AORN Headquarters hosts the 2000 Rural/Small Hospital Education Conference - Association of periOperative Nurses

AORN Journal, Nov, 2000 by Bonnie G. Denholm, Deb Warren

Friday, Aug 25, to Saturday, Aug 26, 2000

AORN Headquarters in Denver was the setting for the 2000 Rural/Small Hospital Specialty Assembly Conference, Aug 25 to 26, 2000. Participants enjoyed visiting Headquarters and attending enlightening, interactive, and motivating education sessions.

BUSINESS MEETING

Rural/Small Hospital Specialty Assembly Chair Kari L. Eiben, RN, presided at the business meeting, Aug 26. After the minutes of the assembly's business meeting at the 2000 Congress were reviewed, it was announced that several new projects are being explored due to the increase in membership and the positive bottom line at the end of the fiscal year. It was announced that the governing council has developed a task force to develop criteria for awarding funds for an assembly member to attend Congress or a future AORN educational event.

Governing council member Terri Bates, RN, announced plans to form a subcommittee to coordinate focus groups. The focus groups would involve a six-month commitment from participants and would provide a taste of the assembly's activities. Focus group members would review articles or research studies and present their opinions as to how the information relates to their own settings. Bates asked attendees to submit a willingness-to-serve form to become involved in the focus groups. The form is available at AORN's web site and in the assembly's directory.

The governing council plans to be very active between now and the next meeting at the 2001 Congress in Dallas. Members are encouraged to visit the Rural/Small Hospital Specialty Assembly web page at http://www.aorn.org/groups/SA/rural.htm for updates on the assembly's activities.

EDUCATION SESSIONS

This conference featured several education sessions geared to nurses in rural and small hospital settings. The six sessions are highlighted here.

Purchasing Power in the Rural and Small Hospital World: How to Get More Bang for Your Buck. In this interactive session, Rose Moss, RN, MN, CNOR, consultant for Opportunity, AORN Employment and Consultation Services, and Nancy J. Mutz, RN, MHS, CNOR, acting perioperative services manager at Kaiser Permanente, Denver, discussed the budgeting process and its limitations in the rural/small hospital setting.

"If you think smaller places have less bureaucracy, you're wrong," said Mutz. With the challenges that come from working at smaller hospitals (eg, required minimum orders when only one item is needed, lack of up-to-date equipment), budgeting is a quantifying expression of management's plans and organizational goals, she said.

Moss said the bottom line of successful budgeting is being efficient in the OR--nurses in small hospitals must know who they serve and what services they provide. Moss reminded attendees, however, that these variables change year by year.

Patient Information Via the Internet: Do Your Patients Know What They re Getting? AORN director of publications, Warren Kolber, gave an enlightening presentation about health care information available on the Internet. Kolber said there are more than 98 million Americans seeking health care information on the Internet--70% of whom do so before seeing a physician.

Based on his review of many health care web sites, Kolber informed attendees that the most credible web sites are those that document the sources of their information. Kolber urged attendees, however, to not rely on any one web site, no matter how reliable it appears.

Kolber said, "There is no patient education going on from the Internet, only information." Despite the prevalence of health care web sites, Kolber advised attendees to continue offering patients face-to-face education and maintain communication.

Perspectives on Competency Assessment. Mary A. O'Neale, RN, MN, CNOR, director of certification for the Certification Board Perioperative Nursing, told attendees about the importance of certification, saying, "Credentials give competence and confidence to a title, and credentialing promotes life-long learning.

Part of the presentation included a history of nursing certification. O'Neale said in 1979, 686 RNs passed the first certified perioperative nurse (ie, CNOR) examination, and in 1993, 140 RNs passed the first certified RN first assistant (CRNFA) examination. Today, there are approximately 30,000 CNORs and 1,100 CRNFAs in practice. O'Neale highlighted the content and criteria for the examinations and outlined the certification process. She encouraged all nurses to become certified because the public looks to the certified professional for competent care and information.

Essential Elements of Documentation to Decrease Your Malpractice Exposure. Patty Hutchings Hall, RN, BSN, and Julie Altmix, RN, BSN, risk managers for the University of Colorado Hospital and University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, presented an education session about the current legal health care climate and the standards of care for known surgical risks. Hutchings Hall said that documentation always is better than memory when it comes to defending one's self against a malpractice claim. Hall advised attendees to always ask themselves, "Does my documentation tell the real story?"