Periop Talk

What are the new assessment tools and how is technology helping us reduce surgical patient injuries? Hear about practice changes from the AORN Sr. Director of Evidence-Based Perioperative Practice Lisa Spruce. 

AORN President Vangie Dennis MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO speaks with Molly, a Millennial O.R. nurse-turned-clinical educator about how the “trophy generation” helped evolve perioperative teams - and the challenges and opportunities of a 5-generation workplace.

What are the biggest pros and cons of working among 5 different generations today? AORN President Vangie Dennis MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO speaks with Mary-Kate, a Gen Z periop nurse at a large New York hospital, about hurdles of being the youngest member of an OR team and challenging her generation’s stereotypes. 

AORN leaders, like perioperative nurses everywhere, agree food can be the highlight for celebrating Perioperative Nurses Week. Listen in as Board President Vangie Dennis, Vice President Darlene Murdock, and Board Director Megan Nolan share some additional ways to have fun, bond with colleagues, and connect with the community. Spoiler alert: they love the food, too!

#PeriopProud

AORN President Vangie Dennis MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO speaks with Wellstar Health System Assistant Vice President of Ethics, Advance Care Planning and Spiritual Health Jason Lesandrini MA, PhD(c), FACHE, HEC-C, LPEC about better preparing yourself to manage situations that go against the grain – from patient consent disputes to DNRs to unusual staffing ratios and more.

Going “against the grain” of our patient care training during COVID-19 created moral injury in nurses. But a body of evidence proves that using very simple strategies will help you manage how your body reacts to stressors – and they are techniques available to everyone. AORN President Vangie Dennis MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO has a conversation with periop nurse and mind-body medicine practitioner Dr. Margaret Below PhD, RN, NE-BC about the small, deliberate, and fundamental steps you can do every day in the perioperative suite – and at home – that relax and calm your body, and the reasons why these techniques work.  

AORN President Vangie Dennis MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO and periop nurse and mind-body medicine practitioner Dr. Margaret Below PhD, RN, NE-BC talk about micro-episodes of joy, gratitude and other simple, proven steps that will change how your body reacts and how you feel. They challenge nurses to try these two small steps over two weeks and see how they help you feel better.

The President’s Corner is a series of conversations between AORN President Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO, and colleagues across the country about issues most important to AORN members and the perioperative community.

In Episode 1 “Nursing Uncharted – The Staffing Shortage” Vangie speaks with David Wyatt, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNOR,  past AORN President and Chief Nursing Officer of the University Hospitals at the University of Texas southwestern Medical Center in Dallas about what’s unique in today’s nursing shortage – and where do we go from here. Yes, shortages have been around in nursing for decades – but the pandemic has been a “great revealer” of deep-rooted issues that facilities need to address, from workplace violence to staffing flexibility. Hear ideas that are working today to change the staffing outlook. And hear why David is optimistic in the new generations of periop nurses.

June is Pride Month and, to help raise awareness around inequities in healthcare, transmale Nik Unterkircher, MA, UX/UI, DEI Practitioner at AORN, talks candidly with Vice President of Nursing, Renae Battie’, MSN, RN, CNOR. They discuss common challenges transgender patients face in the binary world that will help nurses more fully understand patient anxiety, the potential for misdiagnosis, and small steps nurses can take to improve the transgender patient’s experience.

The Joint Commission and AORN’s CEO Linda Groah discuss the challenges and solutions for an effective Time Out. Learn more.