Douglas Edwards

Douglas Edwards to open 1980 AORN Clongress

CBS news correspondent Douglas Edwards television anchormari from 1946 to 1962. Dur- will address the Opening Session of the 1980 ing his career he has conducted exclusive in- AORN Congress Sunday, March 9, at the terviews with Bernard Baruch, Eleanor Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta. The Roosevelt, Adlai Stevenson, Abba Eban, and opening ceremonies, from 1 :30 to3:30 pm with Herbert Hoover. He covered assignments in an antebellum theme, will also honor the first Europe and the Middle East during World War nurses to be certified under the AORN pro- II and set up coverage for the Nuremberg war gram. crime trials.

The opening day schedule is different from The two House of Cielegates sessions will be previous years. The first event, from 10 am to held from 1 :30 to 4:30 pm Monday, March 10, 12 noon Sunday, is Meet the Candidates. After and from 5:30 to 7 pm Thursday, March 13. their formal speeches, candidates for national Election results for national officers will be an- office will circulate informally with delegates. nounced at the Thursday session. Delegates and alternates are strongly encour- Among committee:; reporting to the House aged to attend this event. Formerly, the candi- will be the ad hoc Enlry into Practice Commit- dates’ session has been held Sunday after- tee, which has been exploring implementation noon after the Opening Session. of the position favoring the baccalaureate

Edwards, who has covered the world scene passed by the 1979 House; the Nursing Prac- for CBS since 1942, is anchorman of the “CBS tices Committee, which is studying the issue of Mid-day News with Douglas Edwards.” On the first assistant; and the new Technical Prac- radio he anchors “The World Tonight,” “The tices Coordinating Committee. World of Religion,” and some hourly news At two early rnornirig Forums from 7 to 9 am broadcasts. He was the CBS evening news Monday, March 10, and from 7 to 8:30 am

738 AORN Journal, October 1979, Vol30, No 4

Destinyi Choice or Mandate Is destiny our choice? How effectively will we cope with internal and external mandates impinging on our practice? At the 1980 AORN Congress in Atlanta, educational programs will challenge nurses to increase their awareness and be decisive in determining the future of nursing in the operating room. Goals:

the power to direct our destiny by participating in legislation and rule-making.

At this Congress, each nurse will have the opportunity to make choices that will guide our destiny as nurses committed to quality care of patients.

We can begin by maintaining a balance 1. between the professional and technical knowledge and skills critical to caring for

that place one aspect above the other. As we implement the perioperative role

and measure the effectiveness of our practice, we will be able to demonstrate our professional achievement. We will continue

role into all levels of nursing education.

growth will stimulate involvement in areas where our rights are threatened. We have

sugical patients. We cannot allow mandates 2.

3.

our efforts to incorporate the perioperative

Dedication to professional and personal

4.

5.

Enhance knowledge and skills through assessrient of practice and participation in educational activities. Develop an awareness of issues within nursing and outside that directly affect quality care during surgery. Plan activities for inc:orporating the perioperative role in all levels of nursing education. Discuss methods nurses can use to influence rules and legislation. Identify areas for personal and professional growth.

Tuesday, March 11, delegates will have an opportunity to discuss Congress issues infor- mally. Instituted at the 1976 Congress in Miami, Forums became part of the official schedule at the Anaheim Congress in 1977.

Education sessions begin Monday, March 10, and continue through Friday, March 14. Programs will cover management, technology, clinical practice, continuing education, issues in nursing, personal growth, and AORN activities. A management program will be pre- sented by Salvatore V Didato, a consulting psychologist from New York City and New Rochelle, NY. He has taught communication and human relations for the International Busi- ness Machines Corporation and participated in workshops and seminars for the American Management Association. In the clinical area, there will be programs on management of acute pain, sports medicine, and treatment of “Saturday night” trauma such as gunshot and knife wounds.

Technical sessions will include a medical device update; a program on inhospital standards activities of AORN, the Associa- tion for the Advancement of Medical In-

AORN Journal, October

strumentation, and central supply manag- ers; and a session on surgical attire. A program on the nurse and drug abuse will include an official from the Drug Enforce- ment Administration, Chicago, and there will be a session on OR nursing in correctional f aci I i t ies.

Sessions on the perioperative role will em- phasize practical aspects of implementation such as planning for the role and overcoming obstacles. A program is planned on incorporat- ing OR nursing into the generic curriculum. In the area of ethics, there will be sessions on protection of human research subjects and definition of death.

Premiering as new AORN films during Con- gress will be Orientaticin: Phase // by Alicia Arvidson and OR View: Radiography by Geraldene Areghnni.

The AORN Banquet will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Atlanta I-lilton at 6:30 pm Mon- day, March 10. AORN :;cholarship recipients, award-winning chapters, and AORN members will be honored at this traditional Congress event.

Technical exhibits lopen with a ribbon-

d- 1979, Vol30, No 4 739

Three pre-Congress seminars planned Because the pre-Congress certification seminar was so successful at the 1979 Congress, three two-day pre-Congress seminars have been planned for the 1980 AORN Congress in Atlanta. They will be held Thursday and Friday, March 6 and 7, at the Georgia World Congress Center.

“Be a Pacesetter: Become Certified,” designed to help nurses prepare for AORN certification, will be led by Julia A Kneedler and Patricia Robertson Hercules. The seminar, first held last March, has been completely redesigned. AORN Director of Education Carol Alexander and Clark Alexander will present “Your Choice: Depression or Assertion,” focusing on how OR nurses can counteract depression in the OR by becoming more assertive. In “Values and Ethics: Considerations in Nursing Practice,” Diane B Uustal will offer a new approach for clarifying personal and professional values.

Registration fees for each seminar are $50 for members and $70 for nonmembers. A separate registration form for these seminars is included in the Congress registration brochure mailed to members in mid-September. The postmark deadline for preregistration for both seminars and Congress is Jan 19, 1980. Please note that no shuttle bus service will be available during the seminars. Buses begin running Saturday, March 8.

cutting ceremony at 11 am Tuesday, March 11 in the Congress Center. Exhibits are open from 11 am to 3 pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. About 260 companies are expected to exhibit. The Exhibitors Party will be held at 8 pm Tuesday in the Congress Center.

The Congress registration brochure, in a booklet format this year, was mailed to AORN members in mid-September. There are two registration forms: one for Congress and one for the pre-Congress seminars.

There will be no shuttle bus service for the pre-Congress seminars. Bus service begins Saturday, March 8. Those attending the semi-

nars will be lodged in three hotels near the Congress Center, although there is no guaran- tee they will be able to stay there through Con- gress.

Advanced registrations both for Con- gress and the pre-Congress seminars must be postmarked by Jan 19, 1980. Those planning to attend are encouraged to make plane reservations early. Air traffic to At- lanta IS heavy because the city is a cross- roads for the Southeast.

Trends reported for tubal sterilization A study of tubal sterilizations has reported a significant increase in the number of procedures performed from 1970 to 1975. During that time, tubal sterilization became the third most frequently performed operation on women from the ages of 15 to 44 years. The number of procedures done annually increased from 201,000 to 550,000.

The report, contained in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, noted three trends in medical practice concerning tubal sterilization.

0 There was an increase in interval sterilizations-procedures performed on women not pregnant at the time they are admitted to the hospital. While only 29% of women admitted for tubal sterilization in 1970 were not pregnant, the number increased to 57% in 1975.

0 Laparoscopic sterilizations increased. Laparoscopy was used for fewer than 1 O/O

of tubal sterilizations in 1970 but was used for 35% of those performed in 1975.

0 Hospital stays associated with tubal sterilizations were shorter. The average length of hospital stay decreased from 6.5 nights in 1970 to 4.2 nights in 1975. For interval sterilizations, the mean length of hospital stay decreased from 6.4 to 3.4 nights. In 1975, 58% of tubal sterilization patients spent 2.0 nights or less in the hospital, and 7% were admitted and discharged the same day. Of this group, 92% had undergone laparoscopic sterilizations.

742 AORN Journal, October 1979, Val 30, No 4