Be a part of the process of establishing standards

AORN Journal,  Jan, 2006  by Sharon A. McNamara

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Purchasing an AORN membership buys you far more than a plastic card and the AORN Journal. Your membership puts you in the driver's seat of the profession of perioperative nursing. Are there processes or issues in your workplace that concern or frustrate you? Do you need resources, information, or people to help you change practice or implement patient and staff member safety measures? Then you have come to the right place. AORN is for and about you, the perioperative nurse.

PRACTICE ISSUES

Each year, the AORN President assesses the issues at the forefront of perioperative nursing. Through a review of completed willingness-to-serve forms, the President then identifies members with the expertise to address these issues and appoints them to committees or task forces that are assigned specific charges in respect to the issues. These members are volunteers--staff nurses, RN first assistants, advanced practice nurses, educators, managers, industry nurses, and retired nurses--who give their time to improve outcomes for their colleagues and patients. This year 265 members have worked diligently with the AORN staff to represent you through their work on our committees and task forces. The work of the committees and task forces for the year culminates in the proceedings at the Forums and House of Delegates sessions at the AORN Congress.

This issue of the AORN Journal brings you the practice issues of the profession of perioperative nursing. There are 11 position statements (10 are printed in this issue of the Journal. See page 108) and recommendations for Bylaws changes from the Members at Large (MAL) Task Force and the Specialty Assembly Futures Task Force for your consideration. These are major issues, and you must make important decisions as to how AORN will proceed toward the future.

BE PART OF THE PROCESS

As a member, you are represented in the Association by colleagues who have been chosen by your chapter to serve in the House of Delegates, but your part in this process is very important as well. The committees and task forces have completed the work being brought to the House of Delegates, and you must read and comment on their work. Let your delegates know if you agree with AORN's positions. Have we overlooked important factors? Is there a better method? Do you have evidence to support or defeat the motions? Will the work support you every day in your practice?

It is your right and your duty as a perioperative nursing professional to take part in the process. I hope members will view the Blue Sky education vignettes available via a link on the AORN web site at http://www.aorn.org and discuss them at chapter meetings before Congress. This is one way to get you on the bus to active participation in the AORN professional practice tour.

Your colleagues have spent a lot of time and energy researching the evidence, writing position and guidance statements, and contributing tools to assist you in providing expert, safe, quality patient care. Join them in the discussion and deliberation in Washington, DC.

VOICE YOUR OPINION

I receive many chapter newsletters every month and I so enjoy reading about all of the activities that are going on in our chapters at the grassroots level. This month, I read the "Editor's Corner" by Diane Mathews in the Evergreen Circulator. She wrote about respect for others' opinions and the value of free speech in our country. I think Diane stated this very clearly.

   I recognize that our opinions
   are dependent on our
   experiences, education,
   morals, and a million other
   variables. Unless two persons
   have the exact same
   set of variables, their opinions
   are going to differ.
   When I express myself, it's
   the product of "Lift,
   According to Me." And
   that's OK--we all live in
   our own version of life.
   Others possess opinions
   that are a valid product of
   "Life According to Them."
   Effective communication
   means that I understand
   that their opinion is based
   on their own set of life
   experiences. Effective communication
   means that I
   don't have to change their
   opinion to match mine--theirs
   is as valid as mine. I
   might give them new information
   or share life experiences,
   trying to change
   their variables and therefore
   their opinion. This
   could be called persuasion
   and some are better at it
   than others. This sharing
   of information to change a
   person's valid opinion
   might not be necessary if
   we're talking about the
   opinion of wearing socks
   with sandals, but if the
   venue is a busy OR and
   the issue is patient care, it's
   essential. But remember
   that another's opinion is as
   valid as yours until you
   company the information
   that led to the opinion.
   Listen and learn to persuade
   effectively. (1)(p8)

When I think of the energy in the House of Delegates each year that allows us to shape our profession I am awed. We are free to express our opinions and be respectful of each other's diversity in thought. The variety and diversity of opinion and thought in our membership coupled with AORN's governance process is what has made AORN a premier Association, respected around the world. Be active. You are free to state your opinion at any microphone on the House of Delegates' floor. Your opinion and your voice matter.