Earn valuable contact hours by attending education sessions and viewing posters at AORN Congress

The letter "R" after a session number denotes a repeat session. The letters "CH" denote contact hours. You must attend 85% of the education sessions to earn contact hours. Specific sessions that qualify for AORN risk management credit are denoted by a "+." Earning four contact hours of AORN risk management credit annually qualifies AORN members for a 10% insurance premium credit. For details, call AORN's endorsed insurance administrator, Marsh Affinity Group Services, a service of Seabury and Smith, at (800) 503-9230.

Registered nurses can earn 5.1 contact hours by attending all Forums and both sessions of the House of Delegates and correctly completing the scan form provided in Congress Resources. The agenda for the AORN business sessions appears on page 67 of this Journal.

Pre-Congress

Saturday, April 2, 2005, is the annual Pre-Congress. Pre-Congress includes intensive sessions that provide in-depth information critical to your career development, including full-day sessions specific to the practice of ambulatory surgery, RN first assistants (RNFAs), and nurse educators. An all-day robotics session will be presented at Tulane University. Registration for the robotics session will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to 25 participants. In addition, there are six half-day sessions offered, including a half-day program for perioperative nurses practicing in rural and small hospital settings.

For the first time, programs will be presented in collaboration with the International Federation of Perioperative Nurses. Participants can earn from 3.4 to 7.8 contact hours. Registration for Pre-Congress will not be processed if session selection has not been made. For a list of all the Pre-Congress speakers, visit the AORN web site at http://www.aorn.org/congress/education and click on Pre-Congress.

8 AM to 4 PM (7.2 CH)

P 8424

Team Approach to Robotic Surgery This all-day session will provide participants with the history of the use of robotics in surgery; rationale for developing a robotics surgery program; US Food and Drug Administration approval status; use in general and urologic surgery; establishing a robotics team in the OR; and hands-on experiences, including a review of safety features. This session will be held at Tulane University Health Sciences Center. Enrollment is limited to the first 25 registrants. AORN thanks Tulane University Health Sciences Center and the robotic surgery team for the education grant to provide this session. Lunch will be provided for this session.

P 8425+

Delivering Culturally Competent Care: Valuing Differences and Managing Diversity

This session is designed for nurse leaders, educators, and clinical practitioners interested in pursuing a programmatic approach to the design, education, implementation, and assessment of culturally competent nursing care. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations identifies the importance of assessing a patient's cultural context in helping determine response to illness and treatment. Course content will integrate the seven domains of cultural competence and address specific perioperative nursing and patient considerations. Case studies will be presented and will serve as a guide to developing a cultural diversity program in a variety of health care and perioperative practice settings. Education and training materials and sample competency assessment tools will be provided. The program offers timely and practical solutions to develop or strengthen any cultural diversity program's impact and ultimate success. Lunch on your own.