Time flies … completing the circle - President's Message - AORN, Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses

AORN Journal, April, 2002 by Sheila L. Allen

In the style of Andy Rooney, I've learned ... that my year as President of AORN, like life, is similar to a roll of toilet paper (no disrespect intended)--the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes. (1) Mr Rooney has another comment that also holds tree, "I've learned ... that the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done." (2) To be certain, this has been a busy year, and with almost three months to go--remember, I am writing this in February--we still have work to do.

I began by asking for your help in connecting our world of perioperative nursing. As usual, you have exceeded my expectations. Members, Headquarters staff members, industry partners, and others have contributed stories of success, challenges, ideas, and dreams for the future. Together, we have written these messages, which I hope you have found helpful. This has been a difficult message to write, as it is my last one to you as President of this wonderful organization.

It has been an honor to represent you this year. I have felt your strength and passion for perioperative nursing, and they have provided me with a source of energy. I have been proud to serve with you. Although all the meetings, conferences, and occasions have been exciting, my fondest memories of the year will be of the times I spent with you, the members. You are my heroes. You are the reason AORN exists. I wish I could list the more than 40,000 names that deserve accolades, but space does not allow that option. To all, I am grateful for your dedication to perioperative patient care and nursing practice, for your generosity of spirit, and for your continued commitment to AORN.

YEAR IN REVIEW

We have been busy this year working to move this organization forward. In this message, I have the opportunity to reflect on the year, share some of our accomplishments, and whet your appetite to find out more at the 49th annual Congress this month in Anaheim, Calif.

As you know, our membership numbers fluctuate on a monthly basis. In January, they increased by 115 to 39,509. Included in this total are 398 associate members and 186 student members, which represents an increase in both numbers. Since July 1, 2001, AORN's membership number has decreased by only 197 members cumulatively, compared to almost 1,000 members lost during the same period one year ago. (3) Thanks to staff members and to all of you for these impressive figures and what they represent. By next year, if we each brought in only one new member, our numbers would be totally awesome.

Many member services have taken on a new look. AORN Online continues to change and offer different and helpful opportunities. The web services group, composed of Heather Sarbaugh, Arwa Hurley, Mark Pigg, and Bill Wasserman, is working with some of our web-savvy members to bring innovative ideas to life, such as "AORN at Work," "Meet the Candidates," and "Meet the Board," to name just a few. This group of bright, creative people no doubt will continue to amaze us with new ways to increase our knowledge.

AORN also recently launched the EZ-Pay payment plan for membership dues. This program allows new and renewing members to pay for their dues with a credit card and have the payment spread over three consecutive billing cycles. This feature is being promoted on AORN Online and has been incorporated into the online renewal and application forms. As of December, this feature has been included in all renewal notices.

PERIOPERATIVE NURSING DATA SET

The Perioperative Nursing Data Set (PNDS) has been recognized by Health Level Seven (HL7) as a registered terminology. The vocabulary technical committee registered the PNDS at a meeting in January after AORN submitted the required registration materials. The purpose of registration is to help stakeholders determine which terminologies should be used in HL7 messages and to facilitate terminology integration efforts in a manner consistent with the needs for HL7 messaging.

This places the PNDS in a position to be used to populate the domain of perioperative nursing practice in HL7's Reference Information Model. This significant achievement could not have occurred without John Hilliard, a programmer/analyst in the Information Technology department, who put the PNDS in an Access database format, and Suzanne Beyea, RN, PhD, AORN director of research.

Beyea also served as a reviewer for Rosalinda Alfaro-LeFevre's book Applying Nursing Process. (4) AORN's work related to nursing diagnoses and the PNDS is featured in a full-page table in this book. The second edition of the PNDS, which includes the latest update of the vocabulary, as well as numerous clinical applications of the language, has been edited by Susan V. M. Kleinbeck, RN, PhD, CNOR, and will be available at Congress.

A task force composed of Patricia Seifert, RN, MSN, CNOR, CRNFA, FAAN; Cecil King, RN, MS, CNOR; Jackie Berlandi, RN, MS, CNOR; Kathryn Schroeter, RN, MS, MA, CNOR; and AORN staff members Carol Petersen, RN, MAOM, CNOR, Mary Lopez, and Joyce Davis was established to review AORN's explications for perioperative nursing for congruency with the new American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. (5) The task force's review revealed that the new ANA code of ethics has several significant changes. For example, there are now nine provisions instead of 11, and some of the provisions have been revamped entirely.