Surgical Nursing Symposium 2026
Advancing Safer Surgical Care: Empowering Nurses Through Innovation, Evidence, and Collaboration
- 21 November 2026
- 07:00 AM – 04:00 PM
- La Cigale Hotel, C Ring Road, Doha, Qatar
Target Audience
Format:
• In-Person: Pre-registered only, with access to all sessions and networking breaks.
• Online: Open to all registered participants.
Note: In accordance with CPD requirements, online registrants cannot switch to in-person attendance.
Registration Fee:
• Online Participants (Internal and External): 50 QAR
CPD Points: 6.75 Hours Category 1
Event Overview
The Surgical Nursing Symposium 2026 by Sidra Medicine will explore innovations and best practices that advance safe, high-quality surgical care.
Through expert presentations, panel discussions, poster presentations, skills stations, and collaborative learning opportunities, participants will examine emerging trends, evidence-based practices, and practical strategies that strengthen the surgical journey across the continuum of care.
The symposium aims to empower healthcare professionals particularly surgical and perioperative nurses to lead safer surgical care through innovation, evidence-informed practice, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to patient-centered outcomes.
Symposium Objectives
At the conclusion of the symposium, participants will be able to:
- Analyze at least two factors that influence patient safety, care quality, or team performance across the surgical continuum.
- Apply one evidence-based leadership, human factors, quality-improvement, or innovation strategy to a surgical nursing practice scenario.
- Evaluate one approach that promotes person-centered, ethical, equitable, and resilient surgical care.
Target Audience
- Nurses
Organizing Committee
The Scientific Planning Committee is responsible for the strategic development, design, and delivery of the Surgical Nursing Symposium 2026. Committee responsibilities include program development, speaker selection, symposium governance, and educational quality oversight.
Committee Members
- Mr. David Lazarus, Director – Nursing (Surgery and Perioperative)
- Ms. Ansu Varghese – Clinical Nurse Manager (Outpatient Clinics)
- Ms. Grace Emmanuel Maitri – Clinical Nurse Manager (Operating Room)
- Mr. Abdullah Nadim Itani – Clinical Nurse Manager (IR/DI Nursing Services)
- Ms. Mchail Chehab – Clinical Nurse Manager (Heart Clinic/ Cardiac Cath Lab)
- Mr. Jihad Al Kilani – Clinical Nurse Manager (PACU and Day Procedures)
- Ms. Gayathri Vijesh – Clinical Nurse Manager (Neurosciences)
- Mr. Shienanton Alday – Clinical Nurse Manager (General Surgery, Trauma, Urology)
- Ms. Hamda Zain Al Abdeen – Events Lead
- Mr. Rodolfo Jr Franco Relano – Clinical Educator (Education, Professional Practice Development)
- Mr. Rami Mchawrab – Clinical Educator (Education, Professional Practice Development)
- Ms. Dora Chabo Melki – Clinical Educator (Education, Professional Practice Development)
- Mrs. Rowena Zamora – Clinical Educator (Education, Professional Practice Development)
- Mr. Peter Torreja – Clinical Nurse Facilitator (Periop/Surgery Department)
Surgical Nursing Symposium 2026
Date: November 21, 2026 | Venue: Doha, Qatar
| Time | Session Title/Topic | Session-Specific Learning Objectives |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00-07:25 | Registration / Networking | |
| 07:25-07:30 | Welcome address – David Lazarus, Director of Nursing and Chair of Organizing Committee | |
| 07:30-08:00 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Safer Surgery Starts with Nursing: Leading Quality at Every Step
Speaker: Dr. Dina Schnurman – Chief Nursing Officer, Sidra Medicine |
|
| 07:55-08:00 | Q & A | |
| 8:00-08:30 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Human Factors and Safety in Surgery
Speaker: Dr. Prabhakar Nayak – Director of Heart Centre Simulation, Cardiac Intensive Care Services, Sidra Medicine |
|
| 008:25-08:30 | Q & A | |
| 8:30-9:00 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Smarter Systems for Surgical Journey: Operating Room Materials Management: Road to Scanner Integration
Speaker: Umar Nadeem Ahmed – Patient Care Partner Operating Room & Anna Carmela Desiderio – Clinical Nurse Operating Room Sidra Medicine |
|
| 08:55-09:00 | Q & A | |
| 09:00-09:30 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Surgical Initiatives, Innovations, and Safety Outcomes
Speaker: Ms. Claudine El Araybi |
|
| 09:25-09:30 | Q & A | |
| 09:30-10:00 | Morning Break | |
| 10:00-10:30 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Crisis Preparedness, Risk, and Resilience in Surgical Services
Speaker: Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Suliman Ghazi Suliman – Attending Physician – Anesthesiology Pediatrics. |
|
| 10:25-10:30 | Q & A | |
| 10:30-11:00 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Ethics, Equity, and Advocacy in Surgical Nursing
Speaker: Ms. Abir Kurdi Alame |
|
| 10:55-11:00 | Q & A | |
| 11:00-12:00 (60min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Quality, Safety & Standards in the Operating Room: A global Nursing Leadership Perspective
Speaker: Mrs. Minija Joseph – Clinical Lead Nurse – Inpatient Theatres & Recovery Unit, King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom |
|
| 11:50-12:00 | Q & A | |
| 12:00-13:00 | Lunch Break | |
| 13:00-14:00 (60min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Surgical Nursing Micro-Learning Sessions Moderator: Rodolfo Relano – Clinical Nurse Educator – Perioperative Sidra Medicine Session 1 – Outpatient Clinic: Recognizing and escalating red flags during preoperative outpatient assessment. Speaker: Rena Lapena & Erlinda Cuatrona – Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine Session 2 – PAT, DSU and PACU: Ensuring readiness for surgery and safe handover across the perioperative pathway. Speaker: Jessica Haripersad & Kathrina Cabuang – Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine Session 3 – Operating Room: Applying surgical safety checks and speaking up when a safety concern is identified. Speaker: Priya Subramanian & Armie Nuguid – Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine Session 4 – Cath Lab: Preventing contrast-, anticoagulation- and access-site-related complications. Speaker: Jolly Abraham & Suja Abraham – Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine Session 5 – IR/DI: Maintaining patient identification, procedure-site verification and radiation safety. Speaker: Icra Elwadia & Rhea Werble – Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine Session 6 – Surgical Ward 5A: Detecting and escalating early postoperative deterioration. Speaker: Carmela Perdigon and Syamini Nair– Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine Session 7 – Surgical Ward 5B: Planning safe discharge through patient education, medication reconciliation and follow-up.Speaker: Catherine Mendoza & Rinabelle Martillana – Clinical Nurse, Sidra Medicine |
|
| 14:00-14:45 (45min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Evidence-Based and Quality Initiative Projects
Moderator: Rodolfo Relano – Clinical Nurse Educator – Perioperative Sidra Medicine |
|
| 14:45-15:00 | Afternoon Break | |
| 15:00-15:25 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Beyond the Poster: Ideas That Advance Surgical Care
Moderator: Rodolfo Relano – Clinical Nurse Educator – Perioperative Sidra Medicine |
|
| 15:25-15:30 | Q & A | |
| 15:30-16:00 (30min – Category 1 including Q&A) |
Symposium Summary and Closing Remarks
Speaker: David Lazarus, Director of Nursing and Chair of Organizing Committee |
|