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Implant series sets goals
Implant series sets goals The June Journal articles on surgical implants have inspired me and my colleagues at University of Massachusetts Medical Center (UMMC), Worcester. As growth associated with our opening a new tertiary care medical center begins to level off after seven years, we believe it is time to set some long-term professional goals. The Department of Operating Room and Surgical Nursing of Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, has shown us a goal worth striving for: a Journal filled with articles written by their staff. I believe this is a major contribution to nursing and an important accomplishment, one I hope UMMC will emulate. Billie Fernsebner, RN, MSN, CNOR Worcester, Mass
OR nurse’s role underestimated, complex I applaud Taylor’s letter in the July 1983 Journal. His observations into the difficulties of the nurseltechnicianproblem are interesting. I believe, however, that he is not fully aware of the situation’s complexities. Taylor refers to a supposed dichotomy in the “President‘s messages.” Indeed, OR nursing is slowly being reintroduced into nursing curriculums, but the focus of Project Alpha is to train students to be OR nurses, not adept in “techniques,” as he states. There is a difference. I agree with Taylor that OR nurses are supervisors as well as perioperative care givers-that comes with the job description.
468
Our primary purpose is total patient care. I think he underestimates the ability required to accomplish both. In another letter in the July issue, Kay Matthews, RN, states that “One-year tech programs do not provide an extensive education.” I wonder if OR nurses realize that OR technician military training is a six-month program. Is the level of education achieved by techniclans and nurses comparable? Can they render equal patient care? Medical regulations state that only an RN may circulate in an operating room. This means that a technician unable to scrub because of injury, rash, or other affliction is not economically effective. As a former techician, I empathize with the technician’s plight. But we would never, as nurses or patients, allow a physician’s assistant to perform a surgeon’s functions; nor should the patient be cared for by a technician rather than a nurse. Bart Beecher, RN, CNOR San Diego
Correction Kathy Ammon, member of AORN task forceon first assisting, was incorrectly identified in the July “President’s message.” She is on the nursing faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, and not at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The AORN Journal regrets this error. The AORN Journal welcomes letters from its readers on subjects of interest to OR nurses. Letters should be typed and should include the writer’s name, full title, and address. The Journal reserves the right to edit all letters.
AORN Journal, September 1983, Vol38, No 3
OR nurse’s role underestimated, complex I applaud Taylor’s letter in the July 1983 Journal. His observations into the difficulties of the nurseltechnicianproblem are interesting. I believe, however, that he is not fully aware of the situation’s complexities. Taylor refers to a supposed dichotomy in the “President‘s messages.” Indeed, OR nursing is slowly being reintroduced into nursing curriculums, but the focus of Project Alpha is to train students to be OR nurses, not adept in “techniques,” as he states. There is a difference. I agree with Taylor that OR nurses are supervisors as well as perioperative care givers-that comes with the job description.
468
Our primary purpose is total patient care. I think he underestimates the ability required to accomplish both. In another letter in the July issue, Kay Matthews, RN, states that “One-year tech programs do not provide an extensive education.” I wonder if OR nurses realize that OR technician military training is a six-month program. Is the level of education achieved by techniclans and nurses comparable? Can they render equal patient care? Medical regulations state that only an RN may circulate in an operating room. This means that a technician unable to scrub because of injury, rash, or other affliction is not economically effective. As a former techician, I empathize with the technician’s plight. But we would never, as nurses or patients, allow a physician’s assistant to perform a surgeon’s functions; nor should the patient be cared for by a technician rather than a nurse. Bart Beecher, RN, CNOR San Diego
Correction Kathy Ammon, member of AORN task forceon first assisting, was incorrectly identified in the July “President’s message.” She is on the nursing faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, and not at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The AORN Journal regrets this error. The AORN Journal welcomes letters from its readers on subjects of interest to OR nurses. Letters should be typed and should include the writer’s name, full title, and address. The Journal reserves the right to edit all letters.
AORN Journal, September 1983, Vol38, No 3