AORN multispecialty conference and Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association hold joint conference in Nashville

AORN Journal, Jan, 2001 by Brenda S. Gregory Dawes

Thursday, Sept 14, to Saturday, Sept 16, 2000

Approximately 450 attendees participated in the AORN multispecialty conference and Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association (FASA) meeting in Nashville, Sept 14 to 16, 2000. Participants attended business meetings and education sessions that focused on ambulatory care, leadership, nurse educator/clinical nurse specialist, and perioperative informatics.

BUSINESS MEETINGS

The business meetings of four specialty assemblies were conducted Sept 14. Meeting details also can be found on specialty assembly web pages, which can be accessed through http://www.aorn.org.

Ambulatory Specialty Assembly. Chair Beverly Kirchner, RN, BSN, CNOR, presided at the business meeting. It was announced that release of the final rule for ambulatory payment classifications (APCs) was expected in November 2000. Ramona Conner, RN, MSN, AORN perioperative nurse specialist, reported that the updated edition of Ambulatory Surgery Principles and Practices would be available at AORN's 2001 Congress. The governing council submitted a recommendation to the AORN Board of Directors to expand the recommended practices in AORN's Standards, Recommended Practices, and Guidelines to encompass preoperative and postoperative guidelines. Veronica Rose, RN, CNOR, reported that the membership committee designed a welcome letter that will be sent to new or rejoining members. Sonia K. Bamess, RN, BS, CNOR, governing council member, will help coordinate posting revised specialty assembly guidelines and other information on the assembly's web page. Conference participants were asked to complete needs assessment surveys to help develop session topics for the 2001 Specialty Conference.

Leadership Specialty Assembly. Vice chair Nathalie Walker, RN, CNOR, conducted the specialty assembly's business meeting. Past and current Board liaisons were recognized. Jan Mauck, RN, BSN, MS, CNOR reported that the 360-degree tool is being evaluated, and responses are being ranked so users of the tool will receive reliable feedback. Volunteers were requested to provide feedback on the value of the tool. Other activities discussed included the transition of SSM and SSM Online, Governance Task Force activities, and solicitation of candidates for national office. Walker also recognized that recruitment and retention will be a common theme of the assembly's newsletters this year in light of the nursing shortage.

Nurse Educator/Clinical Nurse Specialist Specialty Assembly. Chair Pamela Utz, RN, BSN, CNOR, conducted the business meeting. Pat Hickey, RN, BSN, MS, CNOR, announced that a student nurse brochure will be designed to provide an overview of perioperative nursing and roles in the OR. Hickey and Julie Mower, RN, MSN, CNS, CNOR, have developed a draft of the templates and pathways for orientation. The templates and pathways are intended to portray student nurse to perioperative nurse and novice to perioperative nurse transitions and experienced nurse scenarios. Governing council members reported on other activities, including updating the assembly's web page to include a list of AORN Journal articles that pertain to education and promoting the Perioperative Nursing Data Set. Hickey also reviewed the election process for the governing council.

Perioperative Nursing Informatics Specialty Assembly. Chair Jan Lee Kwai, RN, MSN, CNOR, C, led members in a discussion regarding the activities of the specialty assembly. Governing council members shared their experiences from a nursing informatics education program they attended. They discussed possible topics for future education sessions, as well as their expectations of and traffic for an assembly web page. The governing council plans to establish a new member directory. Strategies to test effective e-mail and fax transmissions also were discussed.

PRECONFERENCE EDUCATION SESSION

Thomas Verghese, PhD, and Bonnie L. Barndt-Maglio, RN, PhD, presented a full-day session titled "Essential Skills for Surgical Services Managers." The session provided basic skills for learning how to read, understand, and use financial statements for analysis of profitability, liquidity, and efficiency. Participants were introduced to financial statements, balance sheet formats, asset valuation principles, and cash or accrual accounting systems. Financial terms used to communicate with others about financial status were reviewed. Dr Barndt-Maglio compared strategic management and financial management, focusing on the benefits of future planning.

Speakers reviewed assessing and developing a financial plan, including key financial indicators, definitions of growth rate assets, and debt policy. The need for shifting from organizational thinking to system thinking and various types of integrated delivery systems (ie, mergers, consolidations, alliances) were identified. In addition, the speakers discussed barriers to integrating systems, such as overemphasis on acute care, entrepreneurial interests, lack of incentives, and lack of methodology criteria. Key characteristics of integration and practical examples for measuring value-added services were emphasized.