FROM HEADQUARTERS
Teamwork, technology and reform among issues discussed at AORN's 2009 Leadership Conference
By Matt Gunn
News Editor/Writer
After a weekend of activities in Denver, attendees of AORN’s annual Leadership Conference went home with new ideas on topics of teamwork, collaboration and where technology and reform might take healthcare in the future.
The event, held July 17-19, provided an intimate setting for about 275 AORN members, staff and nationally-recognized speakers to share ideas and discuss hot topics in healthcare leadership. Attendees were treated to a tour of AORN headquarters to kick of the event before getting down to business with conference sessions on subjects ranging from culture change and patient safety to advocacy.
|
Did you know? $20.00 of your membership dues is returned to your chapter Each month AORN Connections will feature little known facts about the association and AORN membership. To learn more, visit aorn.org/Membership. |
Attendees were encouraged to share information they learned with others, and a number of resources are available on the web.
“I just want to say it’s been a great weekend with you all,” said AORN president Patrick Voight, RN, BSN, MSA, CNOR, at the end of the event. “Please take this information back, share it with your state councils, with your chapters, with your committees, task forces, specialty assemblies. Share it with your coworkers.”
Here’s a look at what attendees experienced during AORN’s 2009 Leadership Conference:
Friday, July 17: AORN Headquarters
Two tour buses of members arrived at AORN Headquarters in southeast Denver on Friday afternoon. The gathering was an opportunity for members to see their building, and to meet each other and staff face to face.
During their time at headquarters, Leadership attendees got a first-hand look at AORN's various departments, such as the Center for Nursing Practice, AORN Foundation and the library. Additionally they were treated to a glimpse of OR Nurse Link, a social network AORN is launching later this summer. For more on OR Nurse link, see the preview here.
The next two days were all business, as Leadership's many educational sessions kicked off.
Saturday, July 18: Leadership
The Patient Safety Battles
Charles R. Denham, MD
Denham, chairman of the Texas Medical Institute of Technology, discussed the challenge of improving patient safety, the significance of improving the patient safety movement and what it takes to lead the ongoing efforts in safety. His style of infusing heartfelt stories of his experiences in healthcare with light videos highlighting various points won over the crowd quickly.
Among the things Denham emphasized were what he called the “Three Ts:” Truth, Trust and Teamwork. A leader can take these qualities, Denham said, and effect change not only in individual hospitals, but across the entire industry.
“I think that nurses and nursing leaders hold in their control the opportunity to make change,” he said.
Denham showed how humanizing patients and their families, and making their concerns your own, build trust and can improve the experience. He stressed that nurses were not only important in the patient safety role, but that they also provide the personal and social information link in healthcare.
“We can no longer talk about procedures or just an episode or a patient,” Denham said. “We have to talk about systems care.”
Denham made much of his material available here.
CSI (Culture, Structure, Indicators): The Road to Excellence
Robin D. Ramsey, RN, BSN, CNOR
In its mission to improve quality of care and patient safety, Poudre Valley Hospital, a 281-bed facility in Ft. Collins, Colo., attained Magnet™ designation and the Poudre Valley Health System earned the Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award.
Through its efforts to integrate into a team culture, Poudre Valley Health System improved patient and staff satisfaction, and is in the 99th percentile for physician loyalty, according to a Gallup poll.
“The autonomy and the strong relationship that the staff have with the physicians [have helped with turnover rate],” said Ramsey, Poudre Valley's director of perioperative service. “It’s very collaborative.”
Ramsey credited the facility's emphasis on staff culture and its work to build a foundation in staff satisfaction and engagement. Increasing staff's involvement and empowerment led to a 0% voluntary turnover rate at Poudre Valley Hospital in 2006 and 2008, along with a number of additional awards and accolades received since the early part of this decade.
Through empowerment, staff members “become co-owners of the department and not just people showing up and doing their job,” Ramsey said.
Health Reform and Nurse Advocacy Leadership
Craig M. Jeffries, Esq.
AORN Public Policy Consultant
Jeffries, AORN’s public policy consultant, provided Leadership attendees with an overview of the health reform challenges ahead and information about how members can get involved with AORN grassroots efforts.
He noted that AORN and its members are already participating in grassroots efforts at the state level, through collaboration with groups such as the American Nurses Association and through
informatics and the development of Syntegrity™ – a Standardized Perioperative Framework for electronic collection of data utilizing standardized terminology.
“As I look at this room full of leaders, I come to an area where I ask for your help,” Jeffries said.
He provided attendees with a list of areas they can get involved and pointed to a number of resources readily available through AORN's Web site. Find more information on AORN Government Affairs and join the organization's grassroots efforts.
Change Your Culture... or be Doomed to Repeat the Past! The new role of the nurse leader in becoming an employer and provider of choice
Brian Lee, CSP
The energetic Lee discussed the necessity of culture change as a means to becoming an employer and provider of choice.
“For culture change to work just fine it must be led from the top and the front line,” Lee said. “And when it’s led from the front line there isn’t anything that is impossible.”
Culture change, Lee said, begins with a vision of excellence and the desire to accomplish that goal (and not just try to accomplish it). Change begins at the top and affects a hospital's entire culture. For every 1% change in employee morale, Lee said, there is a 2% change in customer satisfaction.
Lee, CEO of Custom Learning Systems Group LTD, made a number of resources from his presentation available here.
Universal Protocol and World Health Organization Checklist Summit
Patricia Adamski, RN, MSN, MBA
Paula R. Graling, RN, MSN, CNOR, CAN
Patricia Adamski, the director of standards interpretation and the office of quality monitoring at The Joint Commission, and Paula Graling, AORN past president and clinical nurse specialist at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., discussed The Joint Commission’sUniversal Protocol and the World Health Organization's surgical safety checklist, how they differ, upcoming changes and how both can be integrated toward the goal of patient safety.
For more information on their presentation watch for the August issue of AORN Management Connections.
Other presentations on health reform
The final two presentations of 2009 Leadership dealt with the issues of healthcare reform and the role of health information technology, including a presentation by Paul Keckley, PhD, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions.Read this issue's “In Focus” for more.
Read more news in AORN Connections.