Why have a perioperative Nurse Week? - Editorial

AORN Journal,  Nov, 2003  by Nancy J. Girard

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November is a good month for perioperative nurses because the week of November 9 to 15 officially has been designated as Perioperative Nurse Week. This is a time for recognizing and honoring perioperative nurses everywhere, regardless of practice site, role, or specialty. The theme of Perioperative Nurse Week this year is "Perioperative Nurses: Providing Safe Patient Care In the OR and Beyond."

IN THE BEGINNING

Perioperative Nurse Week had its beginnings in 1979 at the AORN Congress. The House of Delegates was discussing a proposed regulation by the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to allow surgical technologists to circulate in the OR when a motion was made to have a day committed to educating laymen about what perioperative nurses do. The motion passed, and Nov 14, 1979, was designated as OR Nurse Day.

The purpose was to set aside an official day to demonstrate the importance of having a professional perioperative nurse rather than assistive personnel in charge of the OR. The focus of OR Nurse Day was to target the public, legislators, and other health care professionals and educate them about the role of professional perioperative nurses. The "President's Message" in the November issue of the AORN Journal that year contained reasons and suggestions for celebrating OR Nurse Day that still are pertinent today. (1)

EVOLUTION

In 1990, OR Nurse Day became a week-long celebration, but the focus remained on educating the public about perioperative nurses' role. The week incorporates OR Nurse Day, which still is celebrated on November 14. Through the years, many hospitals, chapters, and individual members have developed programs and presentations to celebrate Perioperative Nurse Week, including inviting children and members of the public into the OR, presenting posters at Congress, and having their city or state officially proclaim Perioperative Nurse Week.

My question to all of you is why are we not better recognized by the public, administrators, educators, and even nurses in other specialties if we have been telling them what we do for 24 years? Why do people still doubt our professionalism and our practice of nursing? Why is there still talk of technologists circulating, and why have technologists almost completely taken over the role of scrub person?

The answers to these questions must be investigated and debated. What are we as professionals doing right, and what are we doing wrong to promote our specialty? How do environmental factors, political climates, and socioeconomic factors affect what we do? Are we still on track with the original premise (ie, educating the public)? Should we include other aspects or go in other directions?

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The motto for Perioperative Nurse Week this year--Perioperative Nurses: Providing Safe Patient Care in the OR and Beyond--is an excellent way to start. Safety in health care is high on the list of national concerns, and we are in an excellent position to communicate how perioperative nurses can positively affect safety.

The original plan to educate the public remains an outstanding idea, but we must move beyond promoting ourselves and focus on how we protect the public. We have to demonstrate that we still are worthy of being called professionals. We also must convince the public and all those with decision-making abilities that RNs must remain an integral part of the OR. We are obligated to exhibit nursing professionalism to legislators, our surgical team members, and other health care professionals, including students. Issues from 1979 have re-emerged that are as pertinent and valid today as they were 24 years ago, and technologists and surgical assistants again are laying claim to the roles nurses play in the OR. For these reasons and many more, Perioperative Nurse Week remains very important to all of us.

AORN Online lists products and informational materials about Perioperative Nurse Week at http://www.aorn.org/about/nurseweek.htm. These materials can be used to help members celebrate this week and further educate their peers, legislators, and members of the public. I look forward to reading how you celebrated Perioperative Nurse Week this year and seeing the posters at Congress.

This month, go out and tell someone what you do and how much patients need you to keep them safe during their most vulnerable time. Happy Perioperative Nurse Week to you all.

NOTE

(1.) B J Gruendemann, "Strong self-image is key to OR Nurse Day," (President's Message) AORN Journal 30 (November 1979) 833-834.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group