Congress General Sessions encourage, enlighten, and inspire: Sunday, March 11, to Thursday, March 15, 2007

AORN Journal,  June, 2007  by Lynn J. Hayne,  Liz Cowperthwaite,  Rebecca L. Holm,  Annie Lenth

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Those who attended the 54th AORN Congress were treated to motivating and challenging messages at the daily General Sessions. Several thousand Congress attendees gathered for these sessions and were encouraged to be good team players, to generate excitement about the nursing profession, to make wise choices in life, to learn about evidence-based practice, to be compassionate in providing care, and to be willing to laugh at themselves.

GOULDTHORPE RECOMMENDS "BE GIRAFFE-LIKE"

Attendees at the General Session, "Be All You Can Be," were treated to an insightful message presented by Hugh F. Gouldthorpe, Jr, senior vice president and "head cheerleader" of quality and communications at Owens and Minor Inc, Mechanicsville, Va. It was clear why this motivational speaker drew such a large crowd as he shared mottos and pithy sayings for life. "Don't take yourself seriously," Gouldthorpe admonished. He also cautioned that if you stop learning you will stop growing.

Gouldthorpe shared with his audience his list of heroes, which include Michael Jordan, Mother Teresa, Winston Churchill, Rosa Parks, and Sam Walton. Gouldthorpe explained that Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, significantly influenced him by living out the truth that "you're never too important to meet someone."

Gouldthorpe went on to encourage the audience members to be "giraffes," in that they should

* stand head and shoulders above the rest,

* be someone people look up to,

* be willing to stick their necks out,

* have vision to see where they want to be,

* have a big heart,

* be tireless,

* be competitive, and

* be compassionate.

Teamwork is an essential element to success in life, according to Gouldthorpe. He shared his philosophy that "there ain't none of us as good as all of us." An essential part of teamwork is communication, which is the "glue that holds it all together." The ability to communicate well is what lights the fire in people. Essential to being a good communicator is being a good listener, smiling at the person you are speaking with, looking at the person, and remembering to thank him or her.

Gouldthorpe concluded with an encouragement to be a cheerleader, a coach, and a servant leader. He reminded the audience that nurses are very special, and he encouraged them not to underestimate the importance of what they do. He concluded his talk by giving nurses a final "tip:"

* T--create Trust,

* I--operate with Integrity, and

* P--have a Passion for what you do.

When you follow this maxim, said Gouldthorpe, you will be good at what you do.

NURSES CHALLENGED TO USE THEIR POWER

Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, delivered an inspiring message titled "Nursing Tools for the Future: Politics, Power, Passion," to an audience of nurses who were open to receiving insight from a seasoned colleague. Dr Malone explained that using power, politics, and passion is "the only way to deliver quality patient care" and strengthen the perioperative profession.

Dr Malone described five types of power--informational, legitimate, charisma, coercion, extended--and illuminated each type with personal and professional anecdotes to which the audience could relate. Informational power, which is crucial to delivering quality patient care, requires efficient communication and teamwork. Dr Malone said that, as a nurse, she often finds herself believing that she is the "super star," and instead of working collaboratively with her teammates, she does everything herself. This creates isolation and does not encourage a culture of communication. The more a team communicates and works together, the better their experience and care for the patient. According to Dr Malone, you do not have to love or even like someone to be able to work with them; you must put aside differences and collaborate with professionalism, because ultimately everyone has the same goal. In short, informational power is "making sure we take good care of each other" and our patients.

Legitimate power, charisma, coercion, and extended power also are essential for delivering quality patient care. People have control over their own legitimate power; it is power that people earn themselves (eg, by becoming certified). Charisma is the power of cultivating the joy and excitement of the profession. Coercion is generally construed as negative and sly; however, when used for the right reasons, coercion is an influential means of using power to really make a difference. Finally, extended power involves spreading excitement and knowledge to bring more people into the fold. Dr Malone pointed out that mentoring is an effective means of extending power, and she encouraged the audience to continue to mentor others and to acknowledge the mentors in their own lives. Perioperative nurses must take full advantage of what they can offer each other in order to encourage communication; spread excitement for the profession; and, ultimately, reach the goal of providing quality patient care.