A Message from the 1999-2000 AORN President

AORN Journal, March, 2000 by Patricia C. Seifert

Dear Colleagues,

We know you will enjoy this Anniversary Supplement, which includes current descriptions of Perioperative Nursing Contributions to Patient Care by your colleagues, clinical exemplars highlighted at our 1999 Leadership Conference, and descriptions of and wishes for the future from 1991 AORN Congress attendees.

The Perioperative Nursing Contributions to Patient Care illustrate the variety and creativity of perioperative nurses in designing educational programs, mentoring future leaders, helping patients and family members cope with the surgical experience, creating new clinical programs, and articulating the perioperative nursing role through publishing, public awareness, and political activity. When the 50th Anniversary Task Force began preparing for our 2000 Congress, our primary goals were to encourage involvement and participation by members and reinforce pride in the profession through the patient care that perioperative nurses provide. This supplement achieves these goals by serving as a showcase for your contributions and the value you bring to patient care.

The clinical narratives from the 1999 Leadership Conference exemplify specific nursing interventions that make a difference to patient outcomes. The heart and soul of perioperative nursing is reflected in these stories, and they demonstrate our conviction that every patient needs and deserves a perioperative nurse. By commemorating your accomplishments, these exemplars also serve to encourage us to scrutinize our practice, embrace new experiences, and increase our knowledge.

Many of the predictions in the Time Capsule letters written by 1991 Congress attendees to 2000 Congress attendees are amazingly accurate and attest to your insight into the changing health care scene. We have redefined perioperative nursing roles and invigorated existing roles to reflect new opportunities. We have made the transition to ambulatory care--with all its implications for patients' learning and clinical needs--more smoothly and efficiently than many could have imagined. We have incorporated minimally invasive technology into our daily practice and devised new and exciting ways to participate in these surgical advances.

As we embrace a new century, let us envision our past accomplishments as prologue to the preferred future we wish to achieve. Colleagues, I congratulate you.

Patricia C. Seifert
RN, MSN, CNOR, CRNFA
AORN President