AORN educafion

Key ed uca t iona I priorities for OR nurses

“When will operating room nurses, instead of technicians, become the primary focus of AORN’s educational endeavors?’,

This question from an AORN member stimulated a barrage of emotions and thoughts. Hopefully, this reply will convey my profound concern and commitment to the membership that you, not technicians, are the crux of AORN‘s educational prior- ihes.

It is true that AORN has devoted exten- sive time and energy to AORT, both on a national and local level. For many reasons, AORN assumed major responsibility for the formation of AORT and the completion of various AORT projects. Members of the ed- ucation department have assisted in the development of the AORT Certifying Exam- ination; in coordination of former commit- tee activities related to the approval of ORT programs; in participation in the evolving process of accreditation of ORT programs; in completion of projects as- signed by the AORT Advisory Board; in preparation of AORT educational pro- posals; and in the fulfillment of an advisory or consultative role to AORT.

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Despite a commitment to AORT, AORN also gave priority to establishing the Na- tional Committee on Education (NCE), initiating regional institutes, starting national seminars, and expanding AORN education projects. These past developments had di- rect relevance for operating room nurses.

Still, many AORN members believv. that too much educational emphasis has b n n directed toward AORT. Although operating room nurses understand that AORN’s en- deavors on behalf of AORT are intended to ensure qualified OR allied health care workers, they have expressed their concern that technicians were profiting more from AORN than nurses.

Has AORN promoted technicians at the expense of its own membership? There seems to be no definitive answer to this question. As the relationship between AORN and AORT on a national level has gradually altered, there i s less emphasis on AORT projects not under the auspices of the AORT Advisory Board. Alw, as the trend toward certification of nurses has gained

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momentum, AORN has increasingly as- sumed leadership in providing continuing education programs for operating room nurses.

At this time, education for operating room nurses i s the unquestionable priority of myself as director of education and Julie Kneedler and Rose Marie McWilliams, as- sistant directors of education. This personal commitment to you will not negate our ap- propriate contributions to AORT; but the education of operating room nurses i s pri- mary.

This year in conjunction with NCE mem- bers, we are coordinating and implement- ing 20 national seminars for operating room nurses. The four major topics are: Orienta- tion of the new Graduate Nurse to the OR; Staff Development through Performance Ap- praisal; Preoperative Visits; and Principles of Management and Supervision. These seminars are described in the 1973 educa- tional program brochure, which i s available to members upon request. At present, a new seminar, Administrative and Supervisory Skills for OR Nurses, i s being developed for 1974.

NCE and the education department staff are also assisting local members to sponsor seven regional institutes this year. When feasible, guidance and support i s offered to AORN members conducting one-day workshops. The importance of continuing education for OR nurses i s accentuated through such activities.

Through the support of an education grant from Johnson & Johnson, we are com- piling two manuals for use by AORN mem- bers. The first manual will complement the national seminar, Orientation of the New Graduate Nurse to the OR. Sample orienta- tion programs will be included in the man- ual as well as general guidelines for instituting an excellent orientation program. Diane Schoenrock, NCE representative, i s helping with preparation of the manual. W e would appreciate your input. Send us

copies of your orientation programs, plus any suggestions for material to be included in the manual. Your help i s needed if the project i s to be successful.

The second manual will be correlated with the seminar, Administrative and Super- visory Skills for OR Nurses. Again, we need your assistance. What content do you be- lieve should be included in the seminar and manual? Do you have samples of materials you feel are essential to the OR nurse being educated to assume a supervisory position?

Recently, Julie Kneedler prepared a man- nual with guidelines and sample curriculums of continuing education courses in OR nurs- ing. Many of you submitted material for this manual, which is now available through an order blank in the Journal. We are going to develop a sample master curric- ulum which will emphasize AORN's recom- mendations for continuing education courses, occasionally referred to as postgraduate courses, in OR nursing. We hope to publish this sample curriculum a t the end of 1973 or early 1974.

Members of the education department contributed to the AORN statements on the necessity for the "continuation of the regis- tered nurse in the OR" and "participation of student nurses in operating room nurs- ing" which were presented a t Congress. A letter was sent to 200 baccalaureate schools of nursing accredited by the National League for Nursing to determine whether content pertaining to operating room nurs- ing i s included in the basic curriculum. Over 100 responses were received. The results of this survey are published in this issue of the Journal for your information.

A future project is AORN's further iden- tification of specific operating room nurs- ing content and clinical experiences which should be an integral part of baccalaureate nursing programs. We must state how OR nursing theory and experience can be in- tegrated effectively a t many levels in the overall curriculum design.

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Rose Marie McWilliams continues to answer extensive correspondence from members on various aspects of operating room nursing. She has helped many nurses on such topics as operating room technique, principles of asepsis, appropriate OR ap- parel, architectural design, product evalua- tion, OR equipment, and environmental control. Her contributions to the "Questions and answers" column of the Journal have tremendous impact in meeting the educa- tional needs of nurses.

Many of you have profited from the AORN publication, "Guidelines for an OR Procedure Manual," prepared by members of the Professional Advisory Committee. A second publication, "Guidelines for ORT Refresher Course," has benefited many nurses who teach technicians.

Are you aware that AORN staff mem- bers respond to consulting requests? Through speaking engagements and con- sultations, staff in the education department contribute directly to the theoretical knowl- edge and self-development of many profes- sionals in the health care field. When

possible, we visit chapters to keep members abreast of the numerous activities of AORN, especially educational proiects. Often, ma- terial from these activities appears in lour- nal articles, particularly in this column.

Many of you are actively involved in nurse recruitment. Are you using the re- cruitment brochure developed by Head- quarters personnel which depicts operating room nursing? Copies of the brochure are available upon request.

An exciting future project is the develop- ment of a nursing audit to measure the quality of nursing care given to patients in the operating r m . Such a tool will enable us to document further the importance of professional nurses in the operating room as well as to improve patient care.

In summary, we have AORN members foremost in our thoughts and actions in terms of educational endeavors. We wel- come your comments and suggestions. Help us to maintain OR nurses as the priority of

our expanding organization.

Curol Alexunder, RN, MS Direct or of education

I I Help w i t h medical bills for mil i tary Bills, bills, bills. They keep piling up day to day, month to month for the military family, iust like any other family these days. When it comes to medical bills, though, military families do get a break. CHAMPUS-the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services-will help pay a portion of many of these bills.

Many militery families, however, are not aware of how to make use of CHAMPUS benefits when they need them, according to CHAMPUS officials. So when they receive bills from civilian physicians, civilian hospitals and other providers, they pay them on their own.

Whet they should do, CHAMPUS officials explain, i s complete a claim form and forward the bills to the fiscal agent for the state in which the care was received. These fiscal agents are third party paying organizetions which process claims on behalf of the government.

There are many fiscal agents, CHAMPUS officials note, and it is important to send bills with a properly completed claim form to the right agent. The best way to locate the right agent and to get claims forms, they add, i s to contact the nearest military installation and ask for the CHAMPUS Advisor or Health Benefits Counselor. If there i s no nearby installation, local recruiters should be able to help.

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