President's Message
Pat Stewart, RN, CNOR
Munroe Regional Medical Center
Ocala, FL
December, 1999

This month's President's Message will be concerning a letter from Patricia Seifert, AORN President. Patricia Seifert has asked all chapter presidents to share the information she sent us about decisions made by the AORN Board of Directors, at their fall meeting. The following are excerpts from Patricia Seifert's letter: " During our strategic planning session, the Board emphasized four major initiatives for the immediate future. AORN is stepping up its government affairs activities, especially in relation to assuring that the perioperative nurse is in charge of the operating room suites and is the circulator for all patient procedures. We have reaffirmed our position that surgical technologist need not be regulated {including registration, state, certification and licensure} in the states. And finally, we have reaffirmed the position that 'in the absence of a qualified physician, the RN who possesses appropriate knowledge and technical skills is the best nonphysician to serve as the first assistant.' The Board believed this was necessary to help support the AORN legislative priorities that include reimbursement for RNFAs and supervision and delegation to unlicensed assistive personnel.

Other major initiatives that will be primary in the next year are consumer education, the perioperative nursing data set, and membership recruitment and retention. You will undoubtedly see more on all these issues, in the Journal, on AORN Online, and during Congress.

An exciting strategic initiative related to making nursing care visible and valued in OR suites as well as in the minds of consumers was approved. AORN will begin to develop consumer information to meet unmet needs of patients and their families as they approach the potential for surgery. AORN believes that perioperative nurses, in partnership with surgical colleagues, are the best professionals to provide trustworthy, comprehensive and continuously updated information and education for consumers. By developing a Surgical Knowledge Base for members to share with patients, perioperative nurses will become the leading source for patients to turn to for information and support through their entire surgical experience and recovery. More information on this initiative will be available at Congress, during one of the Forums.

As many of you know, the Nominating Committee has been asked to re-examine the requirement that to be eligible for national office, a member must have been a member continuously for two years prior to being put on the ballot. This is a requirement dictated by AORN bylaws, and recently, some very active members have been denied a spot on the ballot because of a few days lapse in their membership records. The Nominating Committee did ask the Board to direct the Bylaws Committee to propose a bylaws change in Article V, Section 3, B, which would eliminate that requirement. This will be a topic of discussion at the Forum, and delegates will be asked to cast a vote for or against this change. The Board realizes this is a very controversial issue with good reasoning on both sides. The membership will eventually decide if a change is in AORN's best interest. Please look for the exact wording and rationale in the pre-Congress issue of the AORN Journal. The Nominating Committee will also have some time on the Forum agenda to discuss how candidates can become more known to the membership during the election process.

Two official statements/resolutions will come before this year's House of Delegates. A task force has developed a 'Proposed Statement on the Role of the Health Care Industry Representative in the OR' in cooperation with more than 100 professionals from AORN Specialty Assemblies, industry leaders, nurses in industry, and AORN Board and staff. It will be published in the pre-Congress issues and on AORN Online.

The second resolution is a revised 'Resolution on the Role of the Scrub Person.' This resolution, which was originally developed in 1988 and reaffirmed in 1995, has now been updated to include a statement that the perioperative registered nurse should maintain an active presence in performing the scrub role to ensure appropriate delegation and supervision of scrub duties and to maintain the integral link between scrub and circulating responsibilities. Look for the full text in the pre-Congress issue as well as in AORN Online.

The Board ratified the revised mission statement of the AORN Foundation, which is 'to secure resources and administer assets that provide support for meeting AORN's strategic goals in education and research.' The AORN Board also ratified Foundation bylaw changes sent by the AORN Foundation Board of Trustees that would set the number of trustees, their desired qualifications, tenure, and terms. The Foundation will now implement those recommendations, as well as a budgetary goal, as normal procedures.

On another note, the AORN Board did approve some investigation of updating the AORN logo. The staff will commission a graphic firm that specializes in logos to develop artwork for the ARON Board to consider at its next meeting in February. With the beginning of a new century, it may be time to consider a new image for AORN. This will be discussed at Congress as well.

The Board approved affiliate status for the state councils in Florida, Maryland/District of Columbia, Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, and Washington. All state councils composed of registered nurses are eligible to apply for this status. Application forms can be obtained through the Center of Member Services."

As you can see by Patricia Seifert's letter, National is making every attempt to safeguard the role and presence of the Registered Nurse in the OR. And one of the ways that we can help in this effort is by attending chapter meeting and being active in our chapter.

On a lighter note, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS.