2019 FIRST TIME ATTENDEE GRANT WINNER
JEN MENARD 

I was able to attend the 2019 AORN Surgical Conference AND Expo this year as a first-time attendee.  This opportunity was so greatly appreciated and unexpected to say the least.  Around the same time that I was awarded the first-time attendee grant, I also was voted into the treasury position for the echapter of AORN.  This led to my ability to also go as a delegate and experience congress in the forums and house for the first time.  I was so inspired by all the men and women who are so passionate about the legal side of nursing and making improvement in procedures and policies.  I attended the echapter annual dinner and meet so many of you in the echapter, which warmed my heart and lead to my excitement for this upcoming year.  The in-services or classes I like to call them were informative, and heartfelt.  I really like that they stemmed from people’s own frustrations in what was happening at their facilities and the work they put in toward solutions.  It helped myself and my colleagues not feel so bad and alone about issues at our own facility. 

Seeing the expo hall for the first time was quite an experience.  It was so large and bright, and overwhelming.  The first couple hours were a blur and I’m not sure how much I retained from talking with all the sales reps.  We all had set missions on what vendors we thought we wanted to talk to but quickly got side tracked by all the shiny bright instruments, gizmos, and positioning devices.  The best part of the expo hall I thought were the informative sessions put on by some of the companies for the continuing education credits.  We quickly turned our focus to finishing as many of those as we could versus listening to sales pitches.

Nashville in general was an amazing city.  I am an avid country music fan and was so excited to listen to all the live music.  However, if I go to Nashville again, I will make sure someone besides myself listens to country, (HAHAHA).  There are so many different and diverse neighborhoods in that city that even a week wasn’t enough time to see or experience them all.  On our last day we visited the Belle Meade Plantation.  We did the Journey to Jubilee tour which follows the first African-Americans who were brought to the plantation and showed how vital their presence was to the existence of the property and to the family until 1906.  They took us through the homes of these men and women and showed us what it was like living and working there.  It was very enlightening and a beautiful historic entity.

Again, I want to thank everyone involved in allowing me the opportunity to go as the first-time attendee grant recipient.  The overwhelming kindness I received from each and everyone of you was so greatly appreciated, as I am so new to this realm and new position as treasurer.  I have the great most appreciation for what you all do and look forward to learning the tricks of the trade from my mentors.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Menard, RN CNOR