NURSES MONTH

As an educator who has experience in many different parts of the country, she has contributed to the organization in many ways. She has served on national committees, AORN Board, and local and regional member affiliates. As a member of the Clinical Educator Specialty Assembly, she answers many of the practice questions that are on OR NurseLink (ORNL). She is generous with her time and talents, plus she never fails to serve our members. Thank you Elizabeth.

In that time, she has facilitated 2 virtual Bingo games as fundraisers. She also got members involved in nursing professional organization fairs, cancer walks, and legislative activities here in Texas, including attending a Texas House of Representative committee hearing on smoke evacuation. Tara has developed and presented Nursing Continuing Education programs for her facility and our chapter. She was a delegate at AORN Expo this year. She will serve on the new national transgender committee. Tara deserves being in the spotlight.

She is an excellent leader. She is an excellent manager and a motivator. I am so humble and proud to work for her.

Since starting, she has excelled in every nursing role in the OR, including a circulator, scrub, preceptor, and charge nurse. Meghan completed a project during nurse residency on streamlining perioperative communication between families and staff, where she was chosen to receive an award for "Most Likely to Make an Organizational Impact." Meghan is one the most hard-working and dedicated individuals on our team. She brings a positive and upbeat attitude every single day she shows up and encourages her team members to have this same positive attitude. Meghan is currently studying for her CNOR, with plans to continue her career as a RNFA.

Kathy is my OR Coordinator at St. Louis University Outpatient Surgery. To say she goes above and beyond is an understatement. She is the brains of coordinating the schedule, steps into any problem and finds a way to solve it, she is the master of all and she is an unstoppable force for patient advocacy. A quick story to share is when we have patients show up at our campus and they are at the wrong location for surgery and need to be at the main campus-Kathy grabs arm in arm and hops the shuttle to take them there all the while talking and smiling and asking how their day is going. We would be lost without her!

As President, he led the Association's initiative for National Time Out Day to eliminate wrong site surgery. He has spoken nationally and internationally on Health Law and Nursing Leadership topics in addition to being an accomplished author of many articles in nursing journals and publications. He has received numerous recognitions, including the Nursing Spectrum's National Award for Excellence in Leading the Profession, the Loyola University School of Nursing Distinguished Alumnae Award, AORN's Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing, and in 2011, he was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Jane exemplifies what we should all be doing: growing our nurses, giving them support, and encouraging them to reach for the stars. She has served AORN at the national and local level, and she continues to volunteer. Jane is responsible for recognizing the accomplishments of many of our perioperative colleagues by nominating them for national awards. Jane leads by example and is a role model for all of those she shared her time with. She continues to be dedicated to AORN, its members and safe patient care.

It is my privilege to pay tribute to a remarkable nurse who has made an enormous impact on the healthcare industry. Angela Hohn is an advocate for clean air in the operating room. Angela has been working as a nurse for 30 years, and she has seen the harmful effects of surgical smoke on both patients and healthcare workers including herself. She was diagnosed with lung cancer. Surgical smoke is generated when surgical instruments are heated, causing tissue to vaporize and release harmful chemicals and particles into the air. This smoke can lead to respiratory problems, eye irritation, and even cancer. Angela knew that something needed to be done to address this issue, so she decided to take action. She worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the dangers of surgical smoke, speaking with colleagues, writing articles, and even testifying before lawmakers. Thanks to Angela's efforts, a bill was introduced in the Georgia state legislature that would require the use of smoke evacuation systems in operating rooms. This bill faced opposition from some quarters, but Angela continued to fight for its passage. Finally, after many months of hard work, the bill was passed into law. Thanks to Angela's tireless efforts, patients and healthcare workers in her state are now protected from the harmful effects of surgical smoke. Her dedication to patient safety and her unwavering commitment to improving the quality of care for all patients is something that we should all strive to emulate. She has made a lasting impact on the healthcare industry, and we are all grateful for her contributions.

Deb Hough is the director of Perioperative Services at Rutland Regional Medical Center. After being a perioperative staff nurse that served as the ortho team lead for many years, Deb was enticed to become the manager and then the director. To this day, Deb leads by example. While Deb completes the director responsibilities and guides the team into the future, she also never turns down an opportunity to work side by side with her team, which occurs almost daily. If call needs to be covered and others cannot fill the spot, Deb fills in. She is the first one there and the last to leave. When you see the sparkle in her eyes as she scrubs in or circulates, you know you are in the presence of awesomeness.

I cannot express how thankful I am to have Shoney as our OR director, as she is exactly what MHROH has needed for quite some time! Shoney never hesitates to step in and provide a helping hand when she sees that there is a need. What makes her great is that there's never a time when she's not looking as to how or what we can do better as a team (and as a facility) in order to better care for our patients, but while also keeping our staff members' happiness and work-life balance in mind. Shoney is a "go-getter", but in a way that doesn't come across as unapproachable or in a "my way or the highway" mindset. She's logical and open-minded, and holds everyone accountable for their actions (which had been overlooked for some time). She's really great with communication, and has really done a great job with making each employee feel like they are heard. It's so refreshing to have her as the leader of our team, and I look forward to seeing her success continue. She's always up to the challenges that may present themselves, and that's what I respect the most about her. Her mindset of "failure is not an option" is truly motivating and inspiring. That being said... Thanks for being YOU, Shoney! We hit the jackpot by having you as our Director.

As a new graduate nurse, Christopher started his career in the Operating Room and has excelled at every task. Christopher completed the Peri-op 101 program during his initial onboarding process and has since been promoted to the Charge RN role Monday through Friday. Chris is a perfect role model for his communication skill set and always provides closed loop communication to any issues. Chris is friendly, always maintains his sense of humor, problem solves quickly, provides a sense of calmness to any crisis situation and is an effective leader and resource for staff and surgeons. We are blessed with his teamwork and insight into the weekly schedule. Chris provides the stability required during our staffing crisis and reliance on temporary travel staff.

Throughout the years she has always been advancing our professional. She seeks out educational opportunities and shares the information she learns with other staff. She is always a willing preceptor and mentor to those new to the periop area. If she doesn't know the answer she will find it. She has written several articles for AORN journal on her own time. Judy has also used her vacation time to go on several medical missions to serve those in need. She is the epitome of what we should all strive to be!! You would want her I. The room if you or yours were having surgery. I cannot say enough about her.

Allyssa is dedicated to the OR and continues her education. Since graduating nursing school in 2016, she has gone on to get her bachelors, then continuing to move forward, she studied and tested for her CNOR. And she met that goal. Recently, she finished her studies for her RNFA! During all of this she got married, had two kids, precepted a new grad RN to the OR, and signed up to become a mentor in the AORN program. Allyssa is an active member of AORN. She was my vice president this year and was instrumental in organizing social events. She did this while bringing the team together by planning daily events for our surgical technologists during scrub tech week, as well as planning events for our sterile processing week. Allyssa continues to grow in the profession. Most of all, she wants all patients to be cared for safely. She expects compassion and respect for her patients throughout the surgical process and starts by creating a relationship with the patient and family, and then holding her team members accountable for their actions as the patient's advocate.

Oh let me count the ways. Maggie precepted me when I was new to an outpatient surgery center. She reminded me of the OR RN I used to be. She set an example of what I strive to be. She is kind to patients as they experience something that can be very scary. She is VERY knowledgeable. She also goes above and beyond any chance she gets. She is also a charge nurse in our OR and is always hustling so staff have what they need, when they need it. Maggie is everything an OR nurse should be. She is incredible!

Janet, along with Carla Beattie, has been an AORN officer for Richmond Chapter 4702 for several years. She is currently the vice president and education chair, and is the incoming president for year 2023-2024. Janet has been so passionate with the smoke free initiative and is currently working with AORN's Jennifer Pennock and our local legislators to get this bill passed and approved. We have received the gold award for smoke free with Janet's leadership.

Ray helped lead his team to earn a designation as an AORN Center of Excellence in Surgical Safety: Prevention of RSI. Their facility was the first hospital in the system to achieve this honor.

Elizabeth is an excellent nurse, fabulous manager, and great friend. I had the pleasure of training her in a new position she really didn't have a choice in taking. She was a champ and picked up the tasks really quickly. Her leadership skills shined bright and she was offered a manager position, took it and has now become my manager. I never really wanted to be in leadership, especially at this late stage in my life. But with her encouragement and guidance, I have decided to go back to school and move towards a leadership role. She has been by my side on this very tedious and slow journey, always giving me encouragement and praise. She always puts the patient first in all decisions she makes as the Clinical Operations Manager. She manages the different personalities of staff and surgeons beautifully! She treats her staff with compassion and fairness. She has served on several committees with AORN and this year she is the Volunteer Coordinator for AORN EXPO 2024! All this while being a mother of three girls! She truly is Super Woman!

Tell AORN about a periop nurse who shows an unwavering dedication to clinical excellence and patient safety. Someone who’s advancing our profession. It could be a colleague who may be a mentor, or a periop nurse who is involved in research or advocacy. Or, it could be someone who brings smiles to your team members, even on the toughest days. Spotlight a Nurse