eChapter’s booth, which I thought was nicely positioned, was a great place to ‘hang out’ and meet other members of eChapter.  In my opinion, not having items for sale did not deter folks from stopping by to say hi and network.  Speaking of networking, AORN Congress is definitely a great place to do this.  It was great to attend the RNFA and Advanced Practice Specialty assembly meetings.  There was much discussion about the role of advanced practice nurses in the perioperative setting in both meetings.  A new position statement for RNFAs was passed by the House of Delegates.

Significant  amendments to the AORN Bylaws were also passed.  One amendment will now allow all members to vote on national candidates, regardless of whether or not they attend AORN Congress.  Another amendment that passed will allow all members present at Congress to vote on the business of the Association.  Discussions at the Forums and the House of Delegates were primarily focused on how these bylaws amendments would affect Congress, our local chapters, and how they would be implemented.   Prior to the first House of Delegates, there was a very informative AORN Bylaws Q & A insert in the Sunday edition of the Congress News that included answers to the questions the Bylaws Committee received during the two webinars they presented prior to Congress. 

There were many nice things at the AORN Foundation’s Silent Auction and there were many attendees ‘hanging out’ just prior to the bids closing to ensure they were the last bidders!  One of my favorite fundraising items to purchase this year was the beautiful AORN of Denver Chapter pin.  I will certainly wear mine frequently.  The AORN Bookstore had several wonderful publications and other great AORN  logo products as usual.  Enough about shopping.

Education sessions were very good and since there were several that were offered at the same time rather than having pick and choose,  I purchased the entire DVD set of all of the sessions.  It hasn’t arrived yet but I am really looking forward to listening to some of the sessions I missed.  All of the general sessions were very good updates on some aspect of healthcare reform and patient safety.  Dr. Atul Gwande’s session on checklists was one of my favorites and by the looks of the long lines to have him sign his new book “The Checklist Manifesto”, I would venture to guess others enjoyed it as well.

It was great to see all of the eChapter Delegates at our breakfast meeting this year.  Congratulations to eChapter’s Cynthia Spry, this year’s recipient of the Jerry G. Peers Distinguished Service Award, and to Ruth Shumaker, recipient of the Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing.  Serving as a delegate for eChapter is both fun and an honor so please, consider do so next year – you will really enjoy the experience!