Resolve to promote your practice in the New Year

AORN Journal, Jan, 2007 by Paula R. Graling

January is a time for celebrating the New Year and making New Year's resolutions. What are your resolutions? Are they the same old standbys--to exercise, lose weight, stop smoking, and visit your parents more often? This year, I would like to challenge you to do something a little more difficult--resolve to promote your profession or develop your practice.

Think about some of the issues I have talked about in my previous messages. Could you offer your services to AORN as an expert? Would you like to write an article for a newsletter or for the AORN Journal? Have you applied for clinical ladder advancement? How about volunteering to give a hospital inservice program or to be a chapter meeting speaker? Does your chapter need committee members or officers?

Resolutions are personal goals that come in all shapes and sizes. In Philadelphia, at the AORN multispecialty meeting, "Optimize Your Success," I had the opportunity to have dinner with members of the Leadership Specialty Assembly coordinating council. They gave me a valuable assessment regarding the Association's up-and-coming leaders. Today's young leaders are not necessarily looking for opportunities to be recognized on the podium and have their picture in the Journal with the mandatory two-year commitment on the Board of Directors. Young leaders in our workplaces are looking for opportunities to use their expertise to make a difference. Maybe an appropriate resolution for an aspiring new leader or member would be to review one recommended practice during the online comment period or to post one practice concern from his or her facility on MemberTalk. Maybe your resolution is as simple as attending one chapter activity this year or commenting on a discussion thread in a specialty assembly web portal,

PUBLIC RESOLUTIONS

Most resolutions are private and may only be shared with those closest to us. Some, however, may be shared with others, such as a performance goal shared with a supervisor, and it is the public resolutions for which we are most accountable. Another example of a public resolution is the pledge taken by the fellows of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) during their induction ceremony.

Last October, your Vice President, Charlotte Guglielmi, RN, BSN, CNOR, and I attended the convocation at the annual meeting of the ACS in Chicago. It was quite an event to see the officers, regents, honorary fellows, governors, and new fellows in their regalia for the grand procession. During the assembly, the initiates were presented for fellowship by the chair of the board of regents, and then the secretary led the entire group in a pledge:

      Recognizing that the
   American College of
   Surgeons seeks to exemplify
   and develop the highest traditions
   of our ancient profession, I
   hereby pledge myself, as a condition
   of Fellowship in the College, to live in
   strict accordance with the College's
   principles and regulations.
      I pledge to pursue the practice of
   surgery with honesty and to place the
   welfare and the rights of
   my patient above all else. I
   promise to deal with each
   patient as I would wish to
   be dealt with if I was in the
   patient's position and I will
   respect the patient's autonomy
   and individuality.
      I further pledge to affirm
   and support the social contract
   of the surgical profession
   with my community
   and society.
      I will take no part in
   any arrangement or
   improper financial dealings
   that induce referral,
   treatment, or withholding
   of treatment for reasons
   other than the patient's
   welfare.
      Upon my honor, I
   declare that I will advance
   my knowledge and skills,
   will respect my colleagues,
   and will seek their counsel
   when in doubt about my
   own abilities. In turn, I
   will willingly help my colleagues
   when requested.
      I recognize the interdependency
   of all healthcare
   professionals and will
   treat each with respect
   and consideration.
      Finally, by my Fellowship
   in the American
   College of Surgeons, I
   solemnly pledge to abide by
   the Code of Professional
   Conduct and cooperate in
   advancing the art and science
   of surgery. (1)

This pledge represents to me an example of a humbling resolution made by each of our surgeon colleagues who becomes a fellow of the ACS. As you read this Pre-Congress issue of the Journal, I ask you to resolve to become more involved in your profession and professional Association.

MY RESOLUTIONS

My resolutions for Congress are first, to provide you with quality education programs that will expand your mind and give you the tools you need to be successful. The Congress program planning committee has chosen timely topics that relate to modern initiatives and provide problem-solving techniques, practice resources, and benchmarking that you can take home and put to immediate use.

Second, I resolve to provide you with the opportunity to network with others. I am reminded each year that the beauty of Congress is the connectedness the meeting brings as we meet with old friends and rekindle the passion for our profession. The gathering of 7,000 of our closest friends somehow breeds the energy that allows us to stretch our minds' capacity for learning and enhances the interaction between more-seasoned professionals and those who are ready to be mentored.