NEWS FROM AORN CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
EDITOR: JANISE NEPVEUX JANUARY 2000
THE JANUARY MEETING TO BE HELD AT INTEGRIS BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
BUILDING D, LEVEL C, ROOMS F AND G
(The website contains a map to the meeting place)
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Osteoporosis is a major health threat for more than 28 million Americans, 80% of who are women. In the U.S. today 10 million individuals already have the disease and 18 million more have low bone mass, placing them at risk for osteoporosis. One in two women and one in eight men over 50 will have an osteoporotic related fracture in their lifetime.
Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually. The estimated cost for osteoporosis and the related fractures is 13.8 billion each year.
This month’s meeting “Bone Up on Osteoporosis” is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Our goal is to educate the public about OR Nursing as well as osteoporosis. Invite your family, friends and acquaintances. See you there! Mary
FEATURES
MEMBERS TO LAPSE & NEW MEMBERS
MEMBERLINE NEWS
ONA -
CONVENTION UPDATECONGRESS 2000
HEALTH -
HERBAL MEDICINELEGISLATIVE -
RNFA
“EXTRA EXTRA
READ ALL ABOUT IT “
OUR NEWSLETTER
HAS A NAME
As you may notice our newsletter has a new heading and name.The new name was selected by the Nominating Committee from a list submitted by the chapter members.
The lucky winner will receive both National and Local dues for one year.
CONGRATULATIONS
THE WINNING NAME WAS SUBMITTED
BY
MARY HURT
THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT NAME!
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COMING FEBRUARY 15, 2000
at Intergris Baptist Medical Center
WHAT’S NEW IN CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY
presented by
DR. VanHooser
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HEALTH WATCH -
HERBAL MEDICINE
THE MOST FREQUENTLY USED
THEIR INDICATIONS
COMMON SIDE EFFECTS
GINGKO: increases circulation in the brain, thus helping with memory loss, concentration and dementia.In high doses, potentiates anticoagulant action. Effects may take 8 weeks to occur.
GARLIC: decreases serum lipids and is preventative for heart disease as well as cancer. Has anticoagulant properties as well as potentiating some hypertensives and diabetic agents.
GINSENG: used by most people in Asia over the age of 40 for increasing energy and stamina. It can have estrogen-like effects in both sexes. There are three varieties, the Siberian form being the safest.
ECHINACEA: used primarily for upper respiratory syndromes, is should not be used in auto-immune or systemic diseases such as TB, MS, Lupus or HIV. It should not be used for more than 8 weeks at a time.
ST. JOHN’S WORT: used for mild to moderate depression. It is very safe but should not be used concurrently with other anti-depressants.
SAW PALMETTO: useful for benign prostatic hypertrophy. It has few side effects but may interfere with other hormonal therapies.
CRANBERRY: decreases urinary tract infections in 40% of women. Juice is the easiest and most effective mode of ingestion.
VALERIAN ROOT: useful for insomnia, particularly if caused by anxiety. As effective as Halcion. Should avoid using with alcohol or benzodiazepines.
BILBERRY: improves night vision. Can interact with other psychotropics and alcohol. Duration of use should not exceed 3 months.
GINGER: helpful in GI distress and especially motion sickness. No side effects known.
There are some herbs that are very popular but lack scientific support as of yet. These include evening primrose oil and grapeseed extract. Two herbs that should be used judiciously are:
EPHEDRA: used as a decongestant and for weight loss, has been implicated in 40 deaths. Is used by teenagers as “herbal ecstasy.”
ASTRALAGUS: used for cancer and as an immune enhancer, has numerous interactions with conventional medications, primarily hypertensive and diabetic drugs.
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WELCOME NEW, RENEWED, &
REJOINED MEMBERS
Sheila MatthewsKelly Henson
Gwen Chilcote
Patra Simmons
Carol Hughes
Honey Tharp Tim Kersey
Sherilyn Nashert
Cecilia Yowell
M Johnson-Thurmon
Lisa Rother
Starlet Smith Stacey Turner
MEMBERS WITH MISSING RN LIC#Please call National to report your license number
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SURFING NEWS
NOT SO LOVELY SPAMWHAT IS SPAM?
In broad terms, spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail. It includes commercial advertising, but can encompass mass cross-postings to World Wide Web Usenet groups or subscriber discussion lists whose areas of interest are not even touched on by the message in question.
There are two general types of spam: Usenet or mailing lists spam, which is targeted at “lurkers” who don’t post very often and thereby don’t make individual e-mail addresses available for “harvesting” by spammmers; and e-mail spam, which targets individual e-mail boxes.
Many spammers insist that junk e-mail is no more objectionable than junk mail sent via the US Post Office. If you don’t want the message, their advice is “just hit delete.” It’s no more involved than throwing eight of nine envelopes into the trash.
In reality, the issue is not so simple. Mass paper mailings cost the sender in terms of time and materials, and support the delivery service so that delivery is free to postal customer. It usually isn’t difficult to sort junk from real mail in each day’s delivery. Mass electronic mailings, however cost the sender little or nothing, particularly when spam is sent to mailing list with hundreds of subscribers. It may cost service providers a great deal in time and energy to handle problems such as mail servers that crash from sheer message volume and abuse reports from outraged customers, all of which will be passed on in some form through subscriber rates.
In addition, spam costs you, the user, in terms of the time it takes for you to download messages and scan the headers, because Internet Service Provider fees are based on time used. While you sort through get rich quick scams, mortgage offers, and links to commercial web sites, the Internet meter is running.
In February what to do if you get SPAMMED
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SIX STEPS TO MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT FOR FIRST ASSISTING AT SURGERY1. Please write to your two U.S. Senators and Representatives asking their support for Medicare reimbursement of CRNFAs for surgical first assisting services. The names and addresses of these members can be found at
www.senate.gov or by calling AORN at (800) 755-2676, x233. In your letter, tell them about the important role you play in the operating room. You may want to include comments made by patients or other providers on the important services you provide. You should also point out that you perform the very same tasks and duties of other providers who first assist at surgery. The only difference is that these providers are reimbursed and CRNFAs are not. Ask Dorothy or Mary for the position paper prepared by AORN’s federal lobbyists for your information and use and for the outline of a letter to legislators. Feel free to use the information contained in these documents but please use your own words.
2. Please send copies of your letters to legislators and any responses received to: AORN’s Department of Government Affairs; 2170 S. Parker Rd, Suite 300; Denver, CO 80231-5711. Additionally, please call AORN at (800) 755-2676, x233, if your Congressperson appears to be a strong supporter and a potential sponsor for this legislation.
3. Schedule meetings in legislators’ offices while they are home in December and parts of January. Again, the aforementioned web sites, AORN, or Dorothy Paulk can provide you with phone numbers of these members. Try and schedule a meeting with different RNFAs and AORN members in each one of the district office locations. For example, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa has six different offices located in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, and Sioux City. The Iowa RNFAs should find a small group in each of these cities and have them arrange meetings in each of theses offices. This will convey the fact that the RNFA legislation is a statewide concern.
During the meetings, introduce yourself as an operating room nurse and a constituent with a strong interest in health care issues. Next, explain that securing Medicare reimbursement of CRNFAs for their surgical first assisting services is high on your priority list of health care issues. Finally,invite them and their key staff to tour an operating room and watch you assist at surgery. This experience may make the difference.
4. Send reports to AORN’s Department of Government Affairs after your district meetings.
5. Ask your surgeons and hospital administrators to write their U.S. Senators and Representatives. Provide them with the legislators’ address if needed. These letters should explain the vital role RNFAs play in the operating room. Real life examples are always useful (e.g. a factual account of how,in one specific operation, the RNFA made a difference that resulted in a better outcome for the patient). The letters should expressly urge support for Medicare reimbursement of CRNFAs.
6. Please share copies of letters sent and any responses received with AORN.
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MEMBERLINE NEWS
NURSING RESEARCH GRANT AVAILABLE
If you have a master’s degree, a current registered nurse license and an interest in conducting research related to perioperative nursing practice, you could qualify for funding provided by the AORN Foundation and Sigma Theta Tau International. Deadline is April 1, 2000. For an application and general instructions, call or write:
Mary Howell Lopez
AORN
2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80231
(303) 755-6304, ext. 8219
Fax: (303) 750-2927
Email: mlopez@aorn.org
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
Your help is Needed!
AORN’s legislative strategy to obtain reimbursement of CRNFAs needs your involvement. It is vital to the success of this effort and we’d like our chapter’s members to follow the steps outlined in the strategy.
During December and January members should be contacting their federal legislators to educate them on the issue and to request their support.
Mary Hurt and Legislative Chair Dorothy Paulk have detailed information including sample talking points to work from in drafting your own letters to your two senators and your representative in Congress. Dorothy also has the names and addresses if you need them.
Working together, we can make 2000 the year of success for this legislative priority! If you have any questions please call AORN’s Department of Government Affairs at (800) 755-2676, x263.
PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL GROUNDHOG JOB SHADOW DAY
Are you interested in participating in”National Groundhog Job Shadow Day” on February 2, 2000. This program is an initiative started by retired General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) and his organization, America’s Promise, to positively influence the lives of America’s youth. On “National Groundhog Job Shadow Day” students from across America will get an up-close look at how the skills they learn in school are put into action in the workplace. They will shadow a workplace mentor as he or she goes through a day on the job.
For AORN chapters, this community-service effort represents an opportunity to introduce young people to the perioperative nursing profession and encourage them to consider this field as a career choice.
Please call Mary if you are interested! We can obtain more information and a how-to kit through the “National Groundhog Job Shadow Day” website: www.jobshadow.org or by calling (401-810-7910)
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AORN MEMBERSHIP CHOICES
FOR NEW MEMBERS * Offer is good for NEW members and 6-month lapsed members only. Six Month Trial Membership for $45 plus 1/2 applicable chapter dues and 1/2 Specialty Assembly dues. Trial Members will receive the AORN Journal and have access to member discounts on products and services.
BRONZE MEMBERSHIP costs $90 plus applicable chapter dues.
The bronze membership features include:
Subscription to AORN Journal
Copy of the ORPD
1 Specialty Assembly membership
5% bonus for every $100 spent after April 15, 1999
1 ten minute prepaid telephone calling card
Merchant discounts with the AORN MBNA VISA card
SILVER MEMBERSHIP costs $110 plus applicable chapter dues.
The silver membership features include:
Subscription to AORN Journal
Subscription to Surgical Services Management
10% bonus for every $100 spent after April 15, 1999
1 Specialty Assembly membership
2 ten minute prepaid telephone calling cards
Merchant discounts with the AORN MBNA VISA card
GOLD MEMBERSHIP costs $130 plus applicable chapter dues. Gold membership earns you special services and products not available with regular AORN membership. Become a stake holder in your own future by earning a 15% bonus for every $100 dollars spent after April 15, 1999. Use this bonus towards future conferences, membership, books etc.
Other features include:
Subscription to Surgical Services Management
AORN Journal
Copy of 1999 AORN Standards, Recommended Practices and Guidelines
VIP Registration at Congress
Gold Member lounge at Congress
Special phone line to AORN Customer Service
2 Specialty Assembly Memberships
Merchant discounts with the AORN MBNA VISA card
PLATINUM * Many members have pledged lifetime allegiance to AORN. Until now there was no way to obtain a lifetime membership.
Become a Lifetime Member of AORN for $1000! (Chapter dues will be billed separately annually to the member).
Features of lifetime membership include:
Lifetime AORN membership for a set fee
AORN Journal for lifetime
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SUPPORT MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT FOR CERTIFIED REGISTERED NURSE
FIRST ASSISTANTS
AORN (the Association of Operating Room Nurses is seeking Medicare reimbursement for the surgical first assisting services of Certified Registered Nurse First Assistants (CRNFAs) at a rate of 13.6 percent of the surgeon’s fee. As first assistants, CRNFAs provide high-quality cost-effective care and perform the same tasks and duties as surgeons,physicians, physician assistants (PAs), and some nurse practitioners (NPs) who may currently receive Medicare reimbursement for first assisting services. Reimbursing CRNFAs for their surgical first assisting services would address this fundamental inequity.
WHAT IS A CRNFA?
A CRNFA is a registered nurse first assistant (RNFA) who obtains national certification, a voluntary process. An RNFA already is a technically skilled and highly educated nursing professional who renders direct patient care as part of the perioperative nursing process. The RNFA possess the skills, knowledge, and judgment necessary to assist the surgeon in performing a safe operation that yields optimal results for the patient. The certification process raises an already high quality standard and recognizes those RNFAs who have achieved excellence in patient care.
The RNFA seeking cetification must need rigid requirements before applying, including:
1. Current licensure as an RN, without provision or condition, in the U.S.;
2. Certification in perioperative nursing (CNOR);
3. Completion of a minimum of 2000 hours of practice as an RNFA that includes preoperative, intraopertative, and postoperative patient care;
4. Completion of a formal RNFA program that meets criteria established by the Certification Board Perioperative Nursing, including training equivalent to a one-year comprehensive post-graduate program involving both classroom and clinical studies in anatomy and physiology, assessment skills, asepsis/infection control, and extensive surgical assisting curriculum. During the reuqired clinical internship, the prospective RNFA spends a minimum number of clinical hours under the supervision of a surgeon preceptor; and
5. Hold a B.S.N. or M.S.N. as of January 1, 2000.
CRNFAs are recognized by the American Colleger of Surgeons, the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses, and the 50 state boards of nursing.
(Next month What makes CRNFAs Special)
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Central Oklahoma AORN
“BONE UP ON
OSTEOPOROSIS”
presented by
Kevin Lee, MD
January 18, 2000
7:00 PM
Integris Baptist Hospital
Bldg. D, Rooms F & G
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Invite your family, friends, & acquaintances!
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CONGRESS NEWS
CONGRESS ORIENTATION:
To help those who are attending Congress for the first time, the AORN Membership Committee will present a Congress orientation Saturday, April 1, form 4:15 to 5:15 PM. The session will provide the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of Congress and help first-timers learn the “lingo.”
Attendees can meet other first-time attendees and learn about the resources available at Congress. Space is limited, so those who wish to attend should plan to arrive early and indicate their first-time status on the Congress registration form.
CONGRESS MENTORING PROGRAM
Attending your first Congress? Learn the ropes and get support from someone who’s a veteran of the Congress experience. The Congress Mentoring Program pairs first-time attendees with AORN members who have attended previous Congresses. Mentors communicate with their first-timers before and during Congress. If you are interested in having a mentor, check the appropriate box on the registration form under”First Time Attending Congress.” If you are interested in serving as a mentor, contact Lorrie Briggs, AORN chapter relations coordinator, by sending an e-mail to lbriggs@aorn.org, or by calling (800)755-2676, x367. Be sure to check the appropriate box on the registration form under “Congress Mentor Volunteer.”
OPPORTUNITIES TO NETWORK WITH SPECIALTY GROUPS
Make contacts and exchange ideas at the networking group informal meetings scheduled during Congress week. More than 15 groups,including plastic/reconstructive, otorhinolaryngology, urology, gynecology, multicultural nursing, alternative/complementary therapies, research, and ehtics will meet. These informal networking groups help to determine the potential need for new specialty assemblies. If 200 members express interest in forming a new assembly, AORN will solicit a core group of 200 members who are committed to perform the inital work to create a specialty assembly.
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MEMBERS WHO WILL LAPSE
JANUARY 31, 2000
Paula Adli Sandra Doerfler
Gwendolyn Allen Loretta Cates
Suzanne Charbeneau Russell Harper
Janet Lewis Dana Taylor
Michael Mayer Cynthia Palmer
Deborah McClary Lucina Houser
Cheryl Omundson Nancy Jones
Patrice Drummond Pamela Sewell
You can renew your membership or join AORN online using E-Shop@AORN: current members watch for your access code on your membership renewal notice.
You can also call National AORN at (1-800-755-2676 to renew your membership.)
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REFRESHMENTS
FOR THE JANUARY MEETING
WILL BE PROVIDED BY
OKLAHOMA SURGICARE
MERCY HEALTH CENTER
INTEGRIS BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
SURGERY CENTER OF OKLAHOMA
(PLEASE BRING SOMETHING TO DRINK)
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ONA CONVENTION UPDATE
The House of Delegates unanimously approved the creation of workplace advocacy services for its members. The ONA will allocate resources to provide educational, consulting and referral services to members.
It approved a Bylaws change which will create a mechanism for participation in a regional coalition of state nurses associations formed for the purpose of providing collective bargaining services for interested members. While most issues can be addressed through a strong workplace advocacy program and collaborative planning between nurses and employers, the additional option of collective bargaining as a means of resolving workplace issues may benefit some Oklahoma nurses.
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TIRED OF RUNNING FROM PLACE TO PLACE
LET US DO YOUR ADVERTISEMENT
WE WILL BE OFFERING ADVERTISEMENT
OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE NEWSLETTER.
PRICES FOR THE MONTH:
FULL PAGE: $100.00
1/2 PAGE: $ 50.00
1/4 PAGE: $25.00
LET US PUT YOUR AD HERE!!!
Newsletter advertisements also run on this webpage and OSCPN webpage for the current month.