2007 Congress education sessions: Sunday, March 11, to Thursday, March 15, 2007

AORN Journal,  Jan, 2007  

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Congress is the premier perioperative education program, and the 2007 Congress has outstanding peer-reviewed education programs that will be presented by top professionals. Attendees can earn valuable continuing education contact hours by attending education sessions on a wide variety of topics and by viewing Research/Evidence-Based Practice and Clinical Innovation/ Improvement posters. This article provides information on education opportunities offered at this year's Congress.

Education tracks are specified for each education session. The tracks identify the broad content area for each session. Most sessions have content that applies to more than one track. To help make your selections, review the description of each session. The following definitions are used to identify broad content areas.

[A]          Ambulatory
[C]          Clinical
[I]          Informatics
[IH]         Integrated health practices
[L/M]        Leadership/management
[L/MO]       Management with a focus on operations
[L/MWF]      Management with a focus on work force
[P]          Professional development/issues
[check]      Perioperative safety trends
[Ce]         Indicates that continuing
             education contact hours are
             available for this activity.

The letter (R) after a session number denotes a repeat session. You must attend 90% of an education session to earn the continuing education contact hours.

Specific sessions that qualify for AORN risk management credit are denoted by a +. Earning four continuing education contact hours of AORN risk management credit annually qualifies AORN members for a 10% insurance premium credit. For details, call the AORN-endorsed insurance administrator, Marsh Affinity Group Services, a service of Seabury and Smith, at (800) 503-9230.

Attendees can design the education program that best meets their needs to help improve perioperative patient outcomes. There are programs to help nurses improve their clinical skills as well as their leadership and management abilities. Again this year, programs specifically for perioperative nurses working in ambulatory settings will be held on Monday, with sessions during each concurrent time period, and programs specifically for student nurses and faculty members will be held on Wednesday.

The number of continuing education contact hours you can earn at Congress will depend on your program selection. Individuals who attend the AORN Ambulatory Surgery Program or the Leadership Program from 8 AM to 4:30 PM on Monday will earn 6 continuing education contact hours. Individuals who attend two sessions from the AORN Management Program on Tuesday and Wednesday can earn an additional 3 continuing education contact hours each day. Individuals who attend the Faculty Program on Wednesday can earn an additional 3 continuing education contact hours. Nondelegates who attend traditional education sessions can earn 18.6 continuing education contact hours, and delegates who attend traditional education sessions can earn 12.6 continuing education contact hours. Delegates will be notified of the number of continuing education contact hours, if any, that will be available for attending the Forums and House of Delegates sessions.

Contact hours also may be earned for viewing posters. You will have the opportunity to review Research/Evidence-Based Practice and Clinical Improvement/Innovation posters from 7 AM to 5 PM, Sunday through Wednesday and 7 AM to noon on Thursday. The number of posters of each type and the contact hours available for reviewing them will be determined by Feb 1.

NEW THIS YEAR. As of Jan 1, 2007, continuing education contact hours are calculated based on 60 minutes (ie, 60 minutes = 1 continuing education contact hour). This change occurred as a result of a criterion change by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, the body that accredits AORN to provide continuing nursing education.

This year, 1,500 attendees will have the opportunity to respond to questions directed at the audience during three sessions that will be presented in the General Session room. An aggregate of the 1,500 participants' responses will be displayed on large screens in the room. Visit the AORN web site at http://www.aorn.org/Congress/ 2007/attendees/program.asp to review the Hot Topics and to find the most up-to-date information on Congress education sessions.

PRE-CONGRESS SESSIONS

Pre-Congress education sessions will be held on Saturday, March 10, in the Orange County Convention Center. Pre-Congress sessions are in-depth programs that will provide you with tools and skills that you can implement immediately. Attendees can earn from 3 to 7.5 continuing education contact hours (le, based on 60 minutes = 1 continuing education contact hour) by attending Pre-Congress sessions. Individuals can attend full-day sessions on topics including workplace safety, recruitment and retention tips for managers, and procedural sedation. Half-day sessions are available on topics such as writing for publication, improving your supply chain process management, and evaluating learning styles and techniques to improve your effectiveness as an educator. Whether you are employed in a hospital, an ambulatory surgery center, or a physician's office, you will find information that you need. Registration for Pre-Congress will not be processed if session selection has not been completed.