Looking back – Congress seems so long ago. We are now into that summer rush when we all hurry home from work to enjoy the summer sunshine. No wonder they have Congress in early Spring, when we are all just emerging from our winter cocoons.

AORN Congress is the meeting I look forward to all year, every year. Those years I cannot attend, I feel cut off from the “happenings” and when I look at the photos on our website I realise I missed a great party. Oh yes – the education events are amazing and the exhibits are always overwhelming!

The first congress I attended, I was shy (those who know me now will laugh) and did not know “the tricks” to surviving the crazy week. I met some wonderful, friendly people. The next year was a turning point for me. I met Susan Guerra at an evening reception, and she told me about eChapter, a world wide electronic chapter that was just beginning. When I committed to join this fledgling group, I found a means to get actively involved in AORN. The rest is history; I have been an advocate and active member of eChapter ever since. Echapter has over 2,000 members and is growing all the time – we need YOU to become active and help us meet the needs of our members.

Why would a foreign nurse, working and living outside the USA, want to belong to be an active member of AORN? The AORN Journal and resources available electronically are invaluable for my research and education. One year I was able to be a poster present. The educational opportunities at Congress are incredible; I learn about emerging trends in nursing and surgery and hear inspiring speakers. I leave re-energised. See you in Orlando -- and even sooner on the eChapter forum.

• Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, RN, MD, MPH, FACS who spoke on “prevention, preparedness, and health care literacy”
• Newt Gingrich, and
• Melodie Chenevert, RN, MSN, CRNFA, FAAN who gave a whole new dimension to the story of Cinderella.

AORN Congress is big. So big (12,000+) that it staggers the imagination. With a sense of awe, I stood in the back of the convention center and watched the crowd as they would stream in and out of the large hall To see this many nurses focusing on the topics of the day- quality, patient safety, professional issues, it was amazing. So many session leaders sharing and contributing their personal experience and research, leveraging these best practices to so many. What opportunity we have as patient advocates, it is amazing! There was such community in the conversations I could hear all around me. Me too! Same here! The like comments echoed from so many small groups networking about their common concerns and challenges.

AORN Congress not only looks at the future, but reverently remembers the past. Not only the lives of colleagues are acknowledged, but also the memory of surgical nursing and how far we have come. Comparisons and reflections on practices, equipment, and day-to-day life in the OR from “then to now” are discussed, laughed about and fondly recalled. Without exception no one will disagree that patients lives are in much better stead thanks to technical advances and empirical research furthering nursing practice today.

AORN Congress connects our profession in a way like no other organization, meeting or education. Its fun, its enlightening, it’s exhausting! There is so much to hear, talk about, and learn about the days stretch into the late evenings. “I’ll sleep next weekend- this is to much fun” was my motto; I didn’t want to miss a thing.

AORN Congress in Washington, DC – does it get any better than that?

As I read the comments from other delegates, I find there is little left to be said. You all said it so well. I can only reflect on what Congress meant to me ---.

The opportunity to be a delegate for the eChapter at AORN Congress was unexpected and exciting. Although I’ve attended many Congresses, it’s been awhile since I had the privilege of being a representative for a chapter. Upon arriving at the Convention Center, registering and gathering ID, bags, etc, I was so excited to be a member of this elite group.

I knew little about the eChapter for I was a fairly new member, so was duly impressed to find that we are large in number and that I knew so many members. The unity and enthusiasm of this group is amazing. As the week progressed and I took my turn at the eChapter booth, attended forums, delegate sessions, meetings, and educational sessions, saw old friends and met new, I continue to be amazed by the solidarity of purpose that I sense in membership. The eChapter dinner meeting was terrific, kudos to those responsible; let’s do it again! We were all at Congress with the similar missions, whether to attend general and educational sessions, renew friendships, assist in the decision making process, or to have fun in historic DC. Mission accomplished!

This session of AORN Congress may be over but the decisions and accomplishments made will be a part of posterity. How awesome to be part of eChapter and a creative, energizing, proactive, professional organization – AORN.

Congress represents our opportunity to meet face to face the other eChapter members we communicate with throughout the year.   That in itself is special – it’s great to meet the person behind the keyboard.   It allows us the opportunity to better know the officers, board, and committee members.   Now when we communicate electronically, we know whom we are talking to, have shaken their hands, and have more that an electronic message to relate to.

A recent eChapter project was collecting scrubs at the request of one of our board members who is stationed in Iraq.   I have scrubs donated by Marie Johnson and myself, have a monetary donation from Elaine Parker, and scrub caps donated by the eChapter which I will send off this week.   Pat Mews informed me that Medline is interested in assisting our troops in Iraq with scrubs.   What a great idea! Thanks, Pat!   We’ll let you know the outcome of Medline’s offer.

From the idea of sending the phone cards (Hooray to Stephanie Stanfield) to the eChapter dinner which was a great time (Great job Gwen and Terri) to all the great legislation and position statements we completed, this was a Great Congress.

Congress, in the past, was a time to renew aquaintances and catch-up with old friends. It was also a time to deal with the issues currently before the House, and make decisions regarding the direction of our organization, while also taking in all the latest developments in technology related to the perioperative arena.

This year provided an additional opportunity, because of the candidate forum, to meet and discuss issues with some members that I would not have had the opportunity to meet under normal circumstances. It was a very rewarding experience and provided me with additional insight reagrding the issues that are important to our members. I appreciated the opportunity to have this experience, and thank all those in e-Chapter that supported me throughout the week.

Experiencing eChapter as a living thing
When cyberstrangers and cyberfriends
Come face to face with colleagues dear
With whom they’ve communicated all year
But whom they’ve never met.

Our meeting and the chapter dinner
Without a doubt were each a winner
A private vault at the District Chop House
Just us - fantastic food and celebration
Most definitely a new tradition.

Each Congress keeps the chapter growing
As new friends make commitments, knowing
How they’ll work together and continue
To increase the chapter’s value
For the members out in cyberspace

For me it isn’t the education
That Congress offers, but the celebration
Of my years in nursing and how much it means
To have a profession that brings value to many
And to me, joy for a lifetime.

I had the opportunity to have two "first time" attendess from the inpatient OR at University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) attend. It was so much fun to watch the "WOW" factor of the two staff nurses attend their first AORN Congress! One of the staff nurses presented a research poster at Congress and was delighted that she had an audience for her poster. On Monday, when she was present during the poster session, she was so thrilled that members stopped, read her poster, and requested information on her skin integrity project. She was not only honored, but so excited that she contributed to another's learning or practice change.

The second staff nurse came to the OR as a nursing graduate, eighteen months ago. She is now part of the cardiovascular team. Since UCH had a booth in the recruitment section of the exhibits, I asked her to assist in the booth on Wednesday to talk with any nursing students who participated in the student/faculty sessions. It was so much fun to watch her talk about being a new graduate in the OR, her experiences learning patient care in the OR and being on the cardiac team. She was the best "sales person" for our OR! She was delighted to talk with experienced OR nurses and tell them the unique opportunities at UCH! Both came back to work the following week, very excited, committed to adapting something that they had learned to their environment, and already strategizing on how they could help get more of their peers to attend Congress next year!

I always get re-energized attending Congress. However, this year it was even more special having two first time attendees participate!

Congress 2006 was an exciting event for me in that I love Washington DC! What a grand place to visit! And a great meeting place to see old friends, and make new friends too! The business portions of Congress this year were not as exciting as the matters that came before the Delegates in 2005 – but it was still a moving experience to be a part of the decision making process guiding the organization and helping to shape the future for perioperative nurses. I found classes to attend to challenge my skills, I found motivation in the speakers invited to our Congress, and I found inspiration in my fellow AORN members and friends. And I had great fun visiting and sharing with members and friends of our eChapter! I am looking forward to Congress 2007 – see you in Florida!

• An awesome experience because of the new and old friends from the eChapter that I met or reconnected with.
• The opening session was an eye opening with all branches of the military represented in the opening possession by our own AORN members!
• Working in the eChapter booth gave me opportunities to recruit members for our chapter and also help make our chapter financially staple. Collecting the phone cards was a great way to show our support for the military at home and abroad.
• Meeting Trudy Kenyon and being together for many of the eChapter events made it very special to me. We shared many stories about our beloved families.
Voting at the House of Delegates electronically was a great experience. Knowing that my vote will affect the practices in our workplace. Voting for our elected officers and Nominating Committee was very important to me because I do want our organization to be lead by the best qualified candidates.
• Visiting the exhibit hall and seeing the new technology and taking the exhibitor for making all this possible. I love the opportunities to get additional contact hrs on the exhibit floor with the live presentations and self-study modules. Of course my staff back home enjoyed the goodies that I brought to them.
• One of my favorite sessions was the first general session “Cinderella Retold for AORN” on Sunday morning. She said that every nurse’s desires to be a queen but someone must still do the scut work. She told us of the risks and responsibilities associated with “wearing the crown”. Her costume was something that I will always remember.
• The eChapter dinner on Wednesday evening was a memorable event. Hats off to the planning committee.

Our e-chapter collected around 2000 phone cards which were given to military personnel who were injured, probably mostly in Iraq. That means that they received 20,000 minutes of call time to talk with their loved ones! Our chapter did well!

It was good to see all the delegates representing our chapter, from the "high mucky-mucks" to the typical chapter member like myself. We all met for a face-to-face meeting to help iron out how our chapter will be structured in the future to who would represent AORN best in the elections. I think that being a delegate is the best way to attend Congress, because that is how you really find out how AORN works, both what it can do for you and what you can contribute to the organization. You have the responsibility to represent other nurses and discuss issues that you have at your facility or may come across in the future.

I encourage anyone who is unable to meet at their local chapter, due to distance constrictions, or travelers or anyone who just wants to get a more global idea of periOperative nursing to join the e-chapter. It is a wonderful chapter that is truly international in scope.

• The pomp of Opening Session
• Meeting people from diverse cultures who become life-long friends
• Networking with people in varied practice settings with the same issues I have in my own workplace
• Discovering the hottest techniques and cutting edge surgeries during the educational sessions
• Hearing great speakers like Newt Gingrich and our Surgeon General Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S.
• The privilege of enjoying the excellent educational sessions both in the session rooms and on the Exhibitor floor
• Seeing the latest and greatest in technology on the Exhibit floor - some of which is released during Congress and AORN attendees are the first to see it
• Thanking the Exhibitors in person for their support of AORN
• Meeting Staff from AORN Headquarters and putting a name to a face
• Networking with colleagues during the specialty assembly meetings
• Meeting International attendees and hearing about nursing in their practice settings
• Soliciting new members for eChapter
• The fantastic poster displays
• Attending early morning breakfast educational sessions and getting up at 4am to be there
• Buying a rose at the Foundation to put in a wreath to commemorate a colleague who died recently
• The receptions
• The parties
• The functions
• The wining and dining at great restaurants in Congress city
• The tours
• The laughter
• The treat of keynote speakers and the week in review at Closing Session
• The tears of goodbye until next year

Being a Delegate at the 53rd Congress meant

• Representing eChapter and our growing membership
• Participating in making changes in our organization and recommended practice areas/li>
• Listening to members voice their opinions as we shape our organization/li>
• Meeting past presidents and learning from their wisdom/li>
• Hearing what we’ve done as an organization over the past year/li>
• Learning how AORN is growing and our financial solubility/li>
• Listening to the reports of the many task forces that are involved in promoting excellent patient standards over the past year/li>
• Having the opportunity to debate points of order and agree or disagree with opinions on how we change our recommended practices/li>
• Working at our chapter booth and raising money to make us strong/li>
• Collecting phone cards and making an outreach to our military both here in the USA and abroad/li>
• Meeting some of our eChapter membership face to face and passing the gavel and responsibilities to the next executive/li>
• Voting the AORN executive into office/li>
• The Candidates reception and meeting the newly elected executive/li>
• The eChapter dinner!

I have been looking for a new niche in my professional career and found that I would like to get involved in the Legislative area of AORN.   Living here in Sacramento, there is lot happening right out my back door.   Our legislators do indeed need to hear and see us to understand how important some of the issues are.

All in all, it was a great week.   The weather cooperated so lots of sightseeing was possible.   I was on the Metro at least twice a day.   DC has so much history, especially compared to what we have in the "New" West!   I am so happy I got to meet all of you, and the best ideas of all were collecting the phone cards and the "Face to Face" dinner.   Kudos to everyone for a job well done.

• Honoring our military in the opening ceremony
• Excellent speakers including Newt Gingrich, Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona,
• RN, MD, MPH, FACS who honors and values nurses and Melodie Chenevert, RN,
• MSN, CRNFA, FAAN who added the humor factor with such style and grace!
• Meeting old friends and making new ones
• Working in the eChapter booth
• Collecting phone cards (great idea, Stephanie!)
• eChapter meeting and dinner
• Making the rounds in the exhibit hall to check out what’s new
• Packing up all the freebies from the exhibit hall and getting them home!!!
• Meeting with my state congressional representatives
• Voting for the future of AORN
• And the surreal experience of doing all of this in our nation’s capital.

The House has also changed - bringing much more for the Delegates to discuss and vote upon.  Attending the eChapter meeting was also very informative and gave me another chance to meet other members of our huge growing chapter.   The dinner after the meeting was also very relaxing and fun. I want to thank Randy for his leadership during the past year and all the work the Board has contributed to making eChapter such a wonderful chapter.   Thanks to Karen for such good coordination of all the Delegates and for giving me the opportunity to represent our Chapter at AORN Congress.

eChapter had the annual “Face-to-Face” chapter meeting, and followed up with dinner and conversation with those familiar names, and now familiar faces.   About 50 members and visitors joined in the business at hand.   I was very proud to announce the addition of two new key players which will definitely bring value to the chapter: Pat Mews is our Legislative Committee Chair, and Cynthia Spry is our Education Committee Chairperson.   The eChapter meeting and dinner were the highlight of my week for sure!   Our Congress Planning team Chair, Gwen Kopecky, did a wonderful job coordinating these events.

Be sure you check the pictures on the website captured by many this year as Perioperative Nurses gathered to better the profession and practice for us all.   A HUGE Thanks to Terri Goodman for her tireless efforts as she works to keep our website what it is.

Your delegates represented you selflessly and proudly.   eChapter Delegates spent many hours in forums, meeting and interacting with candidates, and participating in the House of Delegates, discussing and voting on issues as well as candidates for the upcoming AORN Board of Directors and Nominating Committee.   Responsibilities did not end there, but included participation at the eChapter Fund Raising Booth where surgical hats, caps, and chapter pins were sold.   In addition, look for postings from the delegates as they describe their experience at Congress. Check these out at www.eChapter.org/2006delegates.html.

A special KUDO’s goes out to Stephanie Stanfield and the AORN Congress Attendees.   Stephanie came up with an idea that benefited our servicemen and brought positive recognition to eChapter.   She came to me with the idea that eChapter should collect the phone cards that had been donated to registrants at Congress, and send them to our servicemen over-seas and stateside for their use.   The response was overwhelming -- more than 2000 cards were collected and donated.

As my term as your President enters the Fourth Quarter, I would hope that everyone is thinking about upcoming elections.   Have you given thought to taking a lead role as we continue to evolve as a young chapter.   Consider running for positions opening up. President Elect, two Board Members at Large, Secretary, and one Nominating Committee Member will be filled.   Marie Johnson is Chair of Nominating Committee and can answer your questions or direct you.   Please contact Marie or any board member for more information or go to www.echapter.org and review the roles in the eChapter operating policies under the “eChapter Business” drop down box.   This is a great experience -- you get much more out of your efforts than you put in.   Serving on your board for the past four years in three different roles has been one of my best educational experiences.   I hope you consider this opportunity to contribute.

A Little Texas Braggin”….Neighboring Dallas TX Chapter #4403 Brought Home the Gold Medal at the Perioperative Quizbowl. Congratulations!!!

Karen Hausteen established the first eChapter QuizBowl team this year. We're extremely proud of them, even thought they didn't advance to the final round.   Plans are already underway to better our showing in 2007.   Sign up now with Karen Hausteen to participate or assist with this venture.

Till next time, we need to build up speed as Karen prepares to take the lead role as your President on August 1, 2006.   Consider getting involved as eChapter pioneers the future.

e - It's exciting, it's evolving, and it's for you and me.
C - A confidence building platform, giving me the chance to succeed (through fellowship and friendship) with my masters. A big thanks you to all who expressed a desire to participate in my research.
H - Highlights of the eChapter week at congress include Stephanie's "cards for the troops" developing friendships old and new at the eChapter dinner.
A - An active chapter that develops its members through education and networking opportunities.
P - Progressive chapter with a rapidly growing and enthusiastic membership.
T - Technological based chapter firing its membership upwards and onwards into the 21st C.
E - Education forum with online CPD.
R - Responsible in it activities as part of AORN.

CONGRESS:

C - Camaraderie among fellow OR nurses.
O - Organisational skills were put to the test as I juggled my delegate responsibilities with sessions, socialising and sightseeing.
N - Networking opportunities at receptions, in sessions and social functions with like-minded international perioperative nurses.
G - Growth in personal and professional wisdom and knowledge.
R - Resolve to live with personal grief through the "good grief" session.
E - Educated to look at new and alternative ways of working, to use the position statements presented in the house of delegates, to develop new or enhance existing policies and guidelines back home in the UK.
S - Supports me in personal and professional development.
S - Stress busting sanity break from the real world.

What I enjoyed most of all was experiencing the growth of the eChapter in terms of our ability to connect at Congress.   Despite how tired we all were on Wednesday evening, it was great to see the efforts that were made to get together and follow our Business meeting with dinner.   Thanks to our eChapter AORN Planning Committee for managing these details for us!!   I hope we can repeat this next year.   Again thank you for the privilege to represent EChapter as a Delegate.

President McNamara announced that six new AORN chapters were formed this year, bringing the total number of chapter’s to 351.   She also welcomed more than 600 members attending Congress for the first time.   The ambassador program and its ambassador’s key to recruiting and retention were recognized.   The top recruiter was recognized for recruiting 64 new members. Attendees watched a video of highlights from Saturday night’s Award dinner, followed by a slide presentation of the winning Chapter Excellence Award entry from AORN of Metro Detroit, and a presentation by Brenda Ulmer, winner of the Award for Excellence.   President McNamara next brought Cyndi Long to the stage to unveil the tapestry of diversity that represented the Congress theme “Diversity: Patient, Practitioner, Practice.” She thanked the 143 chapters, state councils, specialty assemblies and other groups who contributed the raw material that went into making the tapestry.   At the end of the session, she said, “Remember, no matter who stands at this podium, its all about you.”

I am proud to be a member of the e Chapter where I am meeting new people and making new connections. Selling OR caps was fun - it was a great to raise money for the chapter - but it was even more fun to have a chance to chat with those who stopped by, including our own chapter members. I am looking forward to next year’s Congress fund-raiser.

I was pleased that at our e Chapter meeting so many people offered to get involved in chapter activities. The Chapter meeting, the group photos, the fundraiser and the dinner are so important to our existence and to having a strong and unified voice. I have given back to AORN nationally and to my former chapter and am excited about getting more involved in e Chapter - starting with the Education Committee - volunteers and suggestions welcome!!!!

My idea was to donate our unused phone cards to our military. Randy Moon, our chapter president, had the inspiration for eChapter to head up the drive. My sister-in-law’s suggestion was to take the phone cards to Washington area military hospitals so our injured service men and women could phone home. AORN’s Customer Service Manager Jim Kimmel’s thought was that AORN could donate the cards that were in unused registration materials. Ruth May’s contribution was to solicit Healthpoint for more unused cards. Lionel Gagner really had a brainstorm. Instead of the logistical nightmare of delivering all those phone cards around town his thought was to take them to the military representatives in the Exhibit Hall so they could bring the phone cards to their respective hospitals. Terri Goodman’s vision was to take lots of pictures!

There are some details I want to share about this process:

• This idea came to me in San Diego 2 years ago. I couldn’t bring it to fruition at that time.
• We collected about 2,000 phone cards, mostly by word of mouth and a small sign at the eChapter booth.
• Each person contributed something--whether it was manning the booth, counting and sorting the cards, talking to other attendees, or talking to AORN staff and Healthpoint representatives. Everyone participated in working toward a common goal.
In closing, I would like to say that I am indebted to the E-chapter membership who nurtured my idea and helped me to make a difference. It was an incredible experience which I will never forget. And I hope you will remember this when one of your co-workers says, “I have an idea……..”

The educational content is pertinent and current and the speakers are absolute leaders in their fields. The organization of the sessions makes it easy to determine where I need to be and when.

The networking is absolutely phenomenal. I have met so many contacts and formed new friendships with contacts I call on for assistance throughout the year. Some of these contacts are experts in their fields, some are friends and some are people I can rely on to help me gather information on special projects.

Since I have become involved in Specialty Assemblies and eChapter, I have a clearer understanding of the true value of AORN. The more I learn, the more I want to participate. I can invest as much time as I’m willing to and whatever that time is, it is so appreciated by the members of our organization, and it fulfills my need for giving something in return. A Delegate is responsible to review the Candidates’ statements and the issues that will be discussed in the House of Delegates. Delegates are empowered with the trust of their colleagues to address the issues that face our organization. AORN works for me and I volunteer to participate and work for our organization.