Chart Notes

Start Building Your Schedule

First Time—or Need a Refresher?

Join the pre-conference orientation webinar on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:00pm ET to get the inside scoop, then visit the First-Time Attendee Lounge at the conference, where Expo Ambassadors are ready to answer questions and help you navigate your experience.  Join Orientation

Turn Your Opinions Into Travel Money

AORN and our Industry Partners are looking for participants for focus groups. Complete the questionnaires below and if you qualify, you'll be asked to share your opinions in a one-on-one or small group setting and receive cash for your time.

• Industry Partner Focus Groups
  Provide feedback on products, resources, and innovations shaping the future of perioperative care.
  Take the Screener
  
• AORN Focus Groups
  Help shape how AORN develops education, improves digital tools, and advances DEI initiatives.
  Take the Screener

Save Your Seat for Special Breakfast & Lunch Events 

Join us for hosted meal events designed to bring valuable insights — and great food — to your conference experience. Space is limited and filling fast so don’t wait to RSVP. 

• Make Your ASC an Efficient Machine: Solving Problems with Meaningful Innovation
  Ambulatory Hub Lunch
  Saturday, Apr. 11| 12:15pm - 1:15pm
  Sponsored by Zimmer Biomet
  This event is now full.
• Beyond Closure: Improving Outcomes and Operation
  Sunrise Breakfast Symposium
  Monday, Apr. 13 | 6:30am–7:30am
  Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson
  Space is limited - RSVP to claim your spot

Getting Around

Driving directions and parking information is available on the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center website. Lots B & F are closest to AORN's space in the Convention Center. Get details

Plan Ahead: Add These to Your Schedule

Kick Things Off on Friday

Stop by the Lobby E registration area starting at 2:00 pm to take part in a hands-on volunteer activity—and connect with fellow attendees right away. Help paint plant pots that will be gifted to local seniors aging in place. Drop in anytime (or until all 500 pots are completed). Corporate support provided by Aesculap

Try a “HOT” New Way to Learn (Saturday and Sunday)

Step into Escape Room: A "HOT" New Way to Engage Learners—a 30-minute interactive experience designed to strengthen clinical recognition, response, and communication through hands-on scenarios and guided debriefing. 

Multiple sessions available April 11 and 12.  RSVP Now

Connect with Educator & Outpatient Peers (Saturday)

Looking to meet colleagues who share your role and challenges? Join us for quick-connection networking sessions in the Ambulatory Hub and Educator Hub on Saturday, 1:30–2:00 pm. These informal gatherings are designed to spark conversations, exchange ideas, and build new professional connections.

Expo Hall Power Hour (Monday)

We’ve created a dedicated early-access experience on Monday morning for Leadership Summit participants and manager-level & above attendees. This focused hour on Monday, 8 – 9 am, offers time to explore exhibits before the Expo opens to all attendees at 9 am. Enjoy coffee, breakfast, and meaningful conversations – plus a chance to win one of 10 $500 American Express gift cards when your badge is scanned at entry. The Expo Hall opens to all attendees immediately following Power Hour.

Visit the Learning Lab in the Expo Hall (Monday and Tuesday)

On Monday and Tuesday, stop by the Learning Lab for short sessions to spark new ideas and explore innovations designed for the OR.

Poster Presentations (Monday)

Hundreds of perioperative professionals will be sharing their research and practical improvements. Posters go up Saturday, but plan to attend the Poster Meet & Greet on Monday from 9:30am–12:00pm.

• One highlight: Poster #183, showcasing how one health system’s perioperative RNs and informaticists partnered with the AORN Syntegrity team and Epic to redesign the Intra‑operative Care Plan Tool—driving patient‑focused care plans and measurable improvements. Stop by booth #1024 to learn how the AORN Syntegrity Solution helps perioperative RNs work more efficiently, improve patient safety, and demonstrate nursing value.

Hands-On Learning at the Skills Studios (Monday and Tuesday)

Discover two dynamic Skills Studios on Monday & Tuesday in the Expo Hall where you’ll elevate your clinical confidence and learn new strategies through exciting hands-on activities.

• Mastering Suture Selection and Hemostasis: A Practical Skills Lab
  Supported by Johnson & Johnson
• SPD Live! Making SPD Operations Smarter & Easier
  Supported by STERIS