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AORN PRESIDENT BARBA EDWARDS
AORN PRESIDENT BARBA EDWARDS “Don’t talk to her,” her friends warn jokingly, “she has too many ideas.” At work, her staff calls her the idea lady.
took care of the baby while the mother was in surgery. The husband also stayed the first night. “We felt we gave this family total care,” Miss Edwards says. The patient is the center of Miss Edward’s philosophy of OR nursing. “As much as possible,” she explains, “we bend to what the patient wants. They don’t have to take out their teeth before they come to surgery, or if they wear a wig, they can keep it on. “Our patients can pretty well write their own care plans. If they want to walk to surgery, that’s fine. Some patients get sick when they ride on the cart. We encourage patients to sit up if they want to.” Sometimes a simple observation prompts an idea for better patient care. One day, as Miss Edwards went through the OR waiting room, she noticed a man reading a book-but the book was upside down. When she returned from lunch she saw that he was still sitting there-with the upside-down book.
Barba Edwards, AORN’s new president, is a woman of many interests who is constantly searching for innovative approaches in her profession. She is director of surgery at Archbishop Bergan Mercy Hospital, Omaha. She heads a staff of 72, most of them nurses. The nine-room OR suite is staffed around the clock. “We do a lot of brainstorming, looking for creative ways of doing things,” says Miss Edwards. She credits the hospital administrationwith providing support for new ideas. Her staff, for example, has taken preoperative visits out of the hospital and into patients’ homes. Miss Edwards tells of one home visit where nurses arranged for a mother to take her three-month-old nursing baby with her to the hospital. An older child
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
749
She dreamt of being a concert pianist or doctor.
She decided to do something to assist the families in the waiting room. Miss Edwards sensed that some of the best help people received was from each other. She consulted with a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatry who with her students is now planning a group session for families who must wait a long time. “We will also develop a short video-tape cassette of what happens in surgery. When the big doors shut, the family wonders what is going on,” Miss Edwards explains. “Staff nurses will rotate in the waiting area, checking on patients in surgery and in keeping the families informed. We also think this is a good place to do general health teaching. We can set up a blood pressure station, have information available on such diseases as diabetes, arthritis. While people are waiting, they can get some help about their own health. “It will be better than reading upside-down books,” Miss Edwards concludes. Although the OR staff has given preoperative parties for children for some time, it is now expanding its program for children. The program centers around Buford, a chimpanzee puppet who wears a Roman collar. The original belongs to one of the priests who visits. “We are doing a Buford coloring book, ‘Buford goes to surgery,’ and we have made finger puppets for each child when he comes to surgery or when he leaves the recovery room. They will receive the coloring book at the preop party where they will also see a puppet show with Buford and the nurses.” Miss Edwards calls her office “Grand Central station” and maintains an open door pol-
icy. “It helps me keep my finger on the pulse of what is going on. “We also have some sensitivity sessions, mostly transactional analysis, and as a result we have a cohesive group. We do role playing. If the nurses have a problem with me, or I have a problem with them, we switch sides and act it out. This doesn’t mean that everything is peaches and cream, but we do get a better understandingof each other.” A woman of many interests, nursing was not her first choice for a career. As a child, she dreamt of being a concert pianist or a doctor. She chose Creighton University in Omaha because of its excellent medical school. However, when she applied to medical school after her second year, she was not accepted. “They told me they had a quota system for women and a quota system for blacks. “At the time,” Miss Edwards recalls, “I thought neither as a black nor as a woman. I only thought what will I do next. Also, my father thought that women should not be doctors or lawyers. But I was determined not to be a lab technician as he suggested.” Miss Edwards decided to continue her study of music and go into nursing, still intending to apply to medical school. She graduated with a BS in nursing and then received a scholarship to study music at the University of Norway and at the Sorbonne in Paris. Although she received a degree in fine arts and music, the year abroad brought Miss Edwards to the conclusion that “I was not going to be a musician; I was not talented enough.”
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
751
At Las Vegas, Barba Edwards was elected to the Board of Directors as was Pat Rogers who sits on her right at this candidates session. At left, Marion Walker. Nursing proved to be the challenge she wanted. On the staff at St Joseph’s Hospital at Creighton University, she became involved in open heart surgery. She entered a master’s program in nursing at the University of Minnesota, but became disillusioned because the content seemed repetitious of undergraduate courses. “In all fairness,” she adds now, “in the mid 1950% nursing was very static.” She reapplied to medical school and this time, was accepted. Her acceptance satisfied her need, but she had already decided that nursing was what she was going to do. “About this time,” Miss Edwards recalls, “I became interested in communicating with the patient. Prior to this, as OR nurses, we didn’t see our patients. But with open heart patients, we felt we needed to meet the family. l then decided to pursue a master’s in communications.” She completed her work and earned a master’s degree in communication from the University of Nebraska in 1973. Although being black may have been against her in gaining entrance to medical
754
school, Miss Edwards does not feel that it has affected her nursing career despite the fact she was the first black to enroll at the Creighton University College of Nursing. The first nursing school she applled to turned her down, not because she was black, but because of her speech impediment. In school especially, she fen more at a disadvantage because of her speech impediment. “I recited very little, and I thought the operating room would be a great place to work because I wouldn’t have to talk to people.“ But now, Miss Edwards as a leader of AORN, is no longer reticent. She often finds herself called on to speak to groups, which she manages with little apparent difficulty. She credits her work in communications as helpful, and when she is giving a speech, she is careful to go slowly and is aware of her own stumbling blocks. Miss Edwards’ association with AORN dates back to the 1954 Congress in New York City. She and several other nurses from Omaha were inspired to start a local chapter.
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
Miss Edwards was also interested in participating on the national level. After being a member of the AORN Editorial Committee, she ran for the Board of Directors at the 1969 Congress in Cincinnati. She was defeated, which she expected-”but I felt I had to try.” She ran for the Board again in 1971 in Las Vegas, this time successfully. She has now been an officer for five years, serving as board member, treasurer, then presidentelect. As she looks ahead to her year as AORN president, she sees more than can be accomplished in a year. Her first goal is the development of plans for the education building. “The membership has given us a vote of confidence, and we need to give them something concrete.” Another priority is a better understanding between the nursing and medical professions. “We need to educate physicians and the nurse as well. We have to educate nurses about their new role. Then, we have to educate the physician to what we are doing and what we can do. They don’t realize what nursing is today, and I suppose some of it is our fault. They have to know because we have to work together for the patient.” Although work and her AORN activities consume much of her time, Miss Edwards also has time for personal interests as well as community activities. Living with her mother and sister, Miss Edwards enjoys entertaining and cooklng. She likes to cook “exotic things, not plain old meat and potatoes.” She feels “one of the nicest things you can do to honor a person is to cook for him.” Music is still an important part of her life, and she plays the organ for groups, especially at Christmas. Her favorite sport is golf. She is an enthusiastic traveler and has gone on many AORN seminars. She is active in community affairs, in part to keep informed on what is happening in the health care system in her city and state. She is a member of the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. In 1975, Miss Edwards was named woman of the year in science and research by the Omaha Women’s Political Caucus. For the next 12 months, Barba Edwards will be devoting her creative energy to AORN. As president of the Association, she
will be representing AORN at meetings with other health professionals, she will be giving leadership to the Board and Headquarters staff, and she will be representing more than 23,000 operating room nurses on many occasions. Through the “President’s message” in the AORN Journal, she will be sharing her thoughts and ideas with AORN members.
Elinor S Schrader Editor
Midwest Health Congress in Kansas City Three AORN members will assist in coordinating the program for operating room nurses at the Midwest ’76 Health Exposition and Conference June 8-10 at the Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo. They are Georgeann C Lancerini, RN, operating room supervisor, St Francis Hospital, Topeka, Kan; Margaret Leete, RN, director of surgical services, Research Medical Center, Kansas City, Mo; and Lois D Lister, RN, operating room staff nurse, St Francis Hospital, Topeka. The conference is sponsored by the Midwest Health Congress representing 3,600 hospitals, nursing homes, and homes for the aged in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. George H Labovitz, management consultant, will present the keynote address at the opening general session at 9 3 0 am June 8. His topic will be “Motivating ourselves,” a discussion of self-motivation as the key to survival and success in the health care field. Labovitz is president of Organizational Dynamics, Inc, and an associate professor at Boston University. He received a bachelor of science degree from Boston University; an MBA in management from Boston College, and a PhD in organizational psychology from Ohio State University. There will be individualized programming for 26 health care specialties plus exhibits of the latest equipment and supplies. Inquiries may be sent to Midwest Health Congress, 208 Nichols Rd, Kansas City, Mo 641 12.
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
756
took care of the baby while the mother was in surgery. The husband also stayed the first night. “We felt we gave this family total care,” Miss Edwards says. The patient is the center of Miss Edward’s philosophy of OR nursing. “As much as possible,” she explains, “we bend to what the patient wants. They don’t have to take out their teeth before they come to surgery, or if they wear a wig, they can keep it on. “Our patients can pretty well write their own care plans. If they want to walk to surgery, that’s fine. Some patients get sick when they ride on the cart. We encourage patients to sit up if they want to.” Sometimes a simple observation prompts an idea for better patient care. One day, as Miss Edwards went through the OR waiting room, she noticed a man reading a book-but the book was upside down. When she returned from lunch she saw that he was still sitting there-with the upside-down book.
Barba Edwards, AORN’s new president, is a woman of many interests who is constantly searching for innovative approaches in her profession. She is director of surgery at Archbishop Bergan Mercy Hospital, Omaha. She heads a staff of 72, most of them nurses. The nine-room OR suite is staffed around the clock. “We do a lot of brainstorming, looking for creative ways of doing things,” says Miss Edwards. She credits the hospital administrationwith providing support for new ideas. Her staff, for example, has taken preoperative visits out of the hospital and into patients’ homes. Miss Edwards tells of one home visit where nurses arranged for a mother to take her three-month-old nursing baby with her to the hospital. An older child
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
749
She dreamt of being a concert pianist or doctor.
She decided to do something to assist the families in the waiting room. Miss Edwards sensed that some of the best help people received was from each other. She consulted with a clinical nurse specialist in psychiatry who with her students is now planning a group session for families who must wait a long time. “We will also develop a short video-tape cassette of what happens in surgery. When the big doors shut, the family wonders what is going on,” Miss Edwards explains. “Staff nurses will rotate in the waiting area, checking on patients in surgery and in keeping the families informed. We also think this is a good place to do general health teaching. We can set up a blood pressure station, have information available on such diseases as diabetes, arthritis. While people are waiting, they can get some help about their own health. “It will be better than reading upside-down books,” Miss Edwards concludes. Although the OR staff has given preoperative parties for children for some time, it is now expanding its program for children. The program centers around Buford, a chimpanzee puppet who wears a Roman collar. The original belongs to one of the priests who visits. “We are doing a Buford coloring book, ‘Buford goes to surgery,’ and we have made finger puppets for each child when he comes to surgery or when he leaves the recovery room. They will receive the coloring book at the preop party where they will also see a puppet show with Buford and the nurses.” Miss Edwards calls her office “Grand Central station” and maintains an open door pol-
icy. “It helps me keep my finger on the pulse of what is going on. “We also have some sensitivity sessions, mostly transactional analysis, and as a result we have a cohesive group. We do role playing. If the nurses have a problem with me, or I have a problem with them, we switch sides and act it out. This doesn’t mean that everything is peaches and cream, but we do get a better understandingof each other.” A woman of many interests, nursing was not her first choice for a career. As a child, she dreamt of being a concert pianist or a doctor. She chose Creighton University in Omaha because of its excellent medical school. However, when she applied to medical school after her second year, she was not accepted. “They told me they had a quota system for women and a quota system for blacks. “At the time,” Miss Edwards recalls, “I thought neither as a black nor as a woman. I only thought what will I do next. Also, my father thought that women should not be doctors or lawyers. But I was determined not to be a lab technician as he suggested.” Miss Edwards decided to continue her study of music and go into nursing, still intending to apply to medical school. She graduated with a BS in nursing and then received a scholarship to study music at the University of Norway and at the Sorbonne in Paris. Although she received a degree in fine arts and music, the year abroad brought Miss Edwards to the conclusion that “I was not going to be a musician; I was not talented enough.”
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
751
At Las Vegas, Barba Edwards was elected to the Board of Directors as was Pat Rogers who sits on her right at this candidates session. At left, Marion Walker. Nursing proved to be the challenge she wanted. On the staff at St Joseph’s Hospital at Creighton University, she became involved in open heart surgery. She entered a master’s program in nursing at the University of Minnesota, but became disillusioned because the content seemed repetitious of undergraduate courses. “In all fairness,” she adds now, “in the mid 1950% nursing was very static.” She reapplied to medical school and this time, was accepted. Her acceptance satisfied her need, but she had already decided that nursing was what she was going to do. “About this time,” Miss Edwards recalls, “I became interested in communicating with the patient. Prior to this, as OR nurses, we didn’t see our patients. But with open heart patients, we felt we needed to meet the family. l then decided to pursue a master’s in communications.” She completed her work and earned a master’s degree in communication from the University of Nebraska in 1973. Although being black may have been against her in gaining entrance to medical
754
school, Miss Edwards does not feel that it has affected her nursing career despite the fact she was the first black to enroll at the Creighton University College of Nursing. The first nursing school she applled to turned her down, not because she was black, but because of her speech impediment. In school especially, she fen more at a disadvantage because of her speech impediment. “I recited very little, and I thought the operating room would be a great place to work because I wouldn’t have to talk to people.“ But now, Miss Edwards as a leader of AORN, is no longer reticent. She often finds herself called on to speak to groups, which she manages with little apparent difficulty. She credits her work in communications as helpful, and when she is giving a speech, she is careful to go slowly and is aware of her own stumbling blocks. Miss Edwards’ association with AORN dates back to the 1954 Congress in New York City. She and several other nurses from Omaha were inspired to start a local chapter.
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
Miss Edwards was also interested in participating on the national level. After being a member of the AORN Editorial Committee, she ran for the Board of Directors at the 1969 Congress in Cincinnati. She was defeated, which she expected-”but I felt I had to try.” She ran for the Board again in 1971 in Las Vegas, this time successfully. She has now been an officer for five years, serving as board member, treasurer, then presidentelect. As she looks ahead to her year as AORN president, she sees more than can be accomplished in a year. Her first goal is the development of plans for the education building. “The membership has given us a vote of confidence, and we need to give them something concrete.” Another priority is a better understanding between the nursing and medical professions. “We need to educate physicians and the nurse as well. We have to educate nurses about their new role. Then, we have to educate the physician to what we are doing and what we can do. They don’t realize what nursing is today, and I suppose some of it is our fault. They have to know because we have to work together for the patient.” Although work and her AORN activities consume much of her time, Miss Edwards also has time for personal interests as well as community activities. Living with her mother and sister, Miss Edwards enjoys entertaining and cooklng. She likes to cook “exotic things, not plain old meat and potatoes.” She feels “one of the nicest things you can do to honor a person is to cook for him.” Music is still an important part of her life, and she plays the organ for groups, especially at Christmas. Her favorite sport is golf. She is an enthusiastic traveler and has gone on many AORN seminars. She is active in community affairs, in part to keep informed on what is happening in the health care system in her city and state. She is a member of the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. In 1975, Miss Edwards was named woman of the year in science and research by the Omaha Women’s Political Caucus. For the next 12 months, Barba Edwards will be devoting her creative energy to AORN. As president of the Association, she
will be representing AORN at meetings with other health professionals, she will be giving leadership to the Board and Headquarters staff, and she will be representing more than 23,000 operating room nurses on many occasions. Through the “President’s message” in the AORN Journal, she will be sharing her thoughts and ideas with AORN members.
Elinor S Schrader Editor
Midwest Health Congress in Kansas City Three AORN members will assist in coordinating the program for operating room nurses at the Midwest ’76 Health Exposition and Conference June 8-10 at the Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo. They are Georgeann C Lancerini, RN, operating room supervisor, St Francis Hospital, Topeka, Kan; Margaret Leete, RN, director of surgical services, Research Medical Center, Kansas City, Mo; and Lois D Lister, RN, operating room staff nurse, St Francis Hospital, Topeka. The conference is sponsored by the Midwest Health Congress representing 3,600 hospitals, nursing homes, and homes for the aged in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. George H Labovitz, management consultant, will present the keynote address at the opening general session at 9 3 0 am June 8. His topic will be “Motivating ourselves,” a discussion of self-motivation as the key to survival and success in the health care field. Labovitz is president of Organizational Dynamics, Inc, and an associate professor at Boston University. He received a bachelor of science degree from Boston University; an MBA in management from Boston College, and a PhD in organizational psychology from Ohio State University. There will be individualized programming for 26 health care specialties plus exhibits of the latest equipment and supplies. Inquiries may be sent to Midwest Health Congress, 208 Nichols Rd, Kansas City, Mo 641 12.
AORN Journal, April 1976, Vol23, No 5
756