.

Despite ondansatron being one of the most expensive drugs, it was only successful in 81% of cases. However those people who did receive ondansatron, spent an average of 8 minutes less time in recovery, compared with those who were not given it. These findings potentially have considerable cost implications, relevant in todays current climate of economy saving strategies. These findings and their implications are discussed.

It has been a feature of the journal to identify current topics of interest for anaesthetic and recovery nurses from leading periodicals. The explosion of the Internet and the impact this will have for learning in the nursing world has far reaching implications. Added to the usual digest from current journals we will review websites of interest, and pricee their contents. With many of you now on the Internet and using this for research or interest, you will have been surprised at the amount of information there is for the speciality.