With 60+ delegates, the eChapter brings that diversity and internationality to the House of Delegates. One such delegate is Stephen Born. Stephen first joined AORN in 1992. He said that he let his membership lapse because being Australian, he felt he had no voice in the Association. When he learned of eChapter, he rejoined. When the call went out for delegates, Stephen responded, and said, "not only did they get back to me, but straightaway. eChapter has given me a voice in the Association."
One of the charges of the chapter was to endow an academic scholarship that will be managed by the AORN Foundation. When the idea was put out on our electronic forum, there was a lively virtual discussion. The USA contingent had a preconceived idea that anyone seeking education should have to be attending an NLN accredited program. Our international chapter president Robyn Austin, Canada, and other international members corrected the thinking, and now any eChapter member is eligible to apply. The requirements are no longer USA specific. In her Congress address, Robyn said, "We are truly an international chapter and I hope we reflect to all AORN members that we think and act globally to support perioperative nurses worldwide."
In another attempt to help our worldwide membership, eChapter has established eGrants. This program is designed to provide grant money to eChapter members seeking to further their professional development through continuing education.
An interesting alliance was forged as a result of eChapter. UTA assistant professor and eChapter member Dr Joy Don Baker (always looking for experiences for her students) was approached by Stephen with the idea of a mentor program. He would mentor a nursing administration masters student via the Internet. This could never have happened without eChapter.
As a member of the eChapter Board of Directors this past year, it has been a privilege to serve with such a strong and caring group. Our monthly board meetings (by phone conference with reports submitted electronically) have been filled with lively discussion, even by our members who are either up very early or very late because of their time zone. We even had a timetable with our instructions and agendas that reminded us of what time the meeting would take place in each time zone, so we couldn't say we missed it because we couldn't figure out what time it was in Vancouver (BC).
The eChapter is probably more appreciative of Congress than most any other chapter. For us it is our only real opportunity to meet the people behind the voices and emails that we interact with so regularly. Our chapter fund raising table is the only fund raiser that we physically conduct, and that table serves as an oasis for the group to meet and get to know those from all around the world. If you missed it this year, be sure to stop by in Chicago.