Chicago Illinois, home to both IFNA and AANA, this year hosted the 6th world congress for nurse anaesthetists. The largest convention for this nursing speciality the world has ever seen. Over 3000 delegates from over 22 countries attended this 5-day conference, encompassing clinical workshops/ presentations, management/education forums, political debates together with an impressive commercial exhibition and a poster presentation. I was fortunate indeed to replace Clara Bradshaw on this occasion as the UK National Representative and it was an experience that I will not forget.