Membership drive sets record; study looks at OR nurse population Several months have passed since this cob umn last appeared, not because of any lessen- ing of activity at Headquarters, but because many of our projects are not at the point of completion. Some are in the idea stage, while others are in various stages of planning. The staff takes a futuristic view toward planning for the Association's continued growth.

We do want to announce that our trial mem- bership drive (members of the Association re- ceived $10 for every new member they brought into the Association during the drive) ended June 1. Cash awards given to members came from budgeted membership promotion funds. We are extremely pleased with the re- sults of the drive. We gained 1,012 new mem- bers. Even more exciting, this number in- creases our membership, effective June 1, to 30,518 members. The last recorded high in our membership was July 1 , 1980, when we had 30,058 members. We have established a new record high for AORN membership.

Credit for the drive's success goes to Carol Sibellus, director of membership, and her staff, and to those of you who seized this opportunity to attract new members. We thank you for your support, and we know you share in our satis- faction. Carol continues to explore new ideas and ways to attract and retain members. As these ideas take shape, we will keep you in- formed.

For some time the Association has been interested in knowing how many OR nurses there are in the US-in other words, what is the

Headquarters report I a m

universe. We are planning a study that will give us the total number and will initiate the study this summer. It will be extremely helpful for the Association to know how many operating room nurses exist beyond our 30,518 members. We can use this information to attract new mem- bers and to let all operating room nurses know about AORN.

Pat Patterson, associate editor for the Jour- nal for five years, has worked part time since the birth of her son. She did not wish to resume her full-time position but did want to remain with the Association. As author of the legisla- tive column and staff consultant to the Legisla- tive Committee, Pat has an excellent knowl- edge of how legislation affects OR nursing. She suggested that she continue as part-time legislative consultant at Headquarters. She made this transition from theJournal to legisla- tive consultant in June and can be reached at Headquarters on Tuesday and Thursday af- ternoons. Pat will continue to work with the Legislative Committee and to write the legisla- tive column for the Journal. We are pleased that Pat can stay on a part-time basis-she has many talents, and we know that you will be pleased as well.

Larry Merthan, the Association's legislative monitor, based in Washington, DC, has been on board now for several months, and the Board and staff are greatly satisfied with his services. He contacts us regularly and submits a monthly report, which helps Pat Patterson and the rest of us keep on top of relevant legislation and regulations.

We have been evaluating the 1983 AORN Congress and looking at ways to improve the 1984 Congress. The evaluations done by the participants at Congress were excellent, and we are gratified. We are also receiving sug-

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gestions for the 1984 Congress education programs and expect to receive many more.

We continue to monitor the progress of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) on the final disposition of the regulations for the circulating role of the professional nurse in the operating room. The federal machinery moves slowly, but Joseph Radzius, the Association’s legal counsel for the regulations, is in frequent touch with Washington, and we will report news as we receive it. Recently, on behalf of all the members of the Association, we gave the HCFA additional information we believed would be useful. This was reported in the July Journal, page 18.

The education department is pleased that the number of nurses registering for and par- ticipating in national seminars has significantly increased this year. The number of consulta- tion requests has also increased. We will use our marketing consultant, Suzanne Hall Johnson, RN, to help us promote our national seminars, courses, and consultation services. We hope there will be even more nurses at- tending the seminars and courses and more institutions requesting consultations.

The Association’s Approval Board for Con- tinuing Education reports a considerable in- crease in the number of chapters submitting educational offerings. We believe the increase may stem in part from the AORN National Cer- tification Board’s decision to offer CNORs re- certification by continuing education hours or by examination.

Contributions to the Research Fund made at the 1983 Congress and through May are $7,255. The amount prior to Congress was $19,122 for a total contribution of $26,377 since the initial challenge grant at the 1982 Congress. We are most appreciative of our members’ investment in research. We have begun to expend some of these funds for the staffing study that is being done by Allen H Nelson, PhD, and his associate. The staffing study will address what staffing patterns are most cost effective in the operating room and at what point in the patient’s regimen of care is the RN the most cost-effective individual to provide this care.

I no longer feel like the “new” executive director. I have learned a great deal about AORN since assuming my post on Jan 1, and I hope my contentment shows. I want to

acknowledge the support of the Board of Direc- tors, the staff, and members. I feel privileged and proud to be a part of AORN, and I know I share these feelings with all of you. Your en- thusiasm and support for AORN assures our continued growth.

Clifford Jordan, RN, EdD, FAAN Executive director

Children are harmed by parents who smoke Children living with parents who smoke are more susceptible to respiratory conditions and impaired lung function than those living with nonsmokers. The findings were reported at the recent meeting of the American Lung Association and the American Thoracic Society.

The Tecumseh study began in 1959 to study the development of diseases in the entire population of a small town. As part of that study, the family smoking histories of 4,378 children were examined. The children ranged in age from birth to 19 years. According to spokesman Cecil M Burchfiel, Ann Arbor, Mich, “The prevalence of asthma, wheeze, and chest colds was higher in males, and that of bronchitis and wheeze higher in females, if both parents smoked. We found that these effects were more common in households where mothers smoked, rather than in those where only the father smoked,” said Burchfiel. A possible explanation for increased effects on young children is that they are more susceptible to the effects of smoke and are also in closer contact with parents.

“This type of study offers an important advantage over other types. One of the strengths of the Tecumseh study is that information is available for both children and parents, and that these families have been followed for over 20 years,” Burchfiel concluded.

190 AORN Journal, August 1983, Vol38, No 2