2003 slate of candidates - Candidates

AORN Journal,  Jan, 2003  

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My examples of leadership within AORN include my current positions as chair of the National Committee on Education and chair of the Nurse Educator/Clinical Nurse Specialist Specialty Assembly. As a self-driven generation Xer, I ask for the opportunity to work with the Nominating Committee. I will develop a diverse ballot, and we will directly affect perioperative nursing.

THOMAS J. MACHESKI, RN, BSN, CNOR, is a staff nurse at Shands at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He earned his bachelor of science degree in nursing at University of Florida College of Nursing, Gainsville.

Macheski has been a perioperative nurse and a member of AORN for 13 years. He is chair of the Awards Committee (2002-present). He was a member of the Awards (2001-2002) and Nursing Practices (1999-2001) Committees.

He is a member of the Perioperative Nursing Informatics (1998-present) and the Nurses in Business, Industry & Consulting (2001-present) Specialty Assemblies.

Macheski is a member of AORN of North Central Florida, where he chairs the membership (1993-present) and seminar/education/program (1995-present) committees. He also is a member of the bylaws committee (1994-present). Macheski was president (1994-1995), president-elect (1993-1994), treasurer (1996-1998), and a member of the board (2001-2002). In addition, he was chair of the budget/ finance (1996-1998), ways and means (1996-1998), Project Alpha (1995-1996), bylaws (1993-1994), and newsletter (1993) committees. He also was a member of the newsletter committee (1995-1999).

He is a member of the Florida Council of periOperative Registered Nurses (1995-present) and Sigma Theta Tau (2000-present). Macheski attended Congress nine times in the past 10 years, eight times as a delegate, and once as an alternate.

Election statement. Certainly many issues face nursing in general and perioperative nursing in particular. The shortage is an international concern. We need perioperative nursing as part of the core curriculum in nursing schools. Reimbursement for our advanced practice colleagues is only one way to encourage retention and recruitment of new nurses. There always will be issues.

During seven years in the intensive care unit, no professional association took my interest. Within five months of coming to perioperative nursing, I joined AORN. Colleagues who taught me perioperative nursing challenged me to stretch and grow beyond my dreams. Many mentors encouraged my participation at chapter, state, national, and international levels of AORN, contributing to personal and professional growth. This is a debt that cannot be repayed; it only can be payed ahead by doing one's best to emulate one's teachers.

I am a candidate for the Nominating Committee to pay ahead on that debt, to foster the growth of our professional Association and our profession. This is another step on a journey that began nearly 30 years ago, and which took flight these past 15 years. By their actions, those who mentored me also taught me what to look for in a leader to guide our Association now and into the future.