This has been a busy year for NAON, and it is hard for me to believe my tenure as your president is almost over. This is my last president's message, and it seems as though the year has just begun. I have been privileged to work with a talented group of people on the NAON Executive Board this year as well as those who support NAON, including Jan Foecke, NAON Director of Programs, Nancy Mooney, NAON News Editor, Erin Hart, NAON Web Editor, and Mary Rodts, Editor of the Orthopaedic Nursing. Together with the NAON Foundation and the ONCB, we worked to continue to promote NAON and its mission to advance the specialty of orthopaedic nursing through excellence in research, education, and nursing practice.
In the member needs survey done a few years ago, the major reason for maintaining membership was orthopaedic nursing education. On the basis of this, NAON members participated in our educational needs assessment this fall. The results of this will be used to direct the educational programs and products we provide for the future to ensure that we are providing the information you need as orthopaedic nurses to continue to provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive care to your patients.
A major initiative of NAON this year was the restructuring of the Education and Research committees. Under the leadership of NAON Program Director Jan Foecke, the new structure is made up of the NAON Education Committee (NEC) and the NAON Evidence Based Practice and Research Committee (EBPRC).
The NEC is divided into three units: the Congress Unit, the AAOS Unit, and the Practice Unit. The Congress Unit is responsible for all of the traditional educational activities related to Congress including the utilization of criteria developed by the EBPRC for review and selection of the Congress presentations. The AAOS Unit is responsible for the development of the AAOS Nursing and Allied Health Courses, including ensuring that 70% of the content meets Category A requirements. The Activities and Products Unit will be taking on the activities related to all NAON educational products, including revision of existing products and the development of new items. Having a dedicated group to monitor the existing products and to work on the new ones will provide more consistency than we have had in the past as well as streamline the process for developing new products. The NEC will be utilizing the results of the educational needs assessment done this past fall to guide the work of each of these groups.
The NAON EBPRC is divided into two work units: the Practice Unit and the Research Committee. The Practice Unit duties will include the review of clinical orthopaedic literature, establishment of overall evidence-based (EB) criteria for developing written and oral presentations/products, and work related to NAON Position Statements. They will also identify or forward topics (and potential speakers) for orthopaedic nursing practice to the NEC as well as identify/develop tools/aids for enhancing orthopaedic nursing practice as well as develop clinical practice guidelines (including some basic guidelines that could be used by nonorthopaedic nurses who care for orthopaedic patients). It is hoped that this group will be able to work with the Special Interest groups on some of the practice issues in the future.
The Research Committee will review orthopaedic research literature, forwarding ideas to the Practice Unit for Position Statement/other consideration; create EB criteria for developing/ selecting Congress orthopaedic nursing research poster/presentation proposals; identifies topics/solicits orthopaedic nursing research presenters for annual NAON Congress, posters at Congress based on EB criteria; identifies orthopaedic research topics/presenters and forwards them to the NEC; identifies/develops tools/aids for enhancing orthopaedic nursing research and the development of EB criteria for research mentorship; and evaluates research information submissions for the Web site based on EB criteria.
As you can see, these are ambitious goals and there is a tremendous amount of work that will be done by these groups, and NAON is very fortunate to have qualified, dedicated members who are willing to serve on these committees. Their work is just beginning this year, and while we are eager for the results, we know that this is a building process, and that it will take some time for it to be accomplished. But we are very thankful for Jan and her team for the work they are doing and look forward to results of their efforts. When you see them at Congress, please be sure and let them know how much you appreciate all the work they are doing for you and the organization.
This past year, we had a successful Congress in San Jose and saw continued increasing registration for the AAOS Nursing and Allied Health Meeting in Las Vegas. We were able to continue the regional symposium and have more scheduled for 2009. Our next two smart cards are nearing completion, to be released soon. Our Approver Unit continues to be busy approving chapter and other offerings.
Our relationship with the International Collaboration of Orthopaedic Nurses continues, and we are looking forward to the first true International Orthopaedic Nursing Conference to be held hopefully in 2010. Members of the various organizations are just beginning to work on the planning and logistics of this meeting and are excited by the possibilities it presents.
Our Safe Patient Handling work is continuing. The algorithms have been revised and are on the NAON Web site. You received a copy of the Safe Patient Handling Supplement with this issue of the journal. The National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses is very proud of the work this group has done, and we feel this information is vital to all nurses who care for orthopaedic patients. We thank Guldmann for its sponsorship of the supplement and poster and look forward to the dissemination of this important information.
The NAON membership remains solid, thanks in part to our Each One Reach One Campaign. In 2008, we had 40 chapters participating, with a total of 207 new members added through the campaign. Congratulations go out to the East Bay and Baltimore chapters as the winners for 2008. The East Bay Chapter grew by 84%, and the Baltimore chapter added 38 new members. We congratulate all those who participated and note that the 2009 campaign is in full swing. Good luck to all those participating.
As you can imagine, NAON has not been immune to the financial crisis that hit this past fall. We are fortunate that our investment firm, Fidelity, is very sound and has done an excellent job of working to protect our investments. That being said, NAON, like most other investors, has seen decreases in our reserves. Fidelity has worked to get us positioned to recover when the market stabilizes. We are lucky that we do not need to use our reserves for our operational budget, and the staff and Executive Board have worked hard to make sure that we stayed within our operational budget for 2008.
The other financial area of concern for NAON and other nursing and medical associations is the continued effects of regulations regarding how and to whom drug and medical companies can give money. We know that the Justice Department ruling against the major orthopaedic companies affected our sponsorship, and we are seeing it continue into other areas as the 2002 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America code is expanded. "Starting January 1, the pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a voluntary moratorium on the kind of branded goodies-pens, mugs-that were meant to foster good will and, some would say, encourage doctors to prescribe more of the drugs" (The New York Times, December 30, 2008). This has a direct effect on NAON, as we continue to need to find new ways to work with our vendors and supply companies for educational grants and monies, and our sponsorship people are working hard to find ways to work with the changing regulations.
As you can tell, it has been very busy, exciting, and challenging for NAON. I thank all the NAON volunteers who have participated in all the various activities of the association. Whether as committee member or chair, it is your work that makes us a success. I also thank the 2008-2009 NAON Executive Board for all their work this year-it has been a privilege to serve with them. In addition, the NAON staff and management team at Smithbucklin that do the everyday work of the association deserve our thanks for a job well done.
I am proud to be an orthopaedic nurse and a NAON member, and I thank you for the honor of serving as NAON's 29th president. I have enjoyed exploring the opportunities to "Unite the World of Orthopaedics," and I look forward to stepping into the role of past president, serving on the board under our next president, Marj Kulesa. As we move into our 30th year, we have much to celebrate, and I am excited to support her as we move forward.