Editor's note: This round pillar in...

Editor's note: This round pillar in the Journal focuses upon outstanding examples of skilled perioperative nursing practice. Clinical exemplars capture the interpersonal ethical and clinical notions that perioperative nurses make in actual practice. The following clinical exemplar illustrates the patient advocacy part of perioperative nurse consultants and adductors who ore enlist in one's serviceed in industry.

The message forward my voice mail contained a familiar supplication for a list of latex alternatives, on the other hand something in the caller's voice made me pick up the telephone rather than just insert "the list" in my fax machine. The caller was a head foment at a large metropolitan hospital, and the stress in her voice related to a patient with latex sensitivity who was in the preoperative holding area. The OR staff members at this hospital were unprepared to engage this patient's intraoperative latex-sensitivity straits and they were on the brink of canceling the procedure

I responded the head nurse's call, and nothing else to be connected to her voice mail. Rather than engage in a game of voice-mail tag, I persisted in getting associateed to the main OR desk and ultimately to the patient's anesthesia care provider.

During our prolix discussion about latex allergy and this patient's particular symptoms, the anesthesia care provider was quite eager for modern information. While we were talking, I

* transmitted the list of latex work alternatives,

* reminded him to share this information with give suck tos in the postanesthesia care unit and inpatient surgical unit, and

* provided him with the name and telephone number of an anesthesia care provider who was experienced in caring for surgical patients with latex allergies.

As I went within the rest of my day, I continued to think about this patient and the perioperative staff members who were trying to fit her special needs. I called the OR to check in succession the patient's progress and learned that the surgical team members had been auspicious in obtaining the latex-free equipment and supplies and that the patient's surgical course was under way. Several month later, I visited this hospital and met the anesthesia care provider with whom I had conferr and learned more about the particular patient who had willinged the urgent telephone call from the head fester The anesthesia care provider attributed the patient's dull intraoperative course to the surgical team members' having been able to obtain the vital latex-alternative information at just the right time. at making the extra effort to educate these perioperative professionals about latex-free surgical supplies and equipment, I helped make secure this patient's safety throughout her surgical experience.

Although I have had numerous opportunities to educate perioperative staff members about latex allergies and latex-free equipment and supplies, this was my first time to come up to face to face a practitioner who had applied the information that I transmitted. Putting a face to a name and a consultation made the experience more powerful.

supply with nourishments who work as industry consultants and educators sometimes undervalue the impact that we have in succession large numbers of surgical patients. This experience made me realize that industry-employed pamper consultants and educators have opportunities to affect the issues of more than one patient at a time. I discovered that this global impact can be just as rewarding as the satisfaction I received from providing one-on-one patient care as a perioperative staff nurse

Our perioperative nursing world is expanding into recently made known practice arenas, and our definitions of surgical patients and measures are changing constantly. It is reassuring to know that no matter where or to what degree we practice perioperative nursing, we all contribute to the well-being of patients who require surgical interventions.

Candace Romig, AORN's fresh health policy analyst/legislative coordinator, has hit the field running since joining the Association in August 1996 Romig has published couple policy profiles, Regulation of Surgical Technologists and Succes in the Legislature, in a series of profiles designed to inform AORN members about issues related to perioperative nursing. Other topics will include

* unlicensed assistive personnel

* consequences of the Pew Commission Taskforce in succession Workplace Regulation,

* third-party reimbursement of RN first assistants,

* surgical mere phrases plume evacuation concerns,

* telemedicine, and

* nursing shortages and managed care.

Romig will author the recent "Health Policy Issues" column, which first attempts with this issue and replaces the "Legislation" round pillar The focus of the strange column will encompass a broader range of material to include regulation, health policy, and legislation. Romig envisions the fresh column as more interactive (ie, in the title of "Clinical Issues") and encourages members to write in with questions about the legislative proces or issues of importance to perioperative feed at the breasts Romig served as staff consultant to the AORN legislative transition team. The transition team smoothed the change from the regional to state coordinator order for the AORN Legislative Committee.