Content provided in partnership with

From the serious to the not-so-serious, this year's General Sessions were informative and entertaining: Sunday, March 23, to Thursday, March 27, 2003 - General Sessions - Association of periOperative Registered Nurses review of sessions

This year's Congress in Chicago featured more General Sessions than recent Congresses. Topics ranged from enhancing patient safety through use of aviation safety principles to finding humor in pain. Back by popular demand, Keith Harrell presented a highly energized session that left attendees breathless.

CHANGE OR PERISH

Receiving a standing ovation as he came to the podium, H. Ross Perot began a lively discussion that energized session attendees. Nursing is a noble profession, he said, and nurses' "special magic is your dedication to your patients."

Most Popular Articles in Health: Fuel your workout: exercisers who eat before they work out have more energy ...; Soothe a dry, itchy scalp: 5 easy expert solutions; Cocktails and calories: Beer, wine and liquor calories can really add up. ...; The sour truth about apple cider vinegar - evaluation of therapeutic use; The, six best supplements you've never heard of: these secret weapons can ...; More »

Perot spent much of the session discussing a new bill that recently was introduced in the US Senate. Conceived by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore), the new bill (ie, S 581) is an attempt to reshape health care in the United States from the ground up. Perot said that the bill will enable health care leaders to approach core groups (eg, hospitals, physicians, nurses, insurance companies) to find out how to design a new health care system using engineering principles. As Perot stated, "You are the architects."

After receiving input from these core groups, system designers will create a blueprint for the system and then go back to the core groups for input on improving the blueprint. When the blueprint is complete, pilot tests will begin across the country. After pilot tests are complete, the system will be improved using data from the tests. The system will be tested again, and when it is ready, it will be implemented across the country.

This will not end the process. Perot believes that the system will need constant improvement and updating and that nurses and physicians will be able to make suggestions via the Internet. This technology will enable people from across the United States to relate their experiences with the new system and suggest ways to improve it.

Perot said that the only way to persuade patients, politicians, and others that this system will work is for physicians and nurses to be its champion. "You have the trust of millions of people, and you got it by earning it."

BARB BITTNER

SENIOR EDITOR

SSM AND SSM ONLINE

NURSES NEED TO SEE THE HUMOR IN PAIN

Having a sense of humor was the subject of the Jerry G Peers Lectureship. Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE, opened by asking how many perioperative nurses it takes to change a light-bulb--one, while she is hanging blood, comforting a cranky physician, and doing a million other things.

Buxman used funny stories to emphasize her point about the value of humor. She encouraged nurses to recognize their value and be confident, saying that having a sense of humor helps. "Humor comes from pain. Maybe it's yours, maybe it's someone else's," she said.

Working in a rural hospital during the 1980s' nursing shortage, Buxman, the only nurse on the floor, heard a noise while writing her nursing notes. She looked up to see a cardiac patient standing by his bed. Then the patient disappeared. Entering his room, Buxman slid across a greenish-brown fluid that was all over the floor. She fell and tried to get up with no success. The patient also tried getting up, to no avail. After both Buxman and the patient made several attempts to get up, the patient said, "Hon, it's not what you think. I was hoping to hide my tobacco juice before you made rounds." After getting the patient cleaned up and into bed, Buxman found the humor in the situation.

Buxman discussed a research study that found children have 100% of their creativity when they are born and that by age six, they have lost 95% of it. She said the educational system reinforces the idea that there is only one right answer, stifling creativity. She told of a second grader answering the following math problem: If there are 32 students and 17 are boys, how many are girls? The child answered "the rest of them." Of course this answer is not wrong, but the teacher disagreed. Buxman explained that these messages change as people age. This is reflected by a question often asked in the workplace--"What do you think we're paying you for around here?"

Telling attendees about her young son, Buxman assigned attendees homework. One morning, her son was late for the bus and, after several attempts to get him to come downstairs, Buxman went up to his room and heard a noise that sounded like singing. She opened her son's bedroom door and found him jumping up and down on his bed in his underwear, swinging his clothes over his head. Exasperated, she asked what he was doing. He said, "Mom, don't you think getting dressed in the morning ought to be more fun?" Buxman encouraged participants to do the same thing the next morning.

The acronym BET can be used to determine whether humor is appropriate, according to Buxman. The letter "B" stands for bond. She told attendees to consider how well they know a person. The letter "E" stands for environment. People must consider who can see or hear them. The letter "T" stands for timing. Remember, 'humor comes from pain. "People start seeing the humor when they can emotionally detach," Buxman said.

Health Care Industry

From the serious to the not-so-serious, this year's General Sessions were informative and entertaining: Sunday, March 23, to Thursday, March 27, 2003 - General Sessions - Association of periOperative Registered Nurses review of sessions

AORN Journal, June, 2003

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Autos

Most Popular Articles in Health

Most Popular Publications in Health