5 Reasons Why Every Perioperative Nurse Should Attend the AORN Conference

Thank you to AORN for partnering with us for this post.

A perioperative nurse impacts patients at their most vulnerable times. For many, surgery is a event in which their medical care can have a life-long impact.

A perioperative nurse impacts patients at some of their most vulnerable times. For many patients, a surgery is a significant life event in which every aspect of their medical care can have a life-long impact. The perioperative nursing specialty is continuously evolving requiring nurses to continually seek information and education of new trends and treatments in surgical care. Fortunately, organizations like the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) diligently work to collect and disseminate the latest innovations and best practices in perioperative nursing.

5 Reasons Why Every Perioperative Nurse Should Attend the AORN Conference

If you work in perioperative nursing or are considering becoming a perioperative nurse, you should consider becoming a member. If you want to get up to speed on the latest and greatest in surgical awesomeness, you should attend the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo 2018.

While we know that every OR nurse can’t attend the 2018 AORN Conference (because someone has to take care of those surgical patients), the 65th-anniversary trade show is going to be a doozy! So if you’ve never been, or you’ve been for the last 64 years, you’re going to want to carve out time to get yourself to the show.

We love nursing conferences. There’s something magical about getting together with thousands of passionate healthcare professionals to learn, grow, and share in the evolution of patient care. If you haven’t had the privilege of attending a nursing conference, do it. Do it now.

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OR Nurses and those Interested in Perioperative Nursing Should attend the AORN Conference

The AORN conference is great whether you are a current perioperative nurse or are interested in making a career transition to OR nursing. Many nurses find it difficult to make the transition into the surgical setting. Because of this, attending the AORN conference can really help give you the edge needed and possible network connections to make the transition.

There’s a ton of great reasons to attend. We’ve shared some of our favorites below.

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1. Stay Sharp on Clinical Knowledge with Over 200 CEs

Perioperative nursing is constantly changing. Technologies that were readily used 5 or 10 years ago have already been replaced. I mean, robots have become the norm. It’s like we’re living in the future. All this innovation in patient care means that there will always be new knowledge and best practices to learn.

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There are lots of different ways you can learn about evolving standards of OR nursing care. Sure there are journal articles and various online publications that are great resources. But… wouldn’t it be nice to have access to over 200 CEs from one event?

With over 70 CEs from concurrent sessions, 100+ from the exhibit floor, and 20 from poster presentations, you have no shortage of opportunities for expanding your knowledge and getting the necessary documentation to prove it for state nursing boards and your clinical leaders. Plus – you’ll put some awesome new knowledge in that fancy nurse brain of yours.

2. Stream Any Session on Demand

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Nursing conferences are amazing because they allow you to stay up to date on the latest evidence-based practice. One big disadvantage that many conferences suffer from is concurrent session sabotage. If you’ve ever been to a conference with a ton of concurrent sessions, you know how frustrating it is to want to attend 3 great sessions that are all occurring at the same time. You have to pick a winner and just hope that there are slides available for the sessions you missed.

The AORN conference has solved this problem; and did it in a way that nurses (nerdy and non-nerdy alike) everywhere can truly appreciate. They’re recording all sessions and making them available on-demand for streaming in the conference app. It’s like Netflix for perioperative nursing knowledge.

3. Networking

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Networking is one of the most important things you can do to evolve in your career. Right after getting your degree and continuing your education, your network can make the biggest impact on your professional career growth.

If you’re a perioperative nurse or have any interest in becoming one, you will be among your tribe. The AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo is the largest gathering of perioperative nurses in the world. No matter what how much experience you have as an OR nurse, there is something for you. There are special events including 1st-time attendee receptions and meetups, as well as fitness activities including Zumba and Yoga. Also, since you are in New Orleans, the Night Out in NOLA is an absolute must. Who wouldn’t love to network in the land of Mardi Gras?

4. Seeing the Latest Technology in Action

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Put me on the expo floor of any conference or tradeshow and I’d feel like a kid in a candy store. Some of the most interesting clinical pearls and learning can occur while you’re exploring the latest advances in technology. Surgical innovations are happening every single day. The trade show floor at the AORN conference has over 500 exhibitors that are ready and willing to share information that will impact you.

In addition to seeing the latest technology in action, you can actually earn CEs on the exhibit floor as well.

5. Get Re-Energized

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It’s no secret that nursing has a high risk of burnout. A recent survey reported that 63% of nurses stated their work has caused burnout. We all know that self-care is incredibly important to nurses, but there’s nothing quite like a good nursing conference to relight the fire that inspired us to become a nurse in the first place.

It’s in a Great Location

Even though you’ll be learning, it’s sort of like taking a vacation. It’s in an awesome city. The 2018 AORN conference is in New Orleans! Um… hello! Nola has some of the best food and most amazing nightlife in the world!

You Deserve a Break

The work you do is hard! You deserve a break from the routine of your day (or night!) job.

If you find yourself falling out of love with your work, it’s time to stoke the coals and add some lighter fluid to reignite your passion. There are so many things about the AORN conference that can help you fall in love with perioperative nursing again.

Some of my favorites include:

  • meeting new people
  • discovering new strategies to improve your patient outcomes
  • having a great meal and a fun night on the town
  • finding new opportunities for career growth
  • hearing heartwarming stories that remind you of why you wanted to be a nurse in the first place

Register for AORN Today!

Clearly, AORN Expo 2018 is going to be awesome. See for yourself by registering today.

Perioperative Nurses Make a Difference

Perioperative nurses interact with patients during some of the scariest moments of their life. Whether that being as circulating nurse, PACU nurse, or other capacities within the OR, they are dealing with patients that may be very nervous and anxious about their upcoming or recently completed surgical procedure. Some OR nurses use prayers for surgery to help them and their patients feel at ease.

For more information on Perioperative Nurses check out Kati Kleber’s site FreshRN where she answers the question: What do Perioperative Nurses Do? 

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