AORN Congress 2002 delegate report
Linda Walter
Report of AORN Congress 2002
The 49th annual AORN Congress opened on April 21st in Anaheim, CA with the usual awe-inspiring opening ceremony. It really is a very special feeling to see all of the nurses in attendance. The welcome and greetings from all parts of the world and from the American College of Surgeons was a great “warm and fuzzy.”
The educational offerings were so very valuable and timely in content. Who couldn’t use ideas for recruitment and retention of OR nurses? The other big idea of pertinent discussion was cost considerations. THere were many, many more interesting subjects discussed in the educational sessions. All of the gerneral assembly presentations were all so very dynamic. The keynote speaker Dr. Leah Curtin spoke to the current state of health care. Amanda Gore was quite captivating as a speaker and certainly kept the audience involved and laughing in her presentation — “Get A Life.” A frequently heard comment was how it was done in no time. Not only was her presentation invigorating, but she included parts of Amanda Gore’s message with hers. We will not forget Tigger, the smiling finger face, Eeyore ears, the thumbs up, the zots and the chief fun fairy. Her message of positive energy and the value of love and laughter was excellent.
Not to be missed were the forums and voting and the meeting of the candidates. One cannot get a true picture of the candidates just from the journal I concluded after listening to them in the candidate forum. The other great times of the week included the exhibiter hall and the Disney Adventure, meeting new people with common interests, meeting friends not seen for several years, poster sessions, ICORN meeting, selling Chicago pins, dinner fun, networking, and closing session to just mention a few.
There is nothing like being able to attend at least part of next year’s congress so close to home.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity of serving you as a delegate from our chapter.