CHAPTER 3001

Meetings

Newsletter

Join us in Chicago , Illinois for the 56th annual Congress to Embrace the Future from March 14-19, 2009.

Enjoy a festive annual meeting with a lot of opportunities to earn contact hours by attending the many interesting education sessions.

Meet a variety of prominent, industry leading speakers
View peer submitted poster displays
Review cutting-edge OR technology displayed by the many exhibitors and industry partners on the show room floor
Connect with your colleagues, industry partners, and friends

In 2009, the 56th annual AORN Congress will proudly be hosted in the brand new west expansion building of Chicago 's famous McCormick Place convention center. The brand new west building is a stand alone facility that will allow AORN to accommodate almost all education sessions under one roof.
Located only minutes from downtown Chicago , McCormick Place is one of North America 's premier convention facilities, attracting more than 3 million visitors annually. McCormick Place comprises four state-of-the-art buildings. For more detailed information on the convention center, please visit the McCormick Place web pages.

Mark your calendar and join us for a fabulous event, hosted over Saint Patrick’s Day; one of Chicago's most recognized holidays - featuring parades, green rivers, and loads of other fun and educational activities.

How do you get to be a delegate to AORN Congress?

Chapter 3001 uses a point system to determine who will represent the chapter at Congress in 2009. Last year each delegate received $300 from the chapter to help with the expenses of traveling to Congress. This year our chapter will seat 4 delegates to the AORN Congress in Chicago. You can accumulate points by:

· Attending chapter meetings

· Attending educational offerings

· Playing an active role in your chapter

For the last two years our Chapter has chosen to financially assist members who are attending Congress for the very first time. If you are interested in being a delegate or are attending for the first time, please contact a member of the board. Delegate applications were emailed to all Chapter 3001 members last week and are due by February 3 2009. First-time to Congress applications were also emailed to Chapter 3001 members and are due by February 15 2009. If you need another copy, please do not hesitate to contact a Board member.

Bariatric Surgery

On Saturday October 4, 2008 DHMC hosted a program about bariatric surgery. Laurie Gorecki, Ted Trus MD, Maureen Quigley and Lindsey Waterhouse presented a comprehensive program about bariatric surgery, including information on sensitivity training, the different types of surgery and post-op care of the patients. Dr Trus suggested that obesity will surpass smoking as the #1 problem in America . Candidates for surgery have a BMI > 40 and 80% are women between the ages of 25-45. Co-morbities are often resolved with bariatric surgery, including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea and patients show improved cardiac function. The Hovermat and Hover-Jack demonstrations were remarkable!

There were 13 participants.

Thanks to Eva Daniels for coordinating this conference, and thanks to the speakers: Laurie Gorecki, Ted Trus MD, Maureen Quigley MSN and Lindsay Waterhouse.

Organ Procurement and Donation

On Saturday November 8, 2008 we met at DHMC for a fascinating look at organ procurement and donation. Karen Lord explained that there are >100,000 people on the waiting list for donations as of October 2008, which include 4239 patients in New England . 14,200 transplants were performed in the first six month of 2008. Tom LeBlanc, an employee at DHMC told of his own transplants, the first in 2005 and the second in 2006. His new kidneys and pancreas quickly turned around his co-morbidities caused by diabetes. Ken Kramer provided insight into the particulars of an actual procurement and how his team operates. Contact the bank at www.neob.org, or 800-446-6362

Triggers (cues) for referral to New England Organ Bank include:

In a ventilator-dependant patient

In the absence of hypothermia and paralytics

When an end of life/CMO/family discussion planned or when 3 of the cues below are met:

1. No response to verbal/noxious stimuli

2 .No corneal or papillary response to light

3. No cough or gag with ETT suctioning

4. GCS score < 5.

There were 9 participants.

Thanks to Linda Thompson for organizing this event as well as to the speakers Karen Lord, Tom LeBlanc and Ken Kramer.

Mentor Match Program

What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a partnership between two individuals. It is a relationship that extends over time and in which growth occurs for both parties in an atmosphere of respect, collegiality, and affirmation. The goals of a peer mentoring relationship are to:

Support colleagues in their professional development and growth
Facilitate mutual learning
Build a sense of community

What does a Mentor do?

asks questions and does not criticize
tries to elicit areas in which the other person feels strong and works on those areas
assists the other in identifying things to work on
coaches the other in how to do something differently if asked
provides support
AORN has a strong tradition of promoting mentoring among Perioperative nurses. In March 2001, the House of Delegates adopted the AORN Position Statement on Responsibility for Mentoring. That statement was revised as the AORN Resolution on Responsibility for Mentoring and adopted at the 2006 House of Delegates.

What is the Mentor Match?
The Mentor Match program is an online program that matches AORN members who would like to serve as a mentor to a colleague with members who would like to be mentored.

Participants can choose a mentoring relationship based on criteria such as type of mentoring relationship (i.e., volunteer leadership) or based on career interests (i.e., staff nurse seeking management role). By selecting a few criteria, mentor and mentees are matched and provided contact information to begin establishing a mentorship relationship. Participants choose how they wish to communicate and how often. For more information, please visit the AORN website http://www.aorn.org/Community/MentorMatchProgram/

Specialty Assemblies

What do you know about the 23 Specialty Assemblies? As you know, AORN offers one complimentary inclusion in a specialty assembly with AORN membership; however members may belong to more than one assembly for only $15 each. You can change your Specialty Assembly by calling AORN Customer Service. We have been highlighting a specialty assembly with each newsletter. We have already looked at the Federal Nurses Specialty Assembly, the Orthopedic Specialty Assembly and the Ophthalmology Specialty Assembly (see previous newsletters). This information is from the AORN website:

Trauma Specialty Assembly

Overview
Perioperative nurses who work in trauma settings or who are interested in learning more about trauma procedures.

Purpose Statements

· Compare staffing strategies for different levels of trauma units.

· Discuss orientation or performance standards for complex cases that range from orthopedics, neurosurgery, abdominal, or cardiothoracic.

· Identify collaborative models between the OR and the emergency department and other members of the trauma team.

· Discuss emerging issues of increased violence in schools and work environments and how it relates to community disaster plans.

· Share tips for organizing personnel, equipment, and supplies for complex multispecialty procedures.

· Enhance communication among Perioperative nurses who practice in trauma settings.

· Facilitate research projects that relate to trauma in Perioperative settings

Roommates Wanted!

Roanne Rogerson, immediate past president of our chapter, is going to Congress and due to unforeseen circumstances her roommate has had to decline to attend Congress. Roanne already has a hotel room booked for the week. She is looking for 1 or more people to share lodging and expenses. Interested? Contact Roanne at sunnyledgefarm@aol.com

We are sorry to announce that Donna Trudelle has resigned as a member of the Nominating Committee. If anyone is interested in completing the year for Donna, please contact a Board member.

Chapter 3001 Membership for January 2009

Standard 100

Associate 4

Retired 4

Student 1

3-year 1

Total 110

Please submit your application to be a delegate for Chapter 3001 to a board member by February 3. Delegates receive $300 from the chapter to help with conference attendance.

If you are planning to attend Congress for the first time, please submit your application by February 15. First time to Congress applicants receive $100.

Need an application? Contact any board member or

Lisa Ryder at lisa.ryder@va.gov