AORN Congress – 2024 House of Delegates

AORN President Elizabeth Pincus MSN, MBA, RN, ACNS-BC, CNS-CP, CNOR, wrapped up her year-long term of office at the House of Delegates Tuesday, praising the Board of Directors for “positioning our association for continued growth and success.”

Pincus spotlighted the accomplishments of the AORN task forces and committees, proudly outlining the work of The Care of the Transgender Patient Task Force, which created a tool kit of resources for nurses. “It has far exceeded my expectations. This material needs to be accessible to everyone who will provide care to trans patients, and it will be,” she said.

Pincus then welcomed a new class of 23 Emerging Perioperative Leaders under 40, as well as nine new Fellows of AORN (FAORN). Other task forces conducted AORN’s first Perioperative Nursing Research Symposium; created a tool kit for soon-to-retire, semi-retired, and retired nurses still active in their chapters and communities; and developed a tool kit focused on second victims.

CEO / Executive Director Report

CEO and Executive Director Linda Groah, MSN, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, reported on advances at AORN “to ensure it remain agile, resilient, and ready to seize the opportunities that lie ahead, assuring that AORN continues to lead and inspire excellence in perioperative nursing.”

She highlighted the growth of perioperative education in 60 nursing colleges across the country, thanks in large part to a groundbreaking partnership with Chamberlain University to engage undergraduates in the specialty. Groah also praised the Board of Directors for approving a 1.5-million-dollar grant to the AORN Foundation for educational grants to assist rural and critical access hospitals to purchase Periop 101to better help perioperative education reach all facilities in need . “This will provide equity in training and in the care of surgical patients in these facilities,” she said. 

Among the largest projects undertaken by AORN the past year was a national research initiative to gain firsthand perspectives from thousands of perioperative nurses on the evolving landscape of perioperative care, emerging trends, and areas requiring support or improvement. Armed with this comprehensive information, we are poised to embark on five initiatives in 2024-25:

• Improve AORN value by delivering clinical content & guideline essentials that are accessible on your hand-held devices.
• Focus on the needs of early career nurses by creating clinical & guideline tools that are specific to their level of experience and practice requirements.
• Continue to build out the Center for Perioperative Leadership with programs for novice, emerging, experienced leaders.
• Strengthen our focus on AORN’s industry partnerships to support important education and events for perioperative nursing and keep the perioperative voice at the forefront of industry advances.

Identify new ways to add value to membership.

Election Results Are In

Before outgoing President Pincus handed over the gavel to new President Nakeisha Tolliver, they announced the results of the national election for the 2024-2025 term.

Members elected three National Nominating Committee members, three Board of Directors, and the new Board Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and President-elect.  See who won.