Members can network at Congress specialty assembly meetings: Friday, March 9, to Thursday, March 15, 2007

AORN Journal,  Feb, 2007  

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With today's fast-paced health care environment, recent advances in medical technology, and patient safety concerns, there is an increased demand for specialized education and expertise within the perioperative nursing profession. To help our members meet these demands, AORN has created specialty assemblies--groups of several hundred to several thousand AORN members who work in specialized areas of perioperative nursing. Currently, there are 23 specialty assemblies that support the mission of AORN by providing information, specialized education resources, and networking opportunities for members. These assemblies allow members to network with others who have similar professional interests and to share their specialty expertise with the general membership. AORN offers many benefits for members of specialty assemblies, including

* Internet-based communities that members can access at any time to share information and exchange ideas with peers in their practice areas and that include features such as

* chat rooms,

* online discussion forums, current online articles relevant to each specialty, and

* easy document sharing with colleagues;

* a monthly section in AORN Connections, the AORN member newsletter, that is devoted to practice issues related to specific specialty areas; and

* face-to-face educational conferences that focus on specific practice areas. Specialty assemblies are listed in Table 1.

ORIENTATION

Each specialty assembly communicates through an online web portal, collaborates to offer specialized educational events, and convenes a coordinating council whose members identify trends and clinical issues in their specialty. Anyone interested in participating on specialty assembly committees or coordinating councils should attend the Pre-Congress leadership program for coordinating council members on Saturday, March 10, at 1:30 PM. Individual specialty assembly update meeting times are listed in Table 2.

SPECIALTY ASSEMBLY RECEPTION

Congress attendees are invited to join members of AORN's 23 specialty assemblies for a celebration on Sunday, March 11, from 6:30 to 8 PM in the Peabody Hotel. Specialty assembly members and individuals interested in learning about or forming a new specialty assembly are welcome to attend. Specialty assembly leaders will attend the reception to promote their individual assembly meetings during the week and to help participants meet as many people as possible.

The reception is designed to convene perioperative nurses from a variety of specialties to allow them to meet and exchange contact information. AORN members who attend Congress alone are especially encouraged to attend to develop contacts and facilitate networking during the rest of the week.