My First Blog

Getting ready for Congress as an official Blogger…this is my first blog so it is truly “a test run”.  Can’t wait to get to Denver and the official start of Congress 2010!

Welcome to Congress 2010!

The 2010 AORN Congress is quickly approaching. During the week of March 13-18, Denver, Colorado, will be buzzing with perioperative professionals from across the globe as they gather to participate in educational sessions, network with colleagues, explore the Exhibit Hall floor, and earn valuable CE credits.

Congress News has added some new features this year to provide attendees and those at home with more ways to access the latest information during the week of Congress. Congress News Online will offer slideshows featuring pictures from Congress, pdf copies of the Congress News print edition, and more. Stories posted on Congress News Online also will be available via RSS (Real Simple Syndication) and a link to subscribe to this feed will be available on the Congress News Online homepage. For more information about RSS and how to use it, check out the Tapping into Technology column in the March issue of the Journal, or the pre-Congress brief on Congress News Online.

Additionally, AORN will be using Twitter during the week of Congress. The AORN Twitter feeds can be viewed in several ways. You can view the latest tweets on the right side of your screen while in the Congress Voices blog, or if you have a Twitter account, you can subscribe to the feed and view it in your feed reader of choice. The Twitter icon will be available on the Congress News Online homepage for ease of subscription as well. RSS feeds from Congress News will also be available through Twitter.

AORN is embracing technology and reaching out to the perioperative community to provide the latest information and educational resources in a format that is timely and easily accessible.

The 2010 AORN Congress is one conference you don’t want to miss. Can’t wait to see you there!!

-Congress News Team

Post Congress

The week is over and done and it just flew by so fast! This was my 34th Congress and they are always uplifting!

“Reaching the Peak of Perioperative Practice: Safety, Quality, & Collaboration”

The closing celebration signaled the end of yet another exhilarating AORN Congress.  President Voight shared the theme, Reaching the Peak of Perioperative Practice: Safety, Quality, and Collaboration, for the 2010 Congress in Denver.  In preparation for another successful year, President Voight discussed the concepts of integrity, competence, information technology, health care reform, outcome-based learning, and perioperative outcomes.  These concepts are paramount to our success as a viable organization.  Now that the business part of the trip is over, it’s time to relax and enjoy the sights of the Windy City.  See you next year in Denver!

Michael Burnett, RN, MSA, BSN, CNOR

Congress out of the Box

What educational sessions do you attend at Congress?  Did you go to the sessions that presented topics you were familiar with?  The  possibility exists that you may pick up some new tips but why not think out of the  box?  Your challenge should be to attend a session or session(s) highlighting topics you know  little  or nothing about.  You increase your knowledge and will be able to take new info back to your workplace.  Congress has been great.  Hope all had a great time and  learned a lot.

By the way lets give AORN new ideas for the big general party for the 2010 Congress.  Looks as though they may need some help.

gwillia5

March madness at AORN

It was a great week of “madness” for learning and meeting everyone attending the AORN activities. A big thank you to all and I want to wish everyone a safe return. It was great seeing and meeting old and new friends throughout the world.

Ruth Hommertzheim

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita KS

Connect?!

Please excuse the appearance, three others and I were unable to figure out single spacing.

It’s his third year at AORN,

He must be good, he’s here again.

He has us clapping and dancing about,

But I didn’t learn anything, I feel so left out.

I don’t need to yell, to affirm my thoughts,

My convictions and beliefs are self taught.

I get it, he wants to be the keynote speaker,

I’d rather been force fed cornmeal, yellow polenta.

(South Boston pronounciation=speakah and polentah).

I did interact, I did connect,

But leaving with a purpose, I do object.

Don’t get me wrong, he lightens our load,

OK for ten minutes, any more and I want to explode.

Believe me I know, I’m in the minority,

But worthy of AORN, I must disagree.

Humor is great, we should lighten up,

But surely we scored the runner-up.

We’re educated people, we need a speaker who

Will push our limits, tests our brains and not leave with our revenue.

bostonbloggah

Faculty Program

Colleagues,

Having transitioned from perioperative management to nursing education in October 2008, I consider myself a novice as it relates to my role as faculty member.  I had the privilege of attending the Faculty Program today.  I found both the morning and afternoon sessions very educational, blending practicality with innovation to identify how academic institutions and perioperative patient care settings should form partnerships to education nursing students.  The presenters were enthusiastic and passionate about the role as nurse educators.  They provided lots of resources for the conference attendees and were extremely approachable after the lectures.  Kudos to all those involved, particularly Dr. Baker, Dr. Langston, Dr. Rothrock, and Patricia Seifert.

Michael Burnett, RN, MSA, BSN, CNOR

Stop to smell the roses!

Colleagues,

Congress week is fun-filled, informative, and exhausting.  One of the primary reasons for attending Congress is to re-energize, reinvigorate, and renew our passion for perioperative nursing.  With that in mind, the hustle and bustle of Congress precipitates many attendees to leave the conference feeling as if they need a vacation to recover from the busy week.

As a veteran attendee of AORN Congress, I can’t reiterate enough the need to take time to “stop and smell the roses” by partaking in some of the many fun and leisure activities that are offered at Congress.  There is nothing more disappointing to me than spending a week at a conference without having had the ability to explore the city and many sites that it has to offer.  Have you tried a true Chicago-style pizza or hot dog?  Were you able to take a stroll down Michigan Avenue to do a little shopping?  Have you been able to attend any of the AORN special events?  Taste of Chicago, which is sponsored by industry representatives, is scheduled from 8:00pm to 11:30pm this evening.  Will we see you there?

Michael Burnett, RN, MSA, BSN, CNOR

Critical Success Factors Improving Patient Safety In My OR

AnthonyDawson, VP Quality and Patient Safety, was a dynamic speaker that presented several actual patient poor outcomes due to system failures for each of the National Patient Safety Goals. He correlated that 80% of medical errors are system related and often multiple systems of errors happen similar to swiss cheese, symbolizing that errors with holes happened along the way to all the way to the patient including several “handoffs”. The motto of the session was “we put the patient first” and reviewed both TJC and the NYSSIP recommendations. 

RuthHommertzheim RN, MSN, ARNP, CNOR

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita KS