18. ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Susanne Vahr, RN, PhD (DK), Chair
Susanne Vahr is a Clinical RN and Senior Researcher, working at the Surgical Department, Herlev-Gentofte, Copenhagen University Hospitals and at WHO Collaborating Centre, the Parker Institute, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospitals, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. She has a Masters in Human Resource Development/Adult Learning and a PhD. She has worked in the field of urology since 1992.
Susanne is doing research in clinical health promotion with special focus on modifiable lifestyle factors Smoking – Nutrition – Alcohol – Physical inactivity (SNAP) and prevention of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTIs) and trauma to the urinary tract.
Susanne is a member of the Danish Association of Urology Nurses and of the Danish Nurses Research Council.
Special interests: the patient perspective, in order to improve outcomes, and implementation of current guidelines.
Veronika Geng, RN, MSc (DE), Vice Chair
Registered Nurse, Infection Control Practitioner, Coach for Quality in Health Care, MSc in health science specialisation in nursing.
Veronika currently works as a project leader for the Manfred Sauer Foundation in Lobbach, Germany. She has performed clinical studies on the incidence of hospital-acquired UTIs. Veronika previously contributed, as a panel member, to guidelines on male external catheters and also produced an instructional videotape on this topic.
Special interests: nutrition, bladder and bowel management in people with spinal cord injury.
Sajida Salman Chagani, MScN, BSCN, RN (PK)
Senior Instructor, Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan and joint appointment with Aga Khan University Hospital. Sajida also serves as acute care stream lead. She teaches evidence-based practices, clinical practicum, professional development and ethics, leadership and management, and urological conditions in undergraduate nursing programmes. In addition, she is the coordinator of the Advanced Practice Nurse task force operationalisation-team.
Sajida worked as a nurse manager in nephrology/urology services, with a focus on practice and protocol development. She developed several patient educational materials pertinent to urology, and patient care pathways on percutaneous nephrolithotomy, lithotripsy, and renal transplantation. She is currently working on pathway about enhanced recovery after surgery for patients undergoing radical cystectomy. She revamped the bladder irrigation record sheet to make it user friendly. She worked with renal transplant patients, and on system alerts for timely notification of patients to the primary care team for appropriate management.
She is a Member of the EAUN since 2017.
Special interests: quality and patient safety, patient-centred care to improve care process and systems.
Anne Daniels, ANP in Urology/Uro-Oncology (IE)
Anne is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Urology/Uro-Oncology in University Hospital Waterford, Ireland. Anne has been working as a nurse specialist in urology since 2015. She developed the urology nursing service in University Hospital Waterford and established numerous nurse led clinics and clinical care pathways. Anne progressed to Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Urology/Uro-Oncology in 2022 and is providing care for patient cohorts with benign conditions and urological cancers. She is also a nurse cystoscopist.
Anne is a committee member of the IAUN (Irish Association of Urology Nurses). Anne enjoys continuous learning, promoting urology and developing the nursing service to improve experiences and outcomes for both patients and nurses alike.
Special interests: bladder cancer and bladder dysfunction, clinical practice, quality improvement
Therese Kelly, RANP, RNP, MSc, HDip Management & Urological Nursing (IE)
Therese has worked in the field of urology for over 30 years. She is currently working in Galway & Portiuncula University Hospitals and her caseload involves stone management via lithotripsy (ESWL) and lower urinary tract assessments, treatment and evaluation of treatments with IC is a key component of her clinics. She manages and counsels patients through conservative management including prescribing IC and medicinal products. She is involved in the development of local/national guidelines and has been involved in developing nurse led LUTS and ESWL clinics in her region.
Therese has a keen interest in research and evidence-based practice, she is an active member of her local journal/research club. Therese is one of the founding members of her local network, SAOLTA urology/continence nurses network (SUNN). She is a member of the IAUN, ICS and EAUN.
Hanneke Lurvink (NL)
Hanneke has worked for the European Association of Urology since 2006. She was appointed coordinator for all European Association of Urology Nurses (EAUN) activities in 2006. She has assisted the EAUN Working Groups for all eight EAUN Guidelines since 2007 with editorial work, finding the right illustrations, copyright, literature search, data extraction and retrieving full-text papers, contributing to the design of flowcharts, and playing an important role in the planning and keeping of deadlines. She is a member of the Guidelines International Network.
Marcin Popiński, NS (PL)
Bachelor of English Studies (2014), Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (2015), and Master’s Degree (2017). Nurse specialist in the field of surgical nursing (2021).
Marcin has worked in the Urology Clinic (University Hospital no. 2 “Jan Biziel”) in Bydgoszcz, Poland since 2015. He mentors student practicals and internships. He has worked as a clinical research nurse and clinical research coordinator since 2017.
He is a member of EAUN Board since 2023.
Special interests: adult urology, prostate cancer, incontinence.
Ian Pearce (GB)
Ian has been a Consultant Urological Surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK since 2002, having trained in Nottingham, Stoke and Greater Manchester.
He is currently the Vice President of the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) (2022 – 2024) and will become President in June 2024 until June 2026.
Special interests: bladder dysfunction and andrology.
Bente Thoft Jensen, RN-MPH, PhD-FAAN (DK)
Research Nurse, Department of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital & Department of Clinical Institute, Centre of Research in Rehabilitation, Aarhus University Bente has been working in urology for 30 years both in Copenhagen and at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark.
In 2015 she accepted a position at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York (US). She has an ongoing interest for developing clinical practice in urological nursing.
Bente has also been involved in innovative educational initiatives such as: the European Bone Health Programme in cooperation with the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) and the Skeletal Care Academy (SCA), the online Bone Health course (EAUN), the European Specialist Nurses Organisation (ESNO), and recently, the European School of Urology Nursing (ESUN). Within the EAUN, Bente chairs the Bladder Cancer Special Interest Group and she is a member of the Patient Information Office of the EAU.
Giulia Villa, RN, PhD (IT)
Registered Nurse, PhD in Nursing Sciences and Public Health.
She has worked in the field of urology since 2005 as Clinical RN and Head Nurse at the Urology Department of San Raffaele Hospital, Milan. She has worked as lecturer and since 2021 she is an Assistant Professor in Nursing Science at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
Her main activities are research and education. She is doing research in ostomy and incontinence. She is a member of different national and international associations.
Special interests: ostomy, urinary diversion, bladder and prostate cancer, UTI, nutrition.
Sallian M. Wildeman (NL)
Registered nurse and specialist uro-oncology nurse.
Clinical nurse at the Urology Department of Franciscus Gasthuis and Vlietland Groep, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Sally has worked in urology since 1992, and since 2000, she has worked as a specialist urology nurse in the urology outpatients department. In 2007, Sally specialised in uro-oncology. She teaches courses on urology (catheters, intermittent catheterisation technique for nurses and patients) and uro-oncology.
Sally is a member of the Dutch Nursing Society (V&VN Urology), and the EAUN.
Current activities: research projects, teaching/presenting and running nurse-led clinics (uro-oncology), specialised nurse in sexual dysfunction (prostate and bladder cancer).
Special interests: adult urology, incontinence, catheter care and intermittent catheterisation technique, sexuality side effects, treatment and psychosocial care. Development of patient care pathways.