Perioperative Time Capsule - Brief Article

AORN Journal, Dec, 2000

40 YEARS AGO IN OR NURSING

The November/December issue of OR Nursing announces the price of a double bedroom per night at Congress hotels in San Francisco ranges from $6 to $27. * A stereotactic surgical technique that provides greater precision in reaching a specific target area of the brain is introduced at Missouri Baptist Hospital, St Louis, for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. * In "Presidential Views," AORN President Ethel West, RN, says AORN should assist in defining the role of the surgical technician. * Participants at a nursing conference in Washington, DC, Nov 11 to 12, 1960, are urged to investigate whether their hospitals provide professional liability policies for nurses, as nurses are beginning to be sued more frequently.

30 YEARS AGO IN THE AORN JOURNAL

According to "News in ORbit," the safest country in the world to have a child is Sweden, and Chile has the worst birth record. * The discovery that x-ray cassettes can be sterilized with gas is reported in one article. * In "As I See It," the largest RN attendance at an AORN Congress is reported for the 17th annual Congress in Anaheim, Calif. * One article, titled "Wanted: TLC for the middle-aged," notes that mention of middle-aged people in nursing texts does not occur often. The article notes that people of middle age should be enjoying life, and yet middle age often is a time of physical changes and psychological and economic stresses.

20 YEARS AGO IN THE AORN JOURNAL

In "OR Nursing Law," a reader asks whether the hospital or nurse be can sued if a nurse is unaware that he or she carries the hepatitis virus and inadvertently passes it to a patient. Neither the nurse nor the hospital is legally liable. * One article states that cardiac arrest is one of the first complications encountered during the developmental years of surgery. * One nurse outlines the steps she took in becoming a nonphysician surgical assistant and the criteria that delineates a nurse from an assistant. * A report from the National League of Nursing shows that in the 1977-1978 academic year, a 1% decline in nursing school graduates occurred, the first decrease since the mid 1960s.

10 YEARS AGO IN THE AORN JOURNAL

One article reports that the Pap smear leads to the increased detection of cervical cancer in the preinvasive stage, with 70% or more cases of cervical disease being detected as in situ or early invasive lesions. * Headaches are noted to be the most common pain complaint elderly patients make to physicians. * Another article looks in depth at AORN's delegate system, explaining the formula used to allot delegates, how delegates are selected, and how issues are presented for discussion. * One hospital implements a process for dealing with verbal abuse in the OR after it becomes the topic of discussion during a staff nurse/management workshop. A policy is drafted that empowers nurses to deal with verbal abuse.

NEXT MONTH IN THE AORN JOURNAL

The January 2001 AORN Journal will feature comprehensive information regarding the 481h annual AORN Congress in Dallas, March 11 to 15, 2001, including registration information, highlights of Dallas, education session overviews, Habitat for Humanity information, booth descriptions, convention center maps, and information about the perioperative bookstore. The Journal also will feature two Home Study Programs about * using neuromodulation in the treatment of urinary incontinence, and * using ultrasound in cardiothoracic surgery.