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Things To Do Medicine Hat Alberta

OCTOBER 15-18, 2003

Pulse of Perioperative Nursing was the theme of the 2003 ORNAA provincial conference hosted, in Calgary, Alberta, by the South Central Operating Room Nurses Association (SCORNA). One hundred and sixty seven delegates, four nursing students, and 50 exhibitor booths filled the halls of the Coast Plaza Hotel for 3 wonderful and exciting days of education, camaraderie, and fun.

ORNAA Annual General Meeting

The ORNAA Awards Committee was hard at work this year. Snips and Snaps Writing Awards e were presented to Cheryl Doucet Seeing Through a Clagett Window ($250), Colleen Pedersen Laser Safety ($250), Cindy Laukkanen Capitalizing on Strengths ($250), Carol Rolfe ORNAA: 25 Years in the Making ($250), Teresa Vollob T-Max Made Easy ($250), and Nadine Englehart Giving Effective Presentations ($500). Two bursary awards were also presented to Calgarians Cathy Rankin and Nadine Englehart.

This year ORNAA also had a poster presentation. Three of the posters had been displayed at the ORNAC National Conference in Winnipeg (one was the winner of The People's Choice Award) and the fourth was the ORNAA provincial conference poster.

ORNAA has a presence on the ORNAC website - our thanks to Jennifer Jonasten for keeping it updated.

ORNAA President Peggy Zeigler gave a moving tribute to Dahlia (D.) Robinson, former ORNAA President, our friend and our colleague, who passed away suddenly in 2003. The Alberta Exhibitor's Advisory Committee held its second annual jewellery raffle with proceeds being donated to the Stollery Children's Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, in honour of D. Lucky winners were Ann Mayer of Calgary, Veronica Blocksage of Medicine Hat, Lisa Frost of Calgary, and Marjorie Phillips of Edmonton.

Educational Sessions

The 2003 ORNAA educational program included concurrent sessions, presented by nurses, in Perioperative Nursing Expanded Roles, Deciphering the New Acronyms of Infectious Disease, Post Anaesthetic Complications, Perioperative Nursing Care of the Endovascular Stent Patient, Intraoperative Chemotherapy, and Ventricular Remodeling Surgical Treatment for a Medical Condition. Other presentations discussed Advances in Treatment for Patient with Primary Malignant Brain Tumor, Endovascular Stenting of the Aorta, Regional Approach to Metastatic Disease, Nuss Repair for Pediatric Pectus Excavation, Forensic Investigation in Kosovo, and Preserving Forensic Evidence in the Operating Room.

Several general sessions brought all the delegates together. For 90 minutes we sailed around the world with keynote speaker Herbert Steumer. In 1997, Steumer, his wife, and their 3 boys (all under 12) set off to sea on a voyage around the world that would change them forever. Thirty-four countries, and four years, later they had battled deadly storms, evaded pirates, dodged a tornado at sea, swum with sea lions, visited endangered primates in Borneo, and gained compassion for Kenya children who are unable to attend school. The Voyage of The Northern Magic was spellbinding and inspirational. Steumer reminded us that "Life is so glorious. There is so much to do and no time to waste."

Noreen Linton spoke about Nurses: Making the Dream Real addressing the fact that we all have dreams, hopes, and aspirations and that we made a difference to every person we touch. She reminded us we should leave our work a better place at the end of each shift and at the end of our career. Sometimes there are barriers that get in the way of achieving our dreams. How we view these barriers can determine their power or effect. She believes that life is 10% what happens and 90% how we react. While the only person we can change is our self, we should be aware of how much energy we spend trying to change others.

The Pat Ferguson Memorial Lecture focused on Preceptorship: A Quintessential Component of Nursing by Dr. Florence Myrick. She spoke about recent studies showing that preceptor behaviour, role modeling, and feedback all contribute significantly to the quality of student learning. It proves to us that it is important that students feel safe in the learning environment and that it should always be about the ideas, not the person.

Debra deWaal, a former Calgary Police Officer, entertained, enlightened, and sometimes frightened us on the topic of personal safety. She offered techniques for staying safe, dealing with potentially dangerous situations, utilizing simple defense moves that could save your life, and making a plan for your safety.

The closing speaker, Linda Edgecombe, energized everyone on the last day of the conference with Batteries Included - Lessons to Energize and Balance Your Life. As a "Life Perspective Specialist" Linda says that if she makes her audience "giggle, reflect and get teary", then she has done her job. She focused on two ultimate goals in life:

1 - Happiness - we all have our own recipe for happiness. There may be only 5-12 of those moments per year when we can say "It doesn't get any better that this."

2 - Have few regrets - try things just for the sake of trying them. Don't worry about the results.

Energizing tips she shared:

* Life is a physics equation. Energy Out = Energy In... so move your body!

* Lighten up... over and out! Laugh! We all have a different sense of humour - use it!! Make it OK to laugh at work.

* Get quiet with yourself. Hear yourself think...silence is power.

* Do what you have to do. What do you do outside of work that motivates you to keep going? If you were given two extra hours a day, what would you do with them?

* Purpose = Your Recipe for Happiness. What do you do well that you don't remember learning? Where do you hang your soul when stressed out?

Remember, people may forget what you said, or did, but they will not forget how you made them feel. Always plan ahead - it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

Social Events

Hats off to the Social Committee, Alberta Exhibitors Advisory Committee (AEAC), and the Coast Plaza hotel for the great entertainment and scrumptious food. The "Wear What You Dare" Casino Night was a huge success and many delegates and exhibitors changed places with the casino dealers to try their hand on the other side of the table. Tables laden with donated gifts were auctioned off for the play money delegates had won at the casino tables.

Night at the Improv brought three individuals from the Loose Moose Theatre to entertain the delegates with innovative hospital scenarios.

During the closing ceremonies, Conference Chair Marg Hill offered a special tribute to Muriel Shewchuk. Here is an excerpt from that tribute.

"Muriel Shewchuk is an experienced health care manager and educator, with a vast background in Surgical Suite Management and perioperative nursing. Muriel's 40 years of education and leadership contribution to perioperative nursing have had a positive impact on the nursing profession. She has spoken at 6 World OR Conferences, and at Provincial and National levels, and her vision and leadership has enhanced perioperative nursing for some 22 years.

Whether it was chairing the first ORNAC conference in 1984, or helping to develop the professional standards and technical standards for OR nurses, helping set nursing practice standards with the AARN in 1991 and being involved with recommended standards of practice for perioperative nursing, her awards and distinctions are many.

She encourages nurses to support the perioperative specialty locally, provincially, and nationally and provides huge support for nurses to attend. She negotiates relentlessly with medical staff and administration to close theatres when conferences are held. When the National OR conference was hosted by Alberta and held in Banff, approximately 20 theatres were closed in the region so nurses could attend.

Muriel is recognized as one who makes a difference to perioperative nursing. Her work is her passion and she lives it every day. It is my privilege and honour on behalf of your home district, SCORNA, to say thank you for your dedication and efforts for nursing."

Thank you to everyone who attended our conference and we look forward to seeing you in Medicine Hat in 2004.

Author: Nadine Englehart, RN, BN, CPN(C) and Editor, ORNAA Newsletter.

Copyright Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada Mar 2004
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