You are on page 1of 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Reflecting on the
Freedom to Be
CHARLOTTE L. GUGLIELMI
MA, BSN, RN, CNOR, AORN PRESIDENT

A
s I write this message, my last as AORN word freedom, the words “Freedom to Be” sur-
President, it seems like only moments ago faced time and time again. We were all energized
that I left Chicago, Illinois, as the AORN by the possibilities that those words offered us as
President-elect. It was March 2009, and I was we moved into a new decade and how they lent
energized and inspired by the words of my col- themselves to becoming stepping stones along
league and friend Sue Banschbach, MSN, RN, AORN’s strategic pathway.
CNOR, as she spoke to the AORN House of Last March 18th, in Denver, Colorado, as I
Delegates: accepted the gavel from President Patrick Voight,
Efforts to embrace the challenges of the future MSA, BSN, RN, CNOR, I issued a call to arms.
will not end with this Congress, this presi- “As an association, AORN possesses the freedom
dency, or this Board of Directors. It is a jour- to be bold. Our challenge during the next 12
ney that follows a deliberate strategic planning months is to give definition to this boldness as
process. It is a journey that will last a lifetime, we demonstrate what the role of nursing will
for the end is not a definable destination but a be in this new decade and how AORN will
sense of professional identity that must adapt respond.”2(p426) The story I tell today is not
to the current and future environments. I ap- about what I have done; it is what we, the
preciate having the privilege of helping to cre- Board of Directors, the AORN staff, and the
ate this vision.1(p482) member volunteers, have done along our jour-
ney to making AORN an indispensable resource
In the past two years, the work has continued
for all perioperative nurses.
toward realizing a vision that was not to be ham-
pered by the economic climate in the world or
the impending changes in health care but rather THE FREEDOM TO LEAD
driven by passion, hope, and a belief in the value Your Board has continually demonstrated the
of the perioperative nurse as well as the power of freedom to lead. We kept our promise to remain
a harmonious high-performing team. I remember accessible not only to the members of AORN
with great clarity while sitting in the boardroom but also to our external partners. As a team, we
at AORN Headquarters with a wonderful group of partnered with the AORN staff to learn about
staff members and brainstorming about a theme and discuss ways that our organization could
for the 2010-2011 year. As we thought about the perform like the best high-performing teams in
doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2011.01.002
© AORN, Inc, 2011 March 2011 Vol 93 No 3 ● AORN Journal 315
March 2011 Vol 93 No 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

our hospitals. During the course of the year, we RN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, staff members,
used this knowledge in numerous ways. and volunteers have accepted appointments and
The 2010 Leadership Meeting, which was at- are actively working on initiatives with partners
tended by 252 people, included a Town Hall, a such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Leadership Academy, and several educational ses- Quality, National Quality Forum, Institute for
sions that blended leadership learning with practi- Healthcare Improvement, American Nurses Asso-
cal examples from some of our clinical partners ciation, American Society of Anesthesiologists,
as well as from past AORN leaders. We also ded- and American College of Surgeons.
icated the AORN Foundation Pathway to Safety.
Each month, a member of your Board pre- THE FREEDOM TO TAKE RISKS
sented a webinar on a relevant clinical or personal As an Association, we demonstrated the freedom
growth topic, and these webinars also provided an to take risks. For almost a decade, you told us
opportunity for participants to let us know about that we needed to help you articulate the strength
the issues that affect their everyday practice as of the evidence in the work that we do at AORN,
well as ideas for how AORN can respond and such as our recommended practices, publications,
assist. Using OR Nurse Link, we launched Board and research priorities. We also heard from our
Link in July as well. This tool gives members representatives on external interdisciplinary task
easy access to communicate with the Board forces that it was becoming increasingly difficult
members. Table Talk debuted last summer in to promote AORN’s standards on key issues that
the AORN Journal; this quarterly commentary affect practice because we had no system in place
gathered the opinions of leaders from all disci- to rate the quality of our evidence.
plines around real issues, such as wrong-site In May, we appointed the Evidence Based
surgery, sharps safety, disruptive behavior, and Practice Scoring Task Force. Chair Victoria
competency. Steelman, PhD, RN, CNOR, FAAN, and the task
force members attacked their charge with a true
THE FREEDOM TO DEMONSTRATE THE sense of urgency, and, in July, the Board ap-
POWER OF THE PERIOPERATIVE NURSE proved their recommendation to adopt the Oncol-
We had the opportunity to demonstrate the power ogy Nursing Society evidence rating system for
of the perioperative nurse and AORN in numer- use in AORN’s future work. Paula Graling, DNP,
ous ways. In my vision of what it would be like RN, CNOR, CNS, is leading a task force that will
to serve as AORN President, I never imagined create the framework to implement, integrate, and
shaking hands with the President of the United educate all of us in the application of this
States or meeting actor Dennis Quaid. I did not method.
foresee speaking to almost 1,000 Chinese nurses Our member survey and feedback from our
on patient safety; working with Chuck Denham, environmental scans told us that there was a tre-
MD, former co-chair of the National Quality mendous need to re-engage in the work of meet-
Forum’s Safe Practices Steering Committee, on ing the needs of our members in the ever-
two webinars about issues that influence patient changing reality of our world. Our Executive
safety; or representing nursing on a WIHI pro- Leadership Advisory Panel has worked hard to
gram (ie, a talk show from the Institute for identify the unmet needs of executive nurses. In
Healthcare Improvement) on civility in the work- July, the Board appointed the Universal Access to
place. These are just a few of the venues in AORN Task Force led by Rhonda Anders, MSM,
which I represented AORN’s voice. In addition, BSN, RN, CNOR, and Brian Tepp, AORN direc-
AORN Executive Director Linda Groah, MSN, tor, membership segment; their work combined

316 AORN Journal


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE www.aornjournal.org

the efforts of the volunteer and staff workforces. improve care of the surgical patient. Our love
Both groups developed multiyear plans, some ele- and support for the family of nurses and their
ments of which will be introduced in the business specialties that comprise AORN allow us to
meetings at Congress. Other elements will be out- face our challenges, agreements, and disagree-
lined in the strategic report from our Executive ments with love and respect for our fellow
Director and in the acceptance speech of Presi- members. The friendships that we develop in
dent Anne Marie Herlehy, DNP, RN, CNOR, the Association are among the gifts we receive
which she will deliver on March 24th in Philadel- for the time and energy we spend serving our
phia, Pennsylvania. profession.2(p423-424)
I charged the Awards Committee to redesign I cannot reflect on this year without thinking with
and pilot a new approach to selecting recipients great appreciation of the gift of support that I
for AORN Awards. The committee members tar- have gotten from my family, my friends, and my
geted five awards for the pilot and created peer colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Cen-
panels to review and select these awards under ter and AORN of Massachusetts Chapter 1. Each
the guidance of the Awards Committee. The pilot of you has sacrificed so that I could devote time,
project was a success, and, in the future, all the passion, and commitment to my work as AORN
awards will be determined by using this new President, and I am eternally grateful. To the 100
process. talented and gifted individuals who comprise the
Numerous other committees, task forces, and AORN staff, to me, you are heroes. I extend to
specialty assemblies approached their work with you both my personal gratitude and that of the
vigor and enthusiasm. The results of this work patients whose lives your work touches through
include a set of research priorities for use by both the support you give the nurses who care for
staff members and volunteers when considering them. I am certain that the future of our Associa-
topics for future perioperative research, an imple- tion is in sound hands. The dedication and pas-
mentation template for our recommended prac- sion of the 11 individuals who served with me as
tices, the AORN/Society of American Gastroin- members of this year’s Board are exemplary, and,
testinal and Endoscopic Surgeons Minimally to each of you, I say thank you.
Invasive Surgery Checklist, and a Sharps Safety It has been a privilege and honor to serve as
Tool Kit. In addition, financially, AORN outper- your President and to give meaning to the Free-
formed my wildest expectations; our grassroots dom to Be. Thank you.
advocacy efforts led to successful RN circulator
References
legislation in two states; and the Board approved 1. Banschbach S. Progress on the road to the future. AORN
four recommended practices. I am awed by the J. 2009;89(3):481-482.
quantity and quality of our work. 2. Guglielmi C. Realizing our Freedom to Be. AORN J.
2010;91(4):423-426.

THE FREEDOM TO BE AORN


Last spring, I spoke the following words that help Charlotte L. Guglielmi, MA, BSN, RN,
us to tell our story and link us to each other and CNOR, is the AORN President and a perioper-
the freedom to be AORN. ative nurse specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess
Faith, family, and friendships are not only the Medical Center, Boston, MA. President
key facets in my life, they are also the key fac- Guglielmi has no declared affiliation that could
ets of AORN. Our faith in the power of periop- be perceived as posing a potential conflict of
erative nursing has aided us in our drive to interest in the publication of this article.

AORN Journal 317

You might also like