AORN Journal
Volume 90, Issue 5 , Pages 645-647, November 2009

Perioperative Nurse Week: Its History and Its Future

St Mary's Hospital and Medical Center, Grand Junction, CO

Article Outline

 

You know you are old if you can remember when

•you cut cotton pledgets till you got a blister on your thumb;

•swedged-on suture was a novel (and great) idea;

•you could thread a French-eye needle with one hand;

•every good OR nurse had at least two fully stocked needle books in his or her locker;

•the word perioperative did not exist;

•knee laparoscopies and total hip arthroplasties were new procedures;

•all surgeons provided their own instruments;

•you pulled the instruments for the procedure you would scrub in on the next day—knowing that if you didn't get the correct ones, there was no one to blame but yourself; and

•you remember the see-through acrylic podium at the 1979 AORN House of Delegates in St Louis, Missouri, like it was yesterday.

As a chapter delegate to the 1979 House of Delegates, I remember voting on several important issues. One was related to the role of a first assistant. We determined that it was “premature to include first assisting functions in the perioperative role.”1(p1056) We went on to ask the AORN Board of Directors to establish a committee to develop interim guidelines for those who chose to practice as first assistants. We also asked them to establish communications with the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Hospital Association, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) to define the role and require that hospital credentials committees review the credentials of nonphysicians serving as first assistants. Finally, we noted that in the “absence of a qualified physician, the RN with appropriate knowledge and skills is the best qualified nonphysician to act as first assistant.”1(p1056)

We also voted to adopt a statement saying we supported the baccalaureate degree in nursing as the entry into practice and supported the New York State resolution to cooperate with other nursing organizations to promote the baccalaureate in nursing. We defeated a motion to support the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)—now that was quite a debate! And finally, we adopted a resolution to establish a “consumer education day on OR Nursing to be held in 1979.”1(p1056) All of these issues were pretty heady stuff for a novice AORN delegate attending her second AORN Congress.

Here we are, 30 years later. We continue to discuss reimbursement for the RN first assistant; are still without a single entry into practice; and as a country, never ratified the ERA. However, what started as OR Nurse Day in 1979 has evolved into Perioperative Nurse Week. This year our theme is Perioperative Nurses: Reaching the Peak of Perioperative Practice.

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The Advent of OR Nurse Day 

What led the Greater Washington, DC, and Richmond, Virginia, chapters to propose a consumer education day to the 1979 House of Delegates? In late 1978, the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) was proposing to change Medicare regulations to allow surgical technicians to circulate in the OR.2 In January 1979, AORN President Jean Davis, RN; President-elect Barbara Gruendemann, RN; and Board member Judy Pfister, RN, went to Washington to discuss the proposed regulations with HEW officials. The officials at HEW “perceived circulating as the performance of technical tasks during the intraoperative period.”3(p825) Davis, Gruendemann, and Pfister emphasized to the HEW staff that circulating is much more than just the execution of technical skills and includes the professional role of acting as the patient's advocate during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of care. After the meeting, however, President Davis received a letter that stated, “Since our meeting, we have found no evidence that the concept [perioperative nursing] is currently standard practice.”3(p825)

Even though the HEW clarified that the proposed rule changes would affect only those organizations not accredited by the JCAH, AORN members were concerned. The AORN staff and Board of Directors as well as local chapter members began to brainstorm ways to increase consumer awareness of the role of the RN in the OR and generate consumer support to oppose the proposed Medicare rule changes.3 The AORN House of Delegates ratified the Resolution on OR Nurse Day on March 8, 1979. The following language was approved:

Whereas, HEW does not recognize the perioperative role; and

Whereas, There is a need for public education; and

Whereas, The objective of AORN is education; and

Whereas, The Richmond Chapter has started to implement a plan to make the public aware of the perioperative role; therefore be it

Resolved, that AORN promote a day in the year 1979 committed to consumer education to enhance the public knowledge regarding our perioperative role.4(p30)

Following that eventful House of Delegates, the AORN Board of Directors established November 14, 1979, as OR Nurse Day. In her President's Message, Barbara Gruendemann urged the members to take part in at least one activity that promotes OR nursing and to present a positive image of OR nurses.5 By February 1980, the AORN Journal was reporting the success of OR Nurse Day 1979.6 Several chapters, representing almost every state, had received proclamations from mayors and governors. A proclamation was read into the Congressional Record, declaring November 14 National Operating Room Nurses Day. News reports featuring OR nurses aired on local radio and television stations. Nurses were given flowers, candy, meals, and receptions. However, no decisions had yet been made regarding continuation of OR Nurse Day for subsequent years.6

During the 1980 AORN Congress in Atlanta, Georgia, the House of Delegates established November 14 as the annual OR Nurse Day. The day was to be “committed to consumer education to increase public knowledge regarding our perioperative role.”7(p1040) During the 1980s, there were multiple articles in the AORN Journal about OR Nurse Day.8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Many highlighted the activities of perioperative staff members holding open houses within hospitals or at shopping malls to educate the public. Annually, at Congress, individuals and chapters presented posters highlighting their activities for OR Nurse Day, and in 1987, AORN began developing posters and brochures to help disseminate information about OR Nurse Day.14

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Evolution to Perioperative Nurse Week 

In her November 1989 AORN Journal Editorial, Pat Niessner Palmer, RN, MS, cautioned that we should think of OR Nurse Day as a day for focusing on perioperative nursing, not on advancements in technology or on giving candy, cards, or gifts. She admonished that we “must talk about the contributions perioperative nurses make to patient care during surgery.”15(p953–954) She suggested that others can never fully appreciate the complexities of professional nursing, especially perioperative nursing. Her premise was that if OR Nurse Day had remained focused on the original intent of consumer education, we would now be able to refer to perioperative nursing without having to define it every time. She expressed hope that

Maybe by the 20th anniversary of OR Nurse Day, November 14 will be Perioperative Nurse Day, and it will no longer be necessary to explain the word or the contributions of perioperative nurses to patient care.15(p954)

In 1990, OR Nurse Day was expanded to OR Nurse Week and was held from November 11 to November 17. This change was approved by the AORN Board of Directors to allow perioperative nurses more flexibility in planning open house events. In addition, a public service announcement was developed by AORN featuring an actress from a popular television show, “China Beach.” The 30-second spot was available to local stations.16

By 2000, AORN had changed the title to Perioperative Nurse Week. In her President's Message of September 2000, Brenda Ulmer, RN, MN, CNOR, urged members to educate other caregivers about Perioperative Nurse Week. She suggested that rather than using funds to celebrate staff members, the monies should instead be directed to donating supplies or time to those less fortunate.17 In 2003, AORN Journal Editor Nancy Girard, RN, PhD, FAAN, echoed the sentiments Pat Palmer wrote about in 1989, when she asked when we would “move beyond promoting ourselves and focus on how we protect the public.”18(p736)

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Commit to Enhancing Knowledge of the Perioperative RN Role 

Here we are, 30 years later. What has changed? Is the word perioperative any more understood today than it was in 1979? Is Perioperative Nurse Week in your organization and community treated as an opportunity to acknowledge perioperative nurses with gifts or as an opportunity to educate the public on the professional perioperative nurse's contributions to patient safety, nurse-sensitive indicators, and quality outcomes? Although the distinction may seem minor, it is not. We now have a Perioperative Nurse Week, as proposed by Palmer in 1989, but it is still necessary to explain the word perioperative and to articulate the contributions of perioperative nurses to quality patient care. In light of these facts, let's make Perioperative Nurse Week 2009 a week “committed to consumer education to enhance the public knowledge regarding our perioperative role.”4(p30)

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References 

  1. Delegates approve 1st assisting statement, single level for entry . AORN J. . 1979;29(6):1056–1057
  2. Schrader ES . OR nurses need to go public [Editorial] . AORN J. . 1978;28(6):1009–1010
  3. Schrader ES . HEW officials say perioperative role not in practice [Editorial] . AORN J. . 1979;29(5):825–826
  4. AORN position statement: resolution on OR Nurse Day . In: Standards and Recommended Practices . Denver, CO: AORN, Inc; 1993;p. 30
  5. Gruendemann BJ . Strong self-image is key to OR Nurse Day [President's Message] . AORN J. . 1979;30(5):833–834
  6. OR Nurse Day accomplishes mission . AORN J. . 1980;31(2):222–223
  7. Delegates approve first assistant guidelines for RNs . AORN J. . 1980;31(6):1037–1040
  8. Peters LE . Surgery open house for OR Nurse Day . AORN J. . 1980;31(6):1094–1104
  9. Gore E . NCE reports on successful OR Nurse Day . AORN J. . 1981;33(3):590–592
  10. Hospitals, chapters plan for OR Nurse Day . AORN J. . 1981;34(3):408
  11. Innovative plans made for OR Nurse Day . AORN J. . 1982;36(3):468
  12. Operating Room Nurse Day . AORN J. . 1983;38(4):684
  13. Moss V . Launching a project for OR Nurse Day . AORN J. . 1984;39(3):484–492
  14. Paulson J . OR Nurse Day: portraying a positive image . AORN J. . 1987;46(4):739
  15. Palmer PN . OR Nurse Day—a day for education, not candy and roses [Editorial] . AORN J. . 1989;50(5):953–954
  16. Siebert C . OR Nurse Week gives the public a glimpse behind the closed doors . AORN J. . 1990;52(4):735–736
  17. Ulmer BC . Innovative celebrations for Perioperative Nurse Week [President's Message] . AORN J. . 2000;72(3):369–370
  18. Girard NJ . Why have a Perioperative Nurse Week? [Editorial] . AORN J. . 2003;78(5):735–736

PII: S0001-2092(09)00691-7

doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2009.10.006

AORN Journal
Volume 90, Issue 5 , Pages 645-647, November 2009

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