Congress 2024: First Forum Launches Business Sessions for Congress

AORN members kicked off the 2024 Congress on Sunday with a boisterous roll call by delegates of each state and four international countries – boasting their state sports teams (Tarheels to the Cornhuskers, food specialties (cheese curds to spuds), natural landmarks (Crater Lake to the Grand Canyon) and perioperative milestones (development of anesthesia to newly surgical smoke-free).

AORN Associate Director for Membership Melissa Hedman reported on the state of our membership – with the total membership stabilizing since COVID-19 and reaching over 43,700 in 2023. Importantly, the percentage of younger, new-to-profession nurses continues to rise with 37% of members now under age 39. Also, 25% of all members are CNOR certified – boosted by the new membership benefit of a complimentary Prep for CNOR course.

Hedman also mentioned organizational achievements in the past year, including AORN’s large national research project of perioperative nurses and leaders that has informed upcoming changes - like lower membership pricing and shorter, more accessible clinical resources to better meet the needs of our nurses.

The increasing numbers of new nurses is a positive sign of AORN’s work with 60 US colleges of nursing to reintroduce education on the perioperative specialty into their curriculum.

Danika Bowen of Chamberlain University – the largest US nursing school – reported on the success of its partnership with AORN to bring Introduction to Perioperative Nursing course to its 23 campuses. The initiative to expose undergraduates to specific nursing specialties, called Practice Ready Specialty Focused™ model, is aimed at reducing the 30%-40% first- and second-year nursing turnover nationally.

Chamberlain in 2021 anticipated that up to 100 third-year undergraduates would take Introduction to Perioperative Nursing each year. However, actual participation has been more than 1,600 students since January 2022 – with 60% of diverse backgrounds. Some 66% of nursing school graduates have been hired by health systems “filling the pipeline,” Bowen said. And turnover rates have been positive and nursing graduates are better prepared for their NPLEX exams after having taken the specialty course.

Next, AORN Foundation President Martha Stratton shared the 2023 annual report of “such a successful year of advancing education and safety.”

Thanks to individual and corporate donations, the Foundation in 2023 awarded: 120 professional development grants; 107 academic scholarships; 178 grants to attend AORN Expo; and over 733 membership grants. Another milestone for the AORN Foundation was making available new education grants for education in critical access and rural hospitals.

Among the comments from members included: a request to consider bringing back the Second House of Delegates (this year there is just one); chapter officer increased access to their rosters; and to assist State Councils access in accessing the membership rosters in their states.

AORN Congress 2nd Forum is Monday and the House of Delegates on Tuesday.