The educational offerings were valuable to me and the Surgery Center where I work. I typically try to take classes in the Ambulatory track, but often have to make hard choices between leadership, ambulatory and practice. That is a nice problem to have! Dr. Gawande’s presentation was informative and his surgical checklist certainly is not a new concept to the OR nurses I know.

AORN is also the time to reconnect with other E-Chapter members. I love meeting up with people I haven’t seen in a year! Thanks to the leadership of E-Chapter and the work that is done throughout the year to make our AORN Congress a success.

I truly enjoyed running into old friends and networking with many new ones that share a common bond! I also felt a rekindling of energy toward OR practice, the issues, and even parliamentary procedure. I found myself reading everything I could about the topics we would be discussing and felt like I had a voice in the organization.

I am looking forward to serving in the delegate role for many years to come. I would highly recommend serving as a delegate and eChapter involvement to any AORN member. Thank you for the wonderful privilege of representing eChapter as a delegate. I look forward to next year!

Networking with colleagues is always a plus at Congress, but being a delegate was the icing on the cake. I thank you for the privilege of representing the eChapter this year!

It was great to see so many eChapter members in Denver- our table became a focal point for those who wanted to meet and greet. We proudly “uploaded” 68 of our potential 87 delegates! As always, AORN Congress was a needed shot-in-the-arm to invigorate us and remind us of our passion for periOperative nursing. I can hardly wait for Philadelphia 2011!

It was also a great time for me to spread the word about how to become a Magnet hospital. I socialized with many different nurses from around the country regarding Magnet status, and what it could do for them! As a delegate, I feel we accomplished many things in the house, and brought issues up that need to be contend with. Go eChapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was my first Congress in my 23 years of periOperative nursing and it was an amazing experience. Fortunately for me, I was able to meet Terri early on in the week of Congress. As a member of both my local Chapter and a member of eChapter, I was eager to meet some of those people who I only get to read about. I was honored to be asked to be a delegate for eChapter and took this responsibility seriously. I have been looking for a low key way to start getting more involved in AORN and this seems to be my answer.

Being a Delegate was a learning experience in so many ways. I was able to listen to the candidates and attend the House of Delegates for the first time. The whole delegate process is humbling for a first time attendee. I am eager to attend Congress next year in Philadelphia.

The national economy has affected our organization and each individual member and I was thrilled to see the participation by the exhibitors and registered attendees. I was honored to listen to each and every candidate verbalize their vision of the future of AORN and expand my knowledge of their position beyond what was printed in the journal. Working the eChapter booth gave me the opportunity to get to know many members and prospective members while serving the chapter.

I look forward to a meaningful year with eChapter and look forward to meeting all of you and revisiting this wonderful opportunity in Philadelphia in 2011.

  To me it is always a learning experience as well as a reminder of what we are working for.  It is amazing to have a group of people so large and so dedicated to the same goal of patient safety and excellence in perioperative care.    There were so many diverse offerings to attend.  As always, the perioperative bowl was one of my favorites - it is a fun way of learning what you do and don't know without any pressure - unless you are on stage.  I also attended the face transplant session.  It is fascinating to see the advances we have seen in medicine over my career.  I look forward to the next phase of this procedure which is going to be published this spring.

  The exhibitors show was amazing as always.  I talked to one vendor who was attending for the first time and was really overwhelmed by the size and scope of the offerings.  As always we received so many education hours on the floor.

  Next year will bring new changes to both the voting and the business portions of Congress but I plan to be there and hope to see many of you there also.  It is great to have the opportunity of meeting face to face the chapter members and it is truly amazing to see the diversity of our chapter members.  Hope to see you in Philadelphia, Pa.

  Denver was also a good choice to host the AORN Congress.  Everyone I met was friendly and nice, the city beautiful and the diverse weather from sandals to parkas, a nice change for me.  Thanks to AORN for the discount I received for a much needed massage on Friday afternoon.  Between all the walking I did and bags I lugged around was much appreciated. 

  I am looking forward in anticipation of next years convention in Philadelphia.  I would be open to serve once again as a delegate if the opportunity is there. Thank you for an enjoyable, informative and well run Congress,

As I said, this was my first congress, I want to thank Terri and Melody for their guidance throughout the week. I was a little overwhelmed with trying to plan out my day.  I enjoyed 'manning the eChapter booth as I was able to talk to many people about the benefits of eChapter membership, as well as spot some old friends from my days as a traveling nurse.

I will be presenting some of the information I learned in the sessions, as well as new products from the vendors. Hopefully, it will be well received and improve our already impressive practices. I came away from Congress inspired and with more determination to become involved with AORN and my chapter, as well as about 40 pounds of goodies from the vendors!  See you next year!

I was especially impressed by the number of eChapter members that were educational speakers and national participants. Additionally, I had conversations with several members in regards to increasing my participation in AORN. Everyone was interested and encouraging. This made me feel proud to be an echapter member. So next year, if you are curious as to how you can learn more and participate in AORN and the eChapter, I suggest you become a delegate. You will walk away from the experience, changed for the better.

During this congress, I became a delegate and a member of the CA “grass roots” council. I had the honor to meet Monica Weisbrich, RN (State Council Leader). Monica Travels to Mexico to provide surgical services to disadvantage children with cleft palate deformities. Monica invited me to join her in one of her trips and I agreed to travel with her surgical team in November. I enjoyed attending forum and taking part in the voting process. The debates were definitely of interest since the issues would impact all AORN members. I also had the privilege to vote for AORN’s new leadership.

I am completely jazzed about this amazing opportunity and take pride of being an OR nurse. I am looking forward to next year’s congress in Philadelphia and hope to see you all there!

On another note, I had the privilege of attending the presentation by David Gergen.  He spoke about the issues facing the President Obama – a very thoughtful presentation.  The other presentation of note that I attended was one on checklists given by Atul Gwande.  Although his presentation was excellent and thought-provoking, I was very disappointed in his lack of the humility he espouses.  He did not recognize the very significant contributions of perioperative nurses to the WHO checklist.  I had thought he was better than that!

I presented a poster from my organization, Scottsdale Healthcare. It was “A Safe Environment of Care: Cleaning is Just One Facet.” It represented the actions taken by a multidisciplinary task force that worked for many months to effect environmental changes in just one Peri-operative site. By networking with many attendees, I concluded that many of the frustrating process problems that I encounter are common to many surgical departments. SCIP; UNIVERSAL PROTOCOL; Flash Sterilization; just to name a few.

The Forums and House of Delegate sessions were very interesting and stimulating. There was an atmosphere that seemed supportive of accomplishing the association’s business in a collegial way. I thought the presentations of both the candidates and the current Board were presented professionally and with just the right amount of detail. It was gratifying to come out with a compromise that retains the House of Delegates, but also provides for inclusion of attending members at Congress.

Michelle also participated in Project C.U.R.E

Opening session was just great. Our salute to the armed forces , our respect to those brave men and women reminded me once again how much it means to live in a free America. It was good to see the awards presented at Opening session, and the young man who presented the music and our national anthem had such a beautiful voice, it brought tears of joy to my eyes. Gergen's program was enlightening, and Gawande did an excellent presentation on the value of a checklist.

I enjoyed the debate in the HOD concerning the bylaws changes  then voting "yes" to bring about positive   changes for us at AORN. I thank all of you who attended my presentation, and the positive comments you shared with me. The love, respect, and kindness we show to each other always warms  my heart, and refreshes my soul. I thank you for letting me serve.