Gaining a global view of perioperative nursing

AORN Journal,  August, 2005  by Sharon A. McNamara

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Since being elected President of AORN, I have become a transumer--a global, mobile, in-transit person. Representing AORN's members as President means jetting around the globe. My most recent travels took me to Montreal for the Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada's annual meeting. Then I flew to Washington, DC, for Nursing Spectrum magazine's advisory board meeting where the American Organization of Nurse Executives announced that at their recent national meeting, they supported the bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree for entry into practice. I was proud to report that our visionary and forward-thinking members had supported the BSN degree for entry into practice when they adopted the updated "AORN position statement on entry into practice" at the House of Delegates in New Orleans in April. Once again, AORN is at the forefront of the nursing profession.

INTERNATIONAL VOICES

I currently am writing to you from Taipei, Taiwan, where I am attending the seventh International Regulation Conference and the International Council of Nurses Quadrennial Congress 2005. There are 104 countries represented here, and networking has been extremely energizing. The plenary sessions address many common and diverse international issues related to globalization and regulation and their effects on global nursing and the world community. Presentations on adjusting to national needs, scope of practice, standards, control of nurses' entry into and exit from countries, and the challenge of how to regulate without creating perverse effects are enlightening.

Listening to practitioners from developing countries speak about barriers to their ability to practice nursing and provide quality care for their patients highlights for me how fortunate we are in the United States to be able to participate in a professional organization like AORN. We have the ability to take control of our profession and our practice. Together we can address behavior issues and horizontal violence in our practice areas. Many of our colleagues around the world, however, are trapped in dangerous situations where they literally are held hostage and abused emotionally and physically. These countries look to the International Council of Nurses for the very things that AORN provides perioperative practitioners: resources to facilitate self-regulation and standard and competency development to support the care nurses provide within a safe environment.

INTERNATIONAL ORs

I also had the pleasure of visiting Taipei University Hospital. The OR suite here is an eight-room unit, and a new building that will include 14 ORs is under construction. The opportunity to tour various areas of the hospital, including a department that practices traditional Chinese medicine, engendered in me a new appreciation for alternatives to traditional medicine. I was invited to observe acupuncture and herbal treatments and experienced a cupping treatment. I also visited a Chinese pharmacy, a unit that is very different from the traditional pharmacy model. The odor of herbs was immediately comforting.

This very progressive facility has a chief executive officer who is a general surgeon and who understands the value of nursing to his patients and his organization. We, had a dynamic discussion about patient safety in his office before the tour. The last two hours of my time at the hospital were spent with a group of nurses who had brought a list of concerns with them for us to discuss. Patient safety was a top priority, along with staffing challenges and the social status and autonomy of nurses.

Staff members at AORN's industry partner, Tyco Taiwan, arranged a wonderful dinner so I could meet OR directors and managers from around Taipei. There was lively discussion on the perioperative nursing profession, practice issues, and patient care concerns. It was energizing to problem solve with nurses from halfway across the world who share the same passion for perioperative nursing as AORN members.

NURSING IN CHINA

Before I was in Taipei, I visited Beijing. I was invited to be the keynote speaker at the first international conference of the Chinese Operating Room Nurses Organization. When I accepted the invitation, they were so pleased that they made me the honorary chairperson of the conference. I hope every AORN member understands that the honor these nurses bestowed on the President of AORN is reflective of the great respect and admiration they have for each of you who participates in setting the standards for our profession, which makes AORN the premier organization that it is around the world. I was treated as a honored guest throughout my stay.

Our industry partners from Tyco and Johnson & Johnson China helped the Chinese nurses make me feel welcome and arranged for translators. The theme of the conference was Quality: An Eternal Topic. Sessions examined the rapid development of science and technology, how nursing care can meet the needs of patients of all ages, nursing management, patient safety, and management of nursing human resources. During the opening session, I was seated on the podium with Master Huang Renjian and Madame Lin, two respected elders in Chinese perioperative nursing. When Madame Lin was introduced, she handed me a copy of her Chinese greeting written in perfect English so I could understand her words. I was very moved that she would go to such lengths to make me feel welcome and included. I will treasure that communication. It was easy to see why she is so respected and loved.