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Specialty assemblies announce awards, discuss unique interests at Congress meetings
JUNE 1996, VOL 63, NO 6 SPECIALTY ASSEMBLIES
Specialty assemblies announce awards, discuss unique interests at Congress meetings Saturday, March 2, to Thursday, March 7, 1996 pecialty assemblies provide an opportunity for members to focus on specialized needs and interests within their areas of practice. All 10 specialty assemblies-including the newly formed Rural/Small Hospital Specialty Assemblyconducted business meetings during Congress.
S
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
T
he Advanced Technology Specialty Assembly announced the continuation of a recruitment campaign to challenge assembly members to recruit six new members before its annual conference, to be held in October 1996. Those who meet the challenge and recruit six new members will be entered into a drawing for free conference registration. Assembly members also discussed the need for basic education on safety and physics for nurses just beginning to work with laser technology.
AMBULATORY SURGERY he Ambulatory Surgery Specialty Assembly T met hear committee reports and review its annual work plan. The assembly’s activities during
CARDIOTHORACIC he Cardiothoracic Specialty Assembly awarded T five Congress scholarships as outlined in its 1995-1996 goals. Funds for the scholarships were donated by the assembly to support members’ education activities. Winners were selected randomly from members who registered for the assembly’s pre-Congress activity, titled ‘‘Issues and Trends in Cardiothoracic Nursing.”
MANAGEMENT Specialty Assembly members 1\11 anagement heard a report from a representative from the Nursing Practices Committee and an update concerning the documentation survey prepared by the Data Elements Coordinating Committee. Assembly members also discussed the “The Second Annual Management Institute,” to be held in Las Vegas, September 1 1 to 14, 1996; the proposed work plan for 1996-1997; and their perceptions of Surgical Services Management, AORN’s monthly magazine.
to
the past year included an information mailing sent to perioperative nurses in free-standing and officebased practice settings and a letter-writing campaign to national legislators regarding Medicare.
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY & CONSULTING of the Nurses in Business, Industry & 1\11 embers Consulting Specialty Assembly discussed the changes in industry events at Congress and the role of the AORN Foundation’s scholarship program. Many members were pleased about the decrease in hospitality events, noting that fewer AORN members have access to Congress hospitality events than to Foundation funding for members’ education and research activities. All attendees agreed that they would like more information about the Foundation’s scholarship program and how Foundation funding benefits AORN members.
NURSE EDUCATOWCLINICALNURSE SPECIALIST of the Nurse Educator/Clinical Nurse 1\11 embers Specialist Specialty Assembly expressed strong support for expanding their newsletter to six pages next year. They also discussed the importance of legislative issues and how the assembly might become more involved through a liaison relationship with the Legislative Committee. A comparison of the clinical nurse specialist and nurse educator roles rounded out the discussion.
ORTHOPEDIC he Orthopedic Specialty Assembly announced T the creation of 10 education grants of $250 each. These grants will be awarded by random drawing to assembly members preregistered for the orthopedic conference to be held in Newport Beach, Calif, September 19 to 21, 1996. Further details will be 1027
AORN JOURNAL
JUNE 1996, VOL 63, NO 6 SPECIALTY ASSEMBLIES
RURAVSMALL HOSPITAL
announced in the next issue of the assembly’s newsletter.
its debut as AORN’s newest specialty 1\11 aking assembly, the Rural/Small Hospital Specialty
PEDIATRIC
Assembly held its first business meeting to introduce governing council members, to define members’ common needs and interests, and to discuss the challenges facing perioperative nurses practicing in small health care facilities. Many participants reported feeling “stigmatized” by sales representatives and nurses from large urban hospitals because of their facilities’ smaller purchasing powers and technical capabilities. Members stressed, however, that they perform the same types of surgical procedures, only in smaller numbers and with fewer resources. During this era of hospital downsizing, one participant observed that members might have something to teach their urban colleagues about making do with less. DEBORAH D. RENO MANAQINQ EDITOR NEWSLEITERS/BOOKS
o build interest in assembly membership among colleagues with related concerns, Pediatric Specialty Assembly members hope to collaborate with the Society of Pediatric Nurses on educational events and other activities next year. Governing council members also plan to work more closely with the Special Committee on International Issues to collect medical supplies, equipment, and educational materials for developing nations. In addition, assembly members indicated interest in creating a home page on the World Wide Web through AORN Online to help them exchange more timely information about practice issues such as cross-training and the use of unlicensed assistive personnel.
T
RN FIRST ASSISTANT
T
he new CRNFA recertification policy of the National Certification B0ard:Perioperative Nursing, Inc, was clarified for members attending the meeting. The revised guidelines provide two options for RN first assistants who were certified in 1995 or later: retesting or recertification with a minimum of 100 continuing education hours. All CRNFAs also must maintain their CNOR certifications through retesting or recertification.
BEVERLY P. GIORDANO RN, MS EDITOR AORN JOURNAL JENIFER F. WALKER MANAQINQ EDITOR AORN JOURNAL
Apply Quality Measures to End-of-Life Care An article in the January 1996 Medical Ethics Advisor suggests that in the same way the entire course of the childbirth experience has changed in the past 30 years, so too must the end-of-life experience undergo dramatic change. One way to change the end-of-life experience for patients, the article reports, is to apply quality measures to death outcomes. Some professionals already are involved in such projects. For example, one physician has initiated a two-year continuous quality improvement (CQI) project on death at three hospitals in Vermont and New Hampshire. The project, funded by the New Yorkbased Soros Foundation’s Project on Death in America and a grant from the National Cancer Institute in
Rockville, Md, has two primary goals: to understand how end-of-life care is delivered in various health care settings, and to develop a critical pathway for the delivery of care to dying patients in the New England region. “As long as our society thinks that dying attached to machines is the norm,” states a physician quoted in the article, “it will not change. Patients and caregivers have to mobilize and change how we die. Then hospitals will be rated for quality on how they care for dying patients.” .@ply quuliv measures to end-of-life cure, ’Medical Ethics Advisor 12 (January 1996) 5-6.
1028 AORN JOURNAL
Specialty assemblies announce awards, discuss unique interests at Congress meetings Saturday, March 2, to Thursday, March 7, 1996 pecialty assemblies provide an opportunity for members to focus on specialized needs and interests within their areas of practice. All 10 specialty assemblies-including the newly formed Rural/Small Hospital Specialty Assemblyconducted business meetings during Congress.
S
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
T
he Advanced Technology Specialty Assembly announced the continuation of a recruitment campaign to challenge assembly members to recruit six new members before its annual conference, to be held in October 1996. Those who meet the challenge and recruit six new members will be entered into a drawing for free conference registration. Assembly members also discussed the need for basic education on safety and physics for nurses just beginning to work with laser technology.
AMBULATORY SURGERY he Ambulatory Surgery Specialty Assembly T met hear committee reports and review its annual work plan. The assembly’s activities during
CARDIOTHORACIC he Cardiothoracic Specialty Assembly awarded T five Congress scholarships as outlined in its 1995-1996 goals. Funds for the scholarships were donated by the assembly to support members’ education activities. Winners were selected randomly from members who registered for the assembly’s pre-Congress activity, titled ‘‘Issues and Trends in Cardiothoracic Nursing.”
MANAGEMENT Specialty Assembly members 1\11 anagement heard a report from a representative from the Nursing Practices Committee and an update concerning the documentation survey prepared by the Data Elements Coordinating Committee. Assembly members also discussed the “The Second Annual Management Institute,” to be held in Las Vegas, September 1 1 to 14, 1996; the proposed work plan for 1996-1997; and their perceptions of Surgical Services Management, AORN’s monthly magazine.
to
the past year included an information mailing sent to perioperative nurses in free-standing and officebased practice settings and a letter-writing campaign to national legislators regarding Medicare.
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY & CONSULTING of the Nurses in Business, Industry & 1\11 embers Consulting Specialty Assembly discussed the changes in industry events at Congress and the role of the AORN Foundation’s scholarship program. Many members were pleased about the decrease in hospitality events, noting that fewer AORN members have access to Congress hospitality events than to Foundation funding for members’ education and research activities. All attendees agreed that they would like more information about the Foundation’s scholarship program and how Foundation funding benefits AORN members.
NURSE EDUCATOWCLINICALNURSE SPECIALIST of the Nurse Educator/Clinical Nurse 1\11 embers Specialist Specialty Assembly expressed strong support for expanding their newsletter to six pages next year. They also discussed the importance of legislative issues and how the assembly might become more involved through a liaison relationship with the Legislative Committee. A comparison of the clinical nurse specialist and nurse educator roles rounded out the discussion.
ORTHOPEDIC he Orthopedic Specialty Assembly announced T the creation of 10 education grants of $250 each. These grants will be awarded by random drawing to assembly members preregistered for the orthopedic conference to be held in Newport Beach, Calif, September 19 to 21, 1996. Further details will be 1027
AORN JOURNAL
JUNE 1996, VOL 63, NO 6 SPECIALTY ASSEMBLIES
RURAVSMALL HOSPITAL
announced in the next issue of the assembly’s newsletter.
its debut as AORN’s newest specialty 1\11 aking assembly, the Rural/Small Hospital Specialty
PEDIATRIC
Assembly held its first business meeting to introduce governing council members, to define members’ common needs and interests, and to discuss the challenges facing perioperative nurses practicing in small health care facilities. Many participants reported feeling “stigmatized” by sales representatives and nurses from large urban hospitals because of their facilities’ smaller purchasing powers and technical capabilities. Members stressed, however, that they perform the same types of surgical procedures, only in smaller numbers and with fewer resources. During this era of hospital downsizing, one participant observed that members might have something to teach their urban colleagues about making do with less. DEBORAH D. RENO MANAQINQ EDITOR NEWSLEITERS/BOOKS
o build interest in assembly membership among colleagues with related concerns, Pediatric Specialty Assembly members hope to collaborate with the Society of Pediatric Nurses on educational events and other activities next year. Governing council members also plan to work more closely with the Special Committee on International Issues to collect medical supplies, equipment, and educational materials for developing nations. In addition, assembly members indicated interest in creating a home page on the World Wide Web through AORN Online to help them exchange more timely information about practice issues such as cross-training and the use of unlicensed assistive personnel.
T
RN FIRST ASSISTANT
T
he new CRNFA recertification policy of the National Certification B0ard:Perioperative Nursing, Inc, was clarified for members attending the meeting. The revised guidelines provide two options for RN first assistants who were certified in 1995 or later: retesting or recertification with a minimum of 100 continuing education hours. All CRNFAs also must maintain their CNOR certifications through retesting or recertification.
BEVERLY P. GIORDANO RN, MS EDITOR AORN JOURNAL JENIFER F. WALKER MANAQINQ EDITOR AORN JOURNAL
Apply Quality Measures to End-of-Life Care An article in the January 1996 Medical Ethics Advisor suggests that in the same way the entire course of the childbirth experience has changed in the past 30 years, so too must the end-of-life experience undergo dramatic change. One way to change the end-of-life experience for patients, the article reports, is to apply quality measures to death outcomes. Some professionals already are involved in such projects. For example, one physician has initiated a two-year continuous quality improvement (CQI) project on death at three hospitals in Vermont and New Hampshire. The project, funded by the New Yorkbased Soros Foundation’s Project on Death in America and a grant from the National Cancer Institute in
Rockville, Md, has two primary goals: to understand how end-of-life care is delivered in various health care settings, and to develop a critical pathway for the delivery of care to dying patients in the New England region. “As long as our society thinks that dying attached to machines is the norm,” states a physician quoted in the article, “it will not change. Patients and caregivers have to mobilize and change how we die. Then hospitals will be rated for quality on how they care for dying patients.” .@ply quuliv measures to end-of-life cure, ’Medical Ethics Advisor 12 (January 1996) 5-6.
1028 AORN JOURNAL