Committee members report on 2002-2003 progress

AORN Journal,  Dec, 2002  

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After AORN's 2002 Congress, AORN President Donna Watson, RN, MSN, CNOR, ARNP, FNP-C, issued charges to AORN's standing committees. During the past few months, members of these committees have been working assiduously to address President Watson's charges. The following reports are from eight AORN committees about their progress and what they currently are doing to advance AORN's objectives in their particular areas.

AWARDS COMMITTEE

The Awards Committee provides a reward mechanism for nurses who demonstrate excellence and outstanding achievement in the perioperative arena. To accomplish this, the Awards Committee is focused on completing the following charges for 2002-2003.

* Develop a committee manual to be distributed to all Awards Committee members that details the recommended process for each award.

* Evaluate selection criteria and application requirements for each award. Forward recommendations to the AORN Board of Directors.

* Identify and implement strategies to promote understanding of the award process to AORN members.

* Develop and implement strategies to increase the number of submissions for AORN awards.

* Monitor a variety of perioperative periodicals (eg, AORN Journal, SSM) that may report on AORN member contributions in the form of an article or summary. If the contribution appears to fit criteria for an AORN award, contact the author and encourage him or her to nominate the AORN member highlighted in the article for his or her outstanding contribution, or contact the individual directly to encourage submission for the respective award.

* Evaluate and recommend options to the Board on how the Awards Committee's activities and functions could be sustained if standing committees are dissolved.

The Awards Committee met twice during the current year. The first meeting was in April 2002 during Congress. The committee met again in July 2002 during the AORN Leadership Conference. The committee is scheduled to complete all charges by Congress 2003.

To promote the current awards, which will be presented at the 2003 Congress, a full-page advertisement ran in the September issue of the AORN Journal. In addition, the awards program was highlighted on AORN Online to encourage members to submit nominations. The awards program also was promoted on AORN's online discussion forum, MemberTalk. Awards packets were distributed during the AORN Leadership Conference in July and in a mailing to the chapter presidents.

Awards Committee members also have considered ways to make the process of applying for awards more convenient for members. For example, as of last year, nominations can be submitted electronically, which should increase the number of submissions. The committee also is working to allow submissions directly from AORN Online.

The committee is interested in creating a new award for peer recognition. In addition, to facilitate the objective scoring of awards by committee members, a process template is being developed and will be implemented with this year's awards selection.

The Awards Committee will continue to look at new ways to recognize and showcase excellence within the perioperative nursing profession. Members are encouraged to participate in this annual program by nominating themselves or a colleague for outstanding achievement in the following areas:

* application of perioperative clinical research,

* perioperative academic nursing education,

* perioperative clinical nursing education,

* clinical nursing practice,

* perioperative nursing management,

* perioperative nursing research,

* perioperative nursing patient education, and

* mentorship.

In addition, through the Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing, AORN recognizes perioperative nurses whose work and accomplishments have had global implications on nursing practice, education, and research.

THOMAS MACHESKI
RN, BSN, CNOR
CHAIR

JEAN HAHN
RN, CNOR

PENNY KRUG
RN, MSN, CNOR, CNA

LINDA SAVAGE
RN, BS, CNOR

C. J. WELTER
RN, BSN, CNOR, CRNFA

CONTINUING EDUCATION APPROVAL COMMITTEE

The purpose of the Continuing Education Approval Committee (CEAC) is to maintain the AORN continuing education approval process that is consistent with the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC's) established guidelines. With this purpose in mind, the committee develops and implements continuing education guidelines that are consistent with ANCC criteria, provides timely peer review of applications, and grants continuing education approval. During this process, the committee educates the applicant while preparing an application for approval. By using a quality assurance and quality improvement tool, the committee intends to respond to the applicant's needs.

The following charges were outlined for CEAC by President Watson.

* Develop and implement continuing education guidelines consistent with ANCC criteria.

* Provide timely peer review of applications, and grant continuing education approval.

* Educate the applicant, while preparing an application for approval.