I was very pleased to find that I could represent the Chapter as a delegate, even though I was new eChapter. I have attended many AORN Congress’ since I became a member in the 1970’s, but this year was special in many ways: meeting many members of eChapter at the luncheon and at the fundraising booth, being a delegate and participating in the Forums and House of Delegates, and receiving my 30 year CNOR pin (has it really been that long since the first exam?).
This year, I was able to connect with other nurses with practice questions about Magnet application and implementing the safe Surgery Surgery Saves Lives (WHO) project, mainly because I was with eChapter members who were willing to share their experiences. The fund raising booth was a great place and time to have these conversations!
Two of the best sessions I attended were The New Magnet Model and Your Perioperative Practice and “NOTES”-The Next Generation of Minimally Invasive Surgery. I was particularly interested in these topics, as I work for a large hospital system that is working toward Magnet status for all of its hospitals and we are doing more and more minimally invasive surgery even in our smaller hospitals.
Thank you for the opportunity to meet so many new eChapter members and my special thanks to Marie Johnson for guiding me through the delegate expectations and experiences. Hope to meet many more members next year!