JUNE 1995,VOL61,NO6 G E N E R A L S E S S 1 0 N S

General Sessions speakers offer attendees creative ways

of celebrating perioperative champions Tuesday, March 7; Friday, March 10

eneral Session speakers captured nurses’ attention with presentations of different G approaches to celebrating champions.

JERRY G. PEERS MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP

everly Malone, RN, PhD, FAAN, advised nurses B and exhibitors attending the Jerry G. Peers Memorial Lectureship to break change into small, man- ageable chunks and to celebrate each minor success.

In her address, “Shared Visions and Hallucina- tions: Acquiring a Taste for Chaos,” Dr Malone rec- ognized that attendees would want to take new ideas from Congress back to the workplace but would feel anxious about trying to introduce and implement changes. “Remember, it’s a cinch by the inch, but it’s hard by the yard,” she advised. Dr Malone offered these tips on implementing changes in the workdace. Look at

how to present the new information and make it available and accessible, giving small pieces of information at a time, enlisting the help of others to get the message out, and posting it in elevators and locker rooms; when to present it, choosing times when the workplace is quiet rather than during crises; where to present it, choosing private locations and times if the message is personal; why to make the change; and who will be affected by the new information and the ensuing change. Dr Malone recognized that implementing change

requires energy and that if nurses-do not rest and ~

relax, they cannot implement change. Dr Malone’s definition of rest is “vegetating without being hooked up to a respirator.” She recommended using earned vacation time for real vacations-not staying home to clean house or visiting extended family.

Dr Malone also offered advice on dealing with the three types of stress that all individuals encounter on a daily basis. To handle imposed stress (ie, the stress that others share with you), Dr Malone recom- mended giving it back or not accepting it in the first place. She recommended building in transition times

Dr Beverly Mal- one humorously describes nurses’ dally encounters wlth Stress and chaos and offers her prescrlptlon for using power to implement change.

between work and home as a method of decreasing imposed stress. To manage unavoidable stress (eg, death, illness), Dr Malone recommended methods of self-care, such as exercise. The third type of stress is chosen stress. Nursing may be a stressful profession, Dr Malone admitted, but she reminded attendees that “we chose to be nurses; no one dragged us through the front doors of colleges of nursing.”

Dr Malone also advised nurses to respect the “P word”-power-and cited four kinds of power that nurses can use to implement change and manage chaos. These are

informational power, which can be used by com- municating knowledge with other nurses rather than hoarding it; legitimate power that is earned through licensure; charismatic power that is demonstrated when nurses show the joy they feel in what they do; and coercive power, which is offering one alternative that is more attractive than the other. To be able to exert this power, implement

change, and manage chaos, nurses must respect each other, learn to ask for help in solving problems, participate actively in nursing organizations, take care of themselves, and assume the natural rhythm of working and resting.

This lectureship was established in honor of

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JUNE 1995, VOL 61, NO 6 G E N E R A L S E S S I O N S

Jerry G. Peers, RN, member of the AORN Board from 1960 to 1970, President from 1963 to 1965, and AORN Executive Director from 1970 to 1982.

BEVERLY P. QIORDANO RN, MS

EDITOR

JOURNEY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

nn Bancroft stepped onto the stage amid dry A ice, wind machines, and bright lights and declared admiringly, “I would rather go to the ends of the Earth than do what you do, make the decisions you make every day.” During the General Session “The Expedition,” Bancroft described how she did just that-she is the first woman to travel across the ice to both the North and South Poles.

Challenging attendees to find the parallels between her antarctic trip and perioperative nursing, Bancroft described the years of preparation and training, the importance of selecting the right team, of not becoming stagnant, and of being flexible. She also acknowledged the significance of supportive friends and family members who “helped me drown out the voices that told me I couldn’t, I shouldn’t.”

Bancroft narrated the meticulously planned expe- dition to slides from all stages of the trip, from train- ing in Greenland and arctic Canada to the successful arrival at the South Pole. Acknowledging that she could not have done this alone, Bancroft discussed the

Anne Bancrotl enchants the audience with her vivid description of the American Women’s Expedition trip to the South Pole.

importance of teamwork that existed with the other three women who made the American Women’s Expedition (AWE) trip. Each woman played a pivotal role, not the least of which was coordinating the gear and food. The team members had to be prepared to ski 10 miles per day for more than 60 days while each pulled 200-lb sleds. To compensate for the energy output of such intense work, each woman required 5,OOO calories per day, 45% of which were from ani- mal fat. “I would peel back the wrapper on a stick of butter, imagine a Snickers bar, and swallow the butter whole. It wasn’t half bad,” Bancroft joked.

The AWE team participated in a medical research study observing the physiological (eg, hormonal and lipid changes, immune function) and psychological (eg, personality characteristics, group dynamics, coping mechanisms in response to extreme stress) effects of the expedition. Despite the extreme condi- tions and potential for medical crises, none of the team members were doctors or nurses. According to Bancroft, “All expedition members trained in emer- gency medical care and worked with physicians and nurses through a variety of medical scenarios. We had to be self-sufficient.” Nonetheless, the expedi- tion members encountered some challenges and dis- comforts they had not planned for, not the least of which were frostbite blisters on their upper thighs and armpits from unzipping their windsuits.

Bancroft, a former elementary school teacher, said her goal, besides that of a successful trip, was to “bring students with me through curriculum.” Thou- sands of school children were involved with the AWE team from the early days of training to the expedition itself to the team’s arrival back in the United States. Bancroft radioed in every three days to a relay station in Antarctica. Her message was then transmitted to Bancroft’s sister in Chile. Ban- croft’s sister then transmitted these messages to school children in Minneapolis.

Despite headwinds that reached 50 mph and tem- peratures that ranged from -5” C to -30” C regardless of the constant daylight of antarctic summer, the AWE reached the South Pole on Jan 14,1993-67 days after starting out. Bancroft and her team showed that determination, training, and flexibility remain the mainstays of creating champions.

Bancroft’s presentation was sponsored by the exhibiting companies at Congress as part of this year’s Nurses/Exhibitors Day.

JENIFER F. WALKER MANAQINQ EDITOR

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JUNE 1995, VOL 61, NO 6 G E N E R A L S E S S I O N S

JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE ~

ith the words,“I was a romantic; then I got W married,” Connie Podesta began her presen- tation titled “The Journey,” a play about life from a woman’s perspective. Podesta’s play explored enhancing self-esteem, reaching potential, and understanding the importance of interpersonal rela- tionships by reenacting the milestones in her life. “As 1 take a journey through my life, you’ll get in touch with people, places, and things that have hap- pened in your own lives,” she said.

Podesta began her play with recollections from when she and her husband were watching slides of their friends’ trip to the Grand Canyon. Rather than having the stereotypical reaction of feigned interest, she came up with the idea of writing and performing a one-woman show.

What exactly triggered her idea for such a show? In answer, Podesta described the summer before her senior year in high school. She was 16 years old and had met her Prince Charming, Don. They were practically insep- arable. Then one day she came home from school, and her par- ents were in the living room with roadmaps spread out. “It could only mean one thing-a family vacation.” Podesta said.

Watching her friends’ slides reminded her of that petulant episode in her life.

before she was to go to college when she and her boyfriend Don decided to elope. They made this momentous decision at a drive-in movie while watching The Ten Commandments in a Rambler automobile. (When Podesta asked the audience why a Rambler was so popular, many attendees shouted out, “Because the seats reclined!”) The car, however, turned out to be what changed their lives that day-it would not start. Podesta and her boyfriend vowed to go on to college but to write every day and marry as soon as possible.

One of Podesta’s next milestones took place the day

After arriving at college, Podes- ta was heartbroken about being separated from Don. While in the class registration line her first day, however, she met “a really cute guy named Larry.’’ She never spoke with Don again. Connie and Larry Podesta just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

On her wedding day, Podesta was determined to go to her new husband “as her natural self.” Instead of keeping her hair dyed blonde as she always had, she decided-the night before her wedding-to dye her hair back to its original brown. “I figured that since I’d been a blonde so long, I should keep the color on longer than it said. My hair turned

Podesta wept and sulked over being separated from her boyfriend. By the time the family arrived at the Grand Canyon two weeks later, Podesta was in full- fledged teenager mode. When her father pulled up to the canyon rim, the family clambered out of the car-all except Podesta who stayed in the back seat, arms crossed, eyes down. After a half hour sit- ting in the car alone, Podesta began thinking she might actually like to see the canyon. Her mother, however, made the unforgivable mistake of trying to reason with a teenager. She came back to the car and pleaded with her daughter to share the beautiful sights with the family. “That was it,” Podesta said. “I simply could not get out of the car and retain my newfound teenage pride.”

Podesta missed the Grand Canyon altogether.

black.” In trying to get the black out, she tried so many different hair products that the last 12 inch- es of her hair turned green. She cut a foot of her hair off the night

before her wedding. As she went up the aisle, her soon-to-be-husband made no indication that he hard- ly recognized her. During the wedding all he said was, “I love you no matter what color your hair is- but dye it back tomorrow.”

She remembers telling her father on her wedding day the reason the man at the end of the aisle would be good to her and never lay a hand on her in anger was because of him. She had watched the way her father and mother related-the warmth, the teasing. And even when they became angry with each other, they handled it maturely and never took it out on the children. “It was a great lesson,” Podesta said.

Connie Podesta enchants the audience with a description of her prom.

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Toward the end of her first pregnancy, Podesta and her husband attended Lamaze classes. “The rea- son Lamaze is so great-according to the instruc- tors-” Podesta said, tongue firmly in cheek, “is because if you do these breathing exercises, there’s no pain.” She even made the nurse write “no medica- tion” plainly on her chart. Of course, as labor pro- gressed, she changed her mind-quickly. When she firmly requested medication, “They brought in this really long needle. I could have kissed it,” she joked.

After her daughter was born, however, Podesta noticed her daughter was ugly. Rationalizing that her child must have taken after her husband’s family, she hesitantly showed her husband their daughter. He looked at their daughter and said, “She’s beautiful.”

“Well, of course,” Podesta thought, “he’s used to it!” Podesta explained to the audience that “at 32, a

woman goes back to work because her husband is never home. At 52, she goes back to work because he’s always home.” In her early thirties, Podesta became a teacher, and she taught high school stenog- raphy. One day a girl came into school crying because her 14-year-old sister was pregnant. “We didn’t have steno that day,” Podesta said.

eye. When Podesta asked her what had happened, the girl said her boyfriend hit her because he thought she was cheating on him. Podesta’s response was,

A few weeks later another girl came in with a black

There’s u room inside euch of us with a door so strong that only we have a key to it. It’s the room of self-respect. N o one in your life will ever treat you with self-respect i fyou don’t treat yourself that M Y Z ~ .

Podesta remembers several such days when taking the time to listen to the problems of these young girls took precedence over stenography. In fact, Podesta became a family and marriage counselor as a result of the problems she saw in her teaching days.

Podesta said she received a call from a former student many years later. The young woman said,

I’ ve been married fiw a f e w years now, and I have a son. I love my husband, but he hits me. Yesterday, he hit me again. I knew I had to niuke a decision. For some reason, I pulled a bo.i full of memorubilia out,from under our bed. One qf the things I had kept was my s t e m book. I couldn’t rememher wh.y until I

Connie Podesta’s descrlptlon of her pregnancy and childbirth and her reaction to her newborn daughter elicits laughter from the audience.

saw some notes I had scribbled in the mar- gins. One said, ‘No one in your life will ever treat you with self-respect if you don’t treat yourAelfthat way.’ I’ve left my husband and told him our son and I will not come back to him unless he gets help. I called to thank you for teachin<? me such a iduahle lesson.

After watching her friends’ Grand Canyon slide show and reflecting on her own life-watching her own children grow up and resist the family vacation that suddenly seemed like such a good idea to Podes- ta, hearing her daughter tell Podesta’s husband the same thing Podesta told her father on her wedding day, coping with her husband’s bout with cancer- Podesta began “The Journey.” The first time she per- formed her one-woman show she was terrified, but she came to the conclusion that “the only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is suc- cessful people are afraid but they do it anyway.”

Another outcome resulted from that night at her friends’ house. When she got home that night, she called her mother and said, “I’m sorry about the Grand Canyon.”

JENIFER F. WALKER MANAGING EDITOR

969 AORN JOlJRNAL