A perspective and a preview When you first looked at this month's cover you may have thought, "Well, that i s bright and colorful, but what does it mean?''

The New Year i s a time of gaiety with bright colors and disconnected events. It i s a time for reviewing the past year and anticipating the next. For operating room nurses, 1974 has been a year of both sub- stantial progress and disturbing events.

Particularly alarming to OR personnel was the report of the American Society of Anes- thesiologists (ASA) ad hoc committee on waste anesthetic gases. Released in No- vember at the annual meeting of the ASA, the report indicated that women working in the OR were subject to a higher risk of spontaneous abortions, congenital abnor- malities in offspring, as well as the in- creased risk of cancer, liver, and kidney disease. There is also increased risk of con- genital abnormalities among offspring of un- exposed wives of male operating room per- sonnel. Exposed males show an increased incidence of liver disease. Although the study does not establish a cause and effect relationship between the increased incidence of disease and exposure to waste anesthetic gases, evidence from experimental work on animals suggests an interrelationship.

Although the report i s disturbing, it does provide nurses and other OR personnel with facts to bring pressure on hospital admin- istration to see that proper scavenging techniques are used in each OR. For most ORs, the cost of scavenging equipment i s only about $100 per room and hospitals should be willing to do this without the pressure of mandatory legislation.

In the last two issues of the Journal, we have reported on the ad hoc committee's study and recommendations. We would be interested in hearing from AORN members about whefher their hospitals have proper equipment, and if not, what i s being done. Is there cooperation or resistance to instal- lation of proper scavenging equipment? How do OR nurses feel about these hazards? What questions do they have, and what information can the Journal provide?

The role of the technician continues to be a source of consternation to OR nurses. In many hospitals, technicians circulate despite federal and state regulations ex- plicitly requiring registered nurses to be in charge of the OR. We are aware that some educational programs for technicians are teaching more than scrubbing skills. Schools are teaching pharmacology and differen- tial diagnosis to technicians. Also, some schools are offering two-year technician programs which appear to compete with two-year nursing programs.

AORN Journal, January 1975, VoE 21, N o 1 11

There also have been reports of tech-

nicians or non-nurse personnel being hired

as OR supervisors. We are interested in hearing about experiences of AORN mem-

bers and will have more information on these subjects in the Journal during 1975.

During 1974, there has been increased

union activity in hospitals. The extension of

the Taft-Hartley Act to nonprofit institutions has brought union organization into many

hospitals. Unions are organizing ancillary

employees as well as nurses and there will

probably be much more activity in 1975. The nurses‘ strike in San Francisco demon- strated the impact of nurses’ collective ac-

tion. Most nurses support the American Nurses’ Association (ANA) as the bargain-

ing agent for nurses, but may have strong

negative feelings about any union. There

are many questions in nurses’ minds. What can a union do? Is the OR supervisor part

of management? What can you do about

union organization in your hospital? How does the union affect the relationship be- tween the supervisor and the employees she

supervises? The Journal will publish articles on these topics during 1975.

There has been notable progress in OR nursing this year. The publication of stand-

ards for nursing care in the OR by AORN and the ANA provides a measure for pa-

tient care in the OR. AORN’s publication, ”Nursing Audit: Challenge to the OR Nurse,“

i s a tool designed to assist nurses in ex- amining and improving the quality of pa- tient care given in the OR. Both of these

publications will increase the OR nurse’s professionalism and make the importance

of the role of the registered nurse in the

OR more apparent.

We have heard reports that nursing or- ganizations are forming federations a t the

state level patterned after the national Fed- eration of Specialty Nursing Organizations and ANA. The national group meets twice

a year to discuss issues facing nursing and

to work toward influencing constructive

change in health care. AORN has been an active participant in the national organiza-

tion. In Colorado, Tennessee, and Louisiana,

similar federations are being organized among specialty nursing organizations and

state nurses’ associations. This reflects an increasing interest in unity in nursing and a realization that nurses working together have strength. AORN is interested in learn- ing more about these state federations. If there i s one in your state, please let us

know. Another good report for 1974 i s that

AORN’s membership has passed the 20,000 mark with 11 new chapters. That deserves

a New Year’s toast.

What have al l these seemingly discon- nected events to do with the cover? Prop

the Journal up on a table and walk about

10 steps away from it. Now turn around and look at it and take pride in your pro-

fession as you do your best job in 1975.

El inor S Schrader E d i t o r

Texfbook il lusfrafes draping fechnigue A new textbook, OR nursing: preoperafive care and draping technique, has been

published by the Kendall Co with the

cooperation and assistance of AORN. Judith Lach, RN, i s the author, and Jerry G Peers, RN, AORN executive director,

and Rose Marie McWilliams, RN, AORN assistant director of education, served as consultants.

The book discusses and illustrates

nursing technique, especially draping technique, and i s planned to take the

reader from the immediate preoperative period up to the time of the surgeon’s incision. It was designed to serve as an

initial effort in documenting surgical draping technique that will lead toward a standardized draping methodology.

12 AORN Journal, January 1975, Vol 21, N o 1