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New statements define beginning practice level
The Competency Committee completes its work, assisted b y Bradley J Manuel, RN, assistant director of educationlcontinuing education.
New statements define beginning practice level With the introduction of basic competency statements at the 1982 AORN Congress, the Association takes an important step for the profession of operating room nursing. Together, the statements identify the knowledge and skills necessary for practice as a professional operating room nurse at a minimum level. “We expect that an operating room nurse would attain the knowledge and skills expressed in these statements within a six- to twelve-month orientation period,” explained Carol Tyler, RN, CNOR, chairman of the ad hoc committee that has been developing the
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statements for almost three years. Common to all perioperative nursing practice, the statements could be applied to care of surgical patients in any size of facility. “The competency statements give a baseline for practice,” Tyler added. “They provide a direction to go, or a place to start progressing along the continuum of perioperative nursing.” As defined by the Project 25 Task Force in 1978, the perioperative role consists of nursing activities during preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of a patient’s surgery. Depending on their expertise and experience, OR nurses enter the perioperative
AORN Journal,February 1982, Vol35, No 3
role at a beginning level and progress along a continuum to an advanced level of practice. The new competency statements define the beginning level. The statements are specific, observable, and measurable, Tyler emphasized. “These are not pie-in-the-sky, abstract ideas.” The competencies, which will be presented at a Congress educationalsession on Wednesday morning, March 10, have been scientifically developed and validated by practicing OR nurses. They were approved by the AORN Board of Directors in November 1981. The idea for developingcompetencies came first from the National Committeeon Education (NCE), which saw them as necessary for implementing the perioperativerole. At the committee’s suggestion, the Board of Directors appointed the ad hoc Competency Committee in 1979. Represented were the NCE, Elaine Thornson; the Recommended Practices Subcommittee, Rosemary Roth; the OR Nursing Research Committee, Joan Uebele; and the National Certification Board, Patricia Kapsar. Tyler was named chairman because of her experience in developing a clinical ladder for OR nurses at Evanston (111) Hospital. They were assisted by Headquarters staff. As far as the Association knows, operating room nurses are the first to define basic competencies for their practice. “We had no other nursing model to rely on,” Tyler commented. “We were pioneers in nursing. We looked at models from other fields, such as veterinary science and business, but found nothing that was directly applicable.” How the competency statements can be used will be a subject of the Congress session, where copies will be distributed. Some possible applications are using them as guidelines for 0 developing orientation programs 0 writing position descriptions for beginning staff nurses 0 developing quality assurance models 0 developing generic nursing curriculums. I wish I had had these available when we were developing the clinical series at Evanston Hospital,” Tyler commented. “These statements give you a concrete idea what you can expect from a beginner, and they give the individual nurse a chance to see what is expected. It is spelled out in black and white.”
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OR nurses might also employ the statements in educating other nurses, physicians, and consumer groups about what OR nurses do, “The competencies could have a tremendous impact on justifying the presence of the registered nurse in the OR,” Tyler believes. The basic competency statements will be published in the April AORN Journal, along with an article explaining how they were developed. In addition, each member will be mailed a copy of the competency statements early that month, in a booklet funded by the Patient Care Division of Johnson & Johnson Products, Inc.
Committee will review Congress statements The Statement and Resolutions Committee will be available at Congress to assist individuals and groups who wish to present resolutions to the House of Delegates. The Committee will meet in the parliamentarian’s office, Room 17 of the Anaheim Convention Center. Appointments can be made by contacting the Headquarters office. Submitting a proposed resolution to the Committee is not mandatory; however, it is strongly recommended to prevent errors in format or intent and to facilitate the resolution’s presentation. The Committee does not make recommendations for or against the adoption of a resolution. Members of the Committee are Cynthia C Hayes, chairman, Zelpha M Burbank, Jo Miller, and Jacqueline Reardon.
Credentials Committee to meet Sunday The AORN Credentials Committee will meet from 4:15 to 5 1 5 pm, Sunday, March 7, in Room 17, the parliamentarian’soffice, in the Anaheim Convention Center. The Committee will meet with chairmen of delegations or chapter presidents whose delegate information did not reach Headquarters before the deadline.
AORN J o u m l , February 1982, Vol35, No 3
New statements define beginning practice level With the introduction of basic competency statements at the 1982 AORN Congress, the Association takes an important step for the profession of operating room nursing. Together, the statements identify the knowledge and skills necessary for practice as a professional operating room nurse at a minimum level. “We expect that an operating room nurse would attain the knowledge and skills expressed in these statements within a six- to twelve-month orientation period,” explained Carol Tyler, RN, CNOR, chairman of the ad hoc committee that has been developing the
514
statements for almost three years. Common to all perioperative nursing practice, the statements could be applied to care of surgical patients in any size of facility. “The competency statements give a baseline for practice,” Tyler added. “They provide a direction to go, or a place to start progressing along the continuum of perioperative nursing.” As defined by the Project 25 Task Force in 1978, the perioperative role consists of nursing activities during preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of a patient’s surgery. Depending on their expertise and experience, OR nurses enter the perioperative
AORN Journal,February 1982, Vol35, No 3
role at a beginning level and progress along a continuum to an advanced level of practice. The new competency statements define the beginning level. The statements are specific, observable, and measurable, Tyler emphasized. “These are not pie-in-the-sky, abstract ideas.” The competencies, which will be presented at a Congress educationalsession on Wednesday morning, March 10, have been scientifically developed and validated by practicing OR nurses. They were approved by the AORN Board of Directors in November 1981. The idea for developingcompetencies came first from the National Committeeon Education (NCE), which saw them as necessary for implementing the perioperativerole. At the committee’s suggestion, the Board of Directors appointed the ad hoc Competency Committee in 1979. Represented were the NCE, Elaine Thornson; the Recommended Practices Subcommittee, Rosemary Roth; the OR Nursing Research Committee, Joan Uebele; and the National Certification Board, Patricia Kapsar. Tyler was named chairman because of her experience in developing a clinical ladder for OR nurses at Evanston (111) Hospital. They were assisted by Headquarters staff. As far as the Association knows, operating room nurses are the first to define basic competencies for their practice. “We had no other nursing model to rely on,” Tyler commented. “We were pioneers in nursing. We looked at models from other fields, such as veterinary science and business, but found nothing that was directly applicable.” How the competency statements can be used will be a subject of the Congress session, where copies will be distributed. Some possible applications are using them as guidelines for 0 developing orientation programs 0 writing position descriptions for beginning staff nurses 0 developing quality assurance models 0 developing generic nursing curriculums. I wish I had had these available when we were developing the clinical series at Evanston Hospital,” Tyler commented. “These statements give you a concrete idea what you can expect from a beginner, and they give the individual nurse a chance to see what is expected. It is spelled out in black and white.”
516
OR nurses might also employ the statements in educating other nurses, physicians, and consumer groups about what OR nurses do, “The competencies could have a tremendous impact on justifying the presence of the registered nurse in the OR,” Tyler believes. The basic competency statements will be published in the April AORN Journal, along with an article explaining how they were developed. In addition, each member will be mailed a copy of the competency statements early that month, in a booklet funded by the Patient Care Division of Johnson & Johnson Products, Inc.
Committee will review Congress statements The Statement and Resolutions Committee will be available at Congress to assist individuals and groups who wish to present resolutions to the House of Delegates. The Committee will meet in the parliamentarian’s office, Room 17 of the Anaheim Convention Center. Appointments can be made by contacting the Headquarters office. Submitting a proposed resolution to the Committee is not mandatory; however, it is strongly recommended to prevent errors in format or intent and to facilitate the resolution’s presentation. The Committee does not make recommendations for or against the adoption of a resolution. Members of the Committee are Cynthia C Hayes, chairman, Zelpha M Burbank, Jo Miller, and Jacqueline Reardon.
Credentials Committee to meet Sunday The AORN Credentials Committee will meet from 4:15 to 5 1 5 pm, Sunday, March 7, in Room 17, the parliamentarian’soffice, in the Anaheim Convention Center. The Committee will meet with chairmen of delegations or chapter presidents whose delegate information did not reach Headquarters before the deadline.
AORN J o u m l , February 1982, Vol35, No 3