How AORN scholarships can help

Since the AORN scholarship program was ini- tiated in 1970, 53 members have received more than $35,000 to pursue nursing degrees. To find out how these AORN scholarships helped individual members go back to school, we interviewed two scholarship winners. One is Janet Sabbe, who recently joined the AORN Education Department as credentialing coor- dinator. She received two AORN scholarships that helped her earn her bachelor's degree in nursing science last May. The other scholar- ship winner is Carlyne White, director of OR/RR Services at Presbyterian Hospital in Denver and now a member of the AORN Ap- proval Board. She is currently working toward her bachelor's degree.

What made you decide to go back t o school? Janet: I went to the University of San Diego primarily to increase my job opportunities. I was a diploma graduate, and I had been work- ing in different staff positions for seven or eight years. I was ready for something different, but I couldn't move up or attempt something differ- ent until I had more education. On a personal level, I wanted and needed to increase my own

Carlyne White, RN, (right) and AORN

creden tialing coordinator Janet Sabbe, RN, relate

how AORN scholarships helped

them achieve educational goals.

AORN Journal, March 1978, V o l 2 7 , No 4 667

knowledge and become more informed about the nursing profession.

Carlyne: I graduated from a diploma school of nursing 25 years ago. and I have been in- volved in operating room nursing ever since. In recent years. I have been in a nursing man- agement position. More and more, I became aware of the tremendous changes in nursing. Even the terminology was changing. I felt I needed to go back to school to learn what nurses are currently being taught.

Janet: I t is disheartening. When the new graduates come out of school, they are using terms you have heard and understand but can't really integrate into your practice.

Carlyne: That's right. For example, the current thrust is toward nursing care plans. To imple- ment this concept in the operating room, I felt I had to know more about it.

Although I felt the need to get back into nursing classes, I wasn't motivated to get a degree. But then I decided I should have some- thing to show for it. Also, I first thought in terms of a degree in nursing management, but I realized that a BSN would better meet my ob- jectives.

I am attending Metropolitan State College in Denver. The program is designed for working registered nurses attending part time. Last year, I was almost a full-time student and worked only one or two days a week. Now, I am working full time and only taking one class. There is a five-year limit to complete the course, and it will probably take me that long.

Janet My program was also geared to the professional nurse. It fulfilled my needs be- cause it didn't start with the basic nursing prin- ciples: instead, it assumed a certain level of expertise.

Carlyne: That is the reason I chose Metro. It seemed the most realisttc way to accompiish what I needed. I didn't want to repeat Nursing Art 1 again.

Janet, how long did it take you to complete your degree? Janet: It took three years of night school to fulfill the prerequisites. Once I entered the school of nursing, I was able to complete the work in four semester and two summer ses- sions. I was attending school almost full time.

Would you have been able to go back to school without the assistance of an AORN scholarship? Janet: I would have gone regardless of the obstacles, even if it meant taking out a school loan. I would have done it, I think, but under a great deal of hardship.

Did the scholarship pay most of your ex- penses? Janet: It paid about one-fourth. My total tuition expenses were about $4,200 plus books.

Carlyne, what about you? Carlyne: I think I would have gone back to school without it, but the scholarship encour- aged me to put forth the effort. Knowing that the tuition was paid allowed me to drop back to part-time work more easily. The money I re- ceived covered all the tuition-everything but books. My educational expenses were much less than yours, Janet.

Janet: My personal need overshadowed the financial question. If you want to do something, you will find a way to do it-whether it is to borrow money from the bank or your parents, or sell your car and take the bus. . . . I was in school a semester and a half before I applied for a scholarship.

What prompted you to apply? Janet: I was talked into it by another nurse. I knew about the scholarship program, but I didn't think I had a chance. But another AORN member said to me, "You're not going to lose anything. How do you know you don't have a chance?"

Carlyne: I was aware that scholarship funds were available and that applicants were en- couraged. I decided to apply and see what would happen.

In going back to school, do you feel you achieved your objectives? Janet: My objective was to graduate and I did. I expected to go into OR administration, maybe as a head nurse or supervisor, but I slowly realized my interests were really in education. When I saw the ad in theJournal for a program specialist, I sent in my resume, but the job had already been filled. When there was an open- ing for a position in credentialing, Carol Alex-

670 AORN Jortrnal, March 1978, Vol27, No 4

ander called and asked if I would be in- terested in being considered for that position.

Going back to school was a stimulating but frustrating experience. I was the only OR nurse in the class, and I felt the instructors weren't dealing with my interests. Even the other stu- dents were unaware of what I was doing or trying to share with them. I felt that some of the educators didn't understand my goals in OR nursing. They couldn't understand how a pro- fessional nurse could spend her career in the operating room. This was not true of all my instructors. A few were very encouraging. But I had the feeling that I was being pushed into doing something else.

What about you, Carlyne, do you feel you accomplished your objectives? Carlyne Yes, I think I am achieving my goal of being more aware of what is happening in nurs- ing. For example, I am more comfortable work- ing with some of the requirements that nurses face such as accountability

Realistically, I feel the push for the degree I think that having a degree will be important in the future I am not sure what I will be doing but if I choose to work, I want to be able to do so

Do you feel your education has helped you make a contribution to OR nursing? Carlyne: I am more informed in some of the issues relating to nursing-continuing edu- cation, entry level into practice, preparation of students-and from my classes and classmates I am more aware of the different points of view. I am more conscious of the trends in nursing related to these issues and the implications for OR nurses.

Janet: In the Education Department, I work with superb staff, and I am rapidly becoming more aware of the issues affecting OR nurses. I am more aware of the certification process and what it means to the nurse and to the consumer, as one example. Through my work on the AORN staff, I hope to contribute a great deal. I am particularly interested in working with students and would like to help return operating room experience to the nursing cur- riculum.

If you are interested in pursuing a degree in nursing, an AORN scholarship may help you to achieve your goals. For information and application forms, write to the Education De-

partment, AORN Headquarfers, 101 70 E Mis- sissippi Ave, Denver, Colo 80231. The next deadline for applications is June 1 , 1978.

Birth complications and pain relief Pain relief during labor accomplishes more than providing comfort to the mother-it helps prevent complications of childbirth, Gertie F Marx, MD, of New York City, told anesthesiologists attending the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in New Orleans in October.

"Labor and delivery are stressful situations, both physically and emotionally," Dr Marx said. "Every painful contraction of the womb leads to an increase in the work of the heart, the blood pressure, and the body's need for oxygen."

Labor is associated with a tendency to overbreathing and to a heightened output of hormones from the adrenal gland, Dr Marx said. She believes these responses not only tax the mother's strength but also may deprive the baby of oxygen and needed nutrients. Well-chosen pain relief will alleviate or even abolish these stressful reactions, she added. In addition, pain relief will often increase the strength of contractions and improve the progress of labor.

A professor of anesthesiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, New York City, Dr Marx also pointed out that anesthetic care involves more than the administration of pain relief. It includes a proper positioning of the mother, respiratory support of the mother, oxygen therapy, intravenous fluid, blood replacement, and administration of specific drugs. "The anesthesiologist is responsible for maintaining the mother's blood pressure, blood volume, and blood oxygen at optimal levels," she said, "as well as having the baby as vigorous at birth and in the nursery as possible."

AORN Journal, March 1978, Val 27. No 4 671