If you’ve ever thought about being able to split yourself into two people attending AORN Congress is one of those times it would really be helpful! There are so many events, things to see, information to obtain and let’s not forget all the people that you meet and need to have time to socialize with.
Due to budget constraints in my previous positions as Surgical Services Director this is the first time I have been able to attend Congress in about 14 years so needless to say I was very excited to be able to experience it again. On Sunday I begun the day by attending the Candidates’ Forum; our president, Patrick Voight did a spectacular job welcoming everyone and presenting this year’s candidates.
I loved the display of posters…so very different from the last Congress I attended - they were hand-made on poster board then. You could almost see the passion and love that our nurses poured into them. No less now I’m sure, but the professional posters seem a little less personal.
I attended the Fire Safety presentation by Dennis Parker & Scott Aronson. Since I’ve been doing some research on this topic for a Fire Safety Toolkit I was familiar with Douglas Parker’s story but I was not prepared for the very moving account of the events that led to his death by his own father. Once we personalize events like this it is impossible to not want to make changes in our own practices to help prevent another family from having to deal with such tragedy. I would rate this presentation as one of the very best I have ever attended.
I have to admit my favorite part of Congress was Dr. Atul Gawande’s discussion on the surgical checklist. This too is a topic I had been researching so being familiar with Dr. Gawande’s efforts only added to the shear magnificence of hearing his personal accounts and the successes he and his team experienced with the checklist.
I cannot leave out the Forums or experiencing the House of Delegates. This was my first experience as a delegate and it did not disappoint me in providing a thrilling perspective of how it must be to participate on a national level in our own US Congress. It is such an honor to represent surgical nurses unable to attend and by being part of such an amazing organization is such a humbling experience. I think many of us take AORN for granted until we are able to see the power & influence that our organization has as a whole to keep the interests of our patients in the forefront along with providing safe practice standards for all Perioperative nurses. Many thanks for the opportunity to serve as an eChapter delegate.
Sandra