Members reach out to colleagues, public
in recognizing Perioperative Nurse Week

In Colorado, AORN President Mary Jo Steiert, RN, BSN, CNOR, sponsored a Teddy Bear Hospital Nov. 13 with other AORN members, Denver headquarters staff and nurses from Steiert's facility at the Medical Center of Aurora. The make-believe hospital, hosted at Peakview Elementary School in Centennial, Colo., included pre-op, OR, PACU and hand-washing activities to inform schoolchildren from kindergarten through fifth grade about the important aspects of perioperative nursing, including aseptic technique, safe patient handling, the effects of anesthesia and postoperative care.

Throughout the day-long event, a steady stream of schoolchildren brought their Teddy Bear "patients" to be treated for a variety of ailments, from missing noses or tails to broken bones and even a broken stomach, said Mary Ogg, RN, MSN, CNOR, a perioperative nursing specialist in AORN's Center for Nursing Practice who worked in the Teddy Bear hospital pre-op station. "This activity helps to demystify the hospital experience for young children, while exposing them to a future profession in health care. It's good to plant the seed early and get them thinking about joining the profession," Ogg said.

Sarah Hodgson, RN, MSN, CNOR, echoed that sentiment while administering anesthesia to a Teddy Bear patient in the mock hospital's OR. "I was 8 years old when I first knew I wanted to be a nurse," Hodgson recalled. Being able to take a loved one through the surgical care process is a good way to see how rewarding the profession can be, she said.

For Denise Shine, RN, a student currently enrolled in AORN's Periop 101: A Core Curriculum course at the Medical Center of Aurora, working at the Teddy Bear hospital gave her a chance to interact with the community beyond the OR. "Being able to show the children how we care for patients helps me build my confidence as I prepare to practice in the OR," she said.

After guiding their patients through the surgical process, school children headed to a hand-washing station where perioperative nurse Lynda Bruce, RN, BSN, and AORN staff volunteer Linda DeLia explained the importance of hand washing in preventing the spread of germs. DeLia helped the children apply a black light-sensitive lotion to their hands so they could see where germs could be lurking.

"Hand washing is an important lesson, particularly with increased outbreaks of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) in schools," Steiert stressed. "It's so rewarding to see these children so receptive to learning about perioperative care because they are our future. If this event inspires even one child to pursue a career in nursing, then we have made a difference," she added.

View a local news story covering this event and watch the video of the newscast.

Sharing perioperative nursing with the community is something AORN Chapter 0512 of San Francisco/Marin has focused on during Perioperative Nurse Week for more than 20 years. Each November, members of the chapter participate in an active exhibition at the Exploritorium, a public science center in San Francisco. The exhibition gives members of the public a chance to interact with perioperative nurses to learn about all aspects of surgical practice, including the Time Out pause, explained Alice Erskine, RN, MSN, CNOR.

Erskine and members of her chapter begin planning the session early in the year and coordinate with colleagues, vendors and public service groups to represent the many different people involved in providing perioperative care, including a transplant donor group, to describe how they coordinate efforts with OR staff.

The exhibition also includes displays on surgical technology, such as laparoscopic equipment used for minimally invasive surgeries. Through a hands-on display, museum visitors are able to test their surgical acuity by using a laparoscope to remove seeds from a pumpkin, Erskine said.

"I love to see the children participate in these activities because it gives them a whole new perspective on working in an OR. Many participants thank us for all that we do, and this is so rewarding. We don't normally have these opportunities to interact with our patients in the OR, so it's really rewarding to be a part of these community events."

Erskine said such activities also give members of the community the opportunity to experience surgery from the perspective of a perioperative practitioner, which helps people feel more comfortable with surgery when they need it. It also helps introduce them to the daily activities of healthcare staff members, she noted.

During this year's event Nov. 8, Erskine inspired two teenage boys to consider careers in health care. "People don't always realize how many opportunities there are in this field," she said. "That's why getting out and educating the public is so important."

In addition to educating the public, Perioperative Nurse Week is also an important time to recognize perioperative colleagues for the work they do. Such as U.S. Navy Lt. Jessica Hardy, NC. Despite limited resources and a constant flow of critically wounded patients, Hardy and members of 2D Marine Logistics Group Supply Battalion, Surgical Company, who are stationed outside Baghdad, made time to recognize Perioperative Nurse Week. The focus of their activities was recognizing surgical technologists, who Hardy says play a critical role in successfully treating wounded patients.

"We have come from different regions of the world with varying backgrounds, but we all have one mission: to deliver exceptional perioperative nursing care to the injured service members who risk their lives daily," Hardy said.

"Teamwork is essential in providing the most optimal care that our marines, sailors, and soldiers deserve, so being competent and understanding not only your role, but those of your team-members ensures that life-saving procedures can be performed in the most efficient manner. With the urgency of care we provide, there is no room for animosity—we work together under one mission like a well-oiled machine to save lives."

She believes the unique environment she and members of her battalion work in requires a special kind of teamwork with all perioperative practitioners, including surgical technologists.

That's why she and her perioperative nursing colleagues dedicated Perioperative Nurse Week to celebrating the accomplishments of the Navy Corpsman surgical technologists, who "exemplify professionalism and dedication," she explained. "These men and women are truly the backbone of navy surgical operations during peace and wartime missions," she said.

Hardy and her colleagues also celebrated the theme of this year's Perioperative Nurse Week: A Legacy of Leadership in Safe Patient Care, which has special meaning in a war zone. "While deployed, we must provide safe patient care in challenging situations, but we can learn from these challenges and share this newly acquired with colleagues upon our return," Hardy noted.

She added, "To military nurses, celebrating PNW during a deployment is a particularly important time since it highlights  what we do. We train and prepare stateside most of our military career to serve those who are in harms way. For those working here there is no greater time to recognize the accomplishments of the perioperative nurse!"

Whether perioperative nurses are educating schoolchildren or putting their skills to the test in the OR, it's important to recognize the leadership role perioperative nurses play in providing safe patient care, added AORN President Steiert, as she helped guide a second-grader and his Teddy Bear patient through the mock OR at AORN's Teddy Bear hospital. "We need to speak out and share our profession with others every chance we get to ensure the future of our profession," Steiert stressed.

More news from Perioperative Nurse Week 2007
In November the Texas Council of Operating Room Nurses received a proclamation from Gov. Rick Perry declaring Nov. 11-17, 2007 Perioperative Nurse Week in Texas. 
Read the proclamation.

Read more news stories.