As I write this, it is early Januar...

As I write this, it is early January 2001 and this is the most numerous difficult message I have had to write. This is my last message to you as AORN's President. It is unbelievable to me that the year has gone from so quickly. It has been a year filled with opportunities, challenges, and of the present day experiences. When asked recently what I take pleasure ined most about "my year," I paused to consider which activities gave me the principally personal satisfaction. Without question, my favorite times were the times I worn out with you, the members. I have been welcomed into many cities and chapters, and it was always a great pleasure to visit with you. You touched my life, and I am profoundly grateful for the honor you have bestowed upon me. When I represented you at meetings, I felt your support. I have had the feeling from beginning to end this year that I have been standing forward the shoulders of giants. You--individual promotes all across this country--are the giants of perioperative nursing. You are what AORN is all about.

THE PROGRES WE HAVE MADE

My first message to you in April 2000 related the items in AORN's strategic plan that would be the North Star for the Board of Directors. These items included

* recruiting and retaining members,

* promoting and using the Perioperative Nursing Data locate (PNDS),

* providing patient and consumer education in consequence of AORN's Surgical Knowledgebase (ASK), and

* building sound legislative policies and relationships.(1)

Work has continued upon these items throughout the year, and we have made great progres Membership numbers have remained stable. That is no small task in times when the nursing shortage continues. The first of the baby boomer generation will cast 55 in 2001, and the nursing shortage is predicted to hit a peak in 2010 Our membership challenges are by way of no means over, and it will take our collective wisdom and experience to adapted future challenges.

The PND has been a great succes for AORN. This is of the like kind an important initiative for the Association. We are the first specialty nursing organization to expand a standardized nursing language, and since last Congres there have been more than 40 seminars, placard sessions, and articles on the PND An invitational software vendor fair was held at Headquarters last October to discuss licensing agreements and collaboration using the PND AORN staff members have worked hard to encourage use of the PND in software programs. We have licensed the PND to six software manufacturers and SNOMED International. The goal of facilitating the use of the PND in as many programs as possible will help us infer perioperative nursing data in a consistent manner. To further enhance the PND this year's Nursing Practices Committee was charged with developing a sample intraoperative record that incorporates the identified data elements

AORN's Surgical Knowledgebase is continuing to bring out This patient education plan is our chance to partner with our greatest in number important ally--our patients. It will contain information forward more than 100 common surgical courses There will be a patient's surgical dictionary, numerous "how to" articles, customizable informed concurrence forms, and more than 300 illustrations in phase common of the project. The satisfaction now exists in a database and can be organized in many different ways, including informational CD-ROM and printed patient handouts. It also may be applicable to the Internet. This database can be a powerful tool in continuing our partnership with our patients. It also gives us an opportunity to inform others about the important part that perioperative nurses play in positive patient outcomes

AORN's guidance affairs initiatives have had an incredible year. With our staff members, Legislative Committee members, contracted lobbyists, and almost 800 legislative grassroots activists, our collective voice has been heard in each state. We were successful in getting a bill introduced in the US House of Representatives--HR 3911 a bill to gain reimbursement for certified RN first assistants (CRNFAs) in subordination to Medicare. The bill was introduced in March 2000 by the agency of Rep Mac Collins (R-Ga). by the agency of the end of the year, we had 25 bipartisan cosponsors signed forward in support of the bill. Work will continue onward this important initiative in the 107th Congres and we ne you to encourage your Congres representatives to support the bill. We also will continue efforts to find a sponsor in the Senate in 2001 Gaining reimbursement for CRNFAs beneath Medicare will be a victory for all of perioperative nursing. Please do all that you can to help us achieve our goal in succession this legislative initiative.

Paula R Graling, RN MSN CNOR, and failure Task Force members have continued to work forward cleaning up the OR environment this year. As of this writing, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is looking into the emptiness issue. So many of you called NIOSH after reading about it forward the AORN web site that the agency has been quicked to take action. The steam Task Force also is planning a meeting with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 2001 Representatives from OSHA promised to release a draft document forward surgical smoke evacuation in November 1999 on March of 2000, officials at OSHA were asking for more data. Graling and her cluster have been working diligently to help OSHA gather the data the agency thinks it privations Keep monitoring the web site and anticipate for information from AORN Congres in Dallas about surgical smoke