learning from international colleagues

AORN JOURNAL • 565

Letters to the Editor OCTOBER 2005, VOL 82, NO 4

Member benefits; internationalnurses; microfiber mops

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

The AORNJournal welcomes letters for the “Lettersto the Editor”column.Letters mustrefer toJournalarticles or columns publishedwithin thepreceding sixmonths. Allletters aresubject toediting beforepublication.Authors ofarticles orcolumns cited in theletter to theeditor may be given theopportunity torespond.Letters thatare includedin the “Let-ters” columnmust containthe reader’sname;credentials ifapplicable(eg, RN, BSN,CNOR); position ortitle; employer, andemployer’saddress.

INVITE A NEW MEMBERINTO THE ASSOCIATION

As chair of the AORN NationalMembership Committee, I wishI had written “Benefits of pro-

fessional nursing organization mem-bership” (vol 82, July 2005). KaerynFrank, RN, CNOR, makes some won-derful points in her article. Most impor-tantly, I hope every reader took to hearther point that “membership in a pro-fessional association also gives nurses,including perioperative nurses, anopportunity to be in control of theirprofessional destiny.”1(p13)

Through AORN membership, weare given a voice in our profession. Weare able to influence the health careenvironment, affect patient outcomes,and improve conditions for ourselvesat our facilities. By attending AORN-sponsored education seminars, net-working with other members toexchange ideas, and taking full advan-tage of all the products and benefits ofthe Association, we become active,informed members. This is the mes-sage we must spread to our nonmem-ber colleagues and associates.

One goal for Sharon McNamara,RN, MS, CNOR, President of AORN,is to increase Association membershipby 3,000 members this year. Each oneof us can help achieve this goal byencouraging other nurses, students,and industry representatives to joinAORN. If you don’t know what to sayto convince potential members, tearout pages 13 and 14 of the July Journaland have a membership applicationready. Your associate can read for him-self or herself about the opportunitiesavailable to access information, net-work with experts, and make use of allthe resources and benefits that comewith AORN membership.

I challenge each of you who knows

the value of membership to invite andwelcome one new member into theAssociation this year. With increasedmembership numbers comes strength,as well as recognition from other pro-fessionals. Let’s all commit to makingour total membership soar this year tomake AORN the best possible associa-tion for perioperative nurses!

KEVIN J. METZINGRN, BS, CNOR

NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE CHAIR

Note1. K Frank, “Benefits of professional nurs-ing organization membership,” (GuestEditorial) AORN Journal 82 (July 2005) 13-14.

LEARNING FROMINTERNATIONAL COLLEAGUES

I just finished reading the “President’sMessage” (vol 82, August 2005), and Iwanted to respond with a sincere thank-you. In this often troubled world we livein today, it is refreshing to know thatnurses in the perioperative communityare being represented in internationalmeetings, such as the ones PresidentMcNamara recently attended.

I had the unique blessing to havebeen raised by parents who had anopen home for international visitors inSan Antonio, Tex. I grew up meetingand sitting down at our dinner tablewith physicians, nurses, and studentsfrom all over the world.

Today, I have international nurses asfriends and coworkers. The hospital Iwork for employs four wonderfulinternational nurses in our OR. Thesenurses are from India and England, thePhilippines, Australia, and theBahamas. I was given the honor ofwelcoming them and orienting them toour OR. These nurses have taught memany things about their OR environ-ments and duties. I realize that I maynever have the personal experience of

566 • AORN JOURNAL

OCTOBER 2005, VOL 82, NO 4 Letters to the Editor

traveling to other countries;but I have been privileged tolearn through these friendsabout their homes, work, andcultures.

I am proud to be a memberof AORN, a progressive andinspiring professional organi-zation. I am a new memberlearning about the organiza-tion and looking forward tomany wonderful experiences.Thank you for being an open-minded and open-heartedorganization.

KAREN WALKERRN, BSN

CLINICAL NURSE EDUCATOR

PERIOPERATIVE SERVICES

DENVER HEALTH

DENVER

WHAT ABOUT THE FLOOR?In her answer to the ques-

tion about using microfibermops facility-wide (“ClinicalIssues,” vol 81, June 2005), theauthor says nothing about thecondition of the floor after ithad been mopped. Specifically,has the floor been effectivelydisinfected?

Cotton mops are hydro-philic, or absorbent, whereasmicrofiber mops are hydro-phobic, or not absorbent. As aresult, microfiber mops requireless water for rinsing and donot require the use of a con-ventional mop-wringer andheavy cleaning bucket. Theseare economic benefits that areergonomically advantageousas well.

The question is, how effec-tively do microfiber mops dis-infect the floor? Microfibermop heads can be damagedby industrial washers and

dryers; thus, care must betaken in laundering them.More importantly, the mopsthemselves cannot be disinfec-ted with chlorine bleach sinceit can degrade the fibers andshorten the useful life of themop head.

This raises questions notonly about how the mops aredisinfected but also about theeffectiveness of the disinfec-tant that is used to disinfectthe floor. Has its efficacy beenclinically demonstrated?

Last but not least, themicrofiber mop is handsqueezed to remove excesswater, and, of course, this isdone after it has been used tomop the contaminated floor.Does the health care workerwear gloves while doing thisand then wash his or herhands before going on toanother room with a newmop head? It seems to methat from the perspective ofinfection control, there is littleevidence-based information toshow the effectiveness of thisnew technology, and there isstill a need for traditional all-cotton mop heads.

NATHAN L. BELKINPHD

CLEARWATER, FLA

Author’s response. Thank youfor your comments. As notedin the column, research on theuse of microfiber mop sys-tems in health care settings islimited. One source cited inthe column found the posi-tively charged microfibersattracted and tightly heldnegatively charged dust anddirt particles. The microfiber

also was found to penetratethe microscopic pores of mostflooring materials, unlikeloop mop systems.1 Addition-al trials have supported theeffectiveness of the microfibersystem over traditional wetloop systems.2-4

Microfiber mop headsmay be damaged by indus-trial processing standardsand chlorine bleach, so facili-ties choosing to employ thesesystems use a standard com-mercial washer and dryerwith controlled heat settingsand standard laundry deter-gent.1 With the exception ofchlorine bleach, microfibermop heads are compatiblewith hospital-grade disinfec-tant solutions.1,4

Currently, there are limitedevidence-based findings todetermine the appropriate-ness of using microfiber mopsin perioperative settings.Consequently, AORN has nottaken an official position onthe efficacy of the product.The decision to implementmicrofiber cleaning systemsshould be based on objectivecriteria and follow AORN’s“Recommended practices forproduct selection in perioper-ative practice settings.”5

SHARON GIARRIZZO-WILSONRN, MS, CNOR

PERIOPERATIVE NURSING SPECIALIST

CENTER FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Notes1. “Using microfiber mops inhospitals,” EnvironmentalProtection Agency (November2002) http://www.epa.gov/region09/cross_pr/p2/projects/hospital/mops.pdf (accessed 29 Aug 2005).2. D Polonsky, “Should you