for Perioperative Nurses, NPs and RNFAs
December 8, 2009 Vol. 2, No. 12
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Fall/Winter Hours
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Monday - Thursday
8am - 5pm MST
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Friday
8am - 2pm MST
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Need Answers Now?
Call Emily! |
Questions about RNFA
training, credentialing, reimbursements,
state issues, or just want to "talk shop" between cases? Call
Emily on the NIFA HOT LINE! She'll
answer your question or immediately
direct you to the right person for an answer. Call 1-800-92ASSIST, press 1. |
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From the Editor
In the spirit of the holidays we are giving away C-Section, EVH and Laparoscopic classes to enrollees in December. Click on the gift package to read more!
 From all of us at NIFA, best wishes for a warm, happy and healthy holiday season.
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News: AORN's 2009 Salary Survey Now Available
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AORN has released its 2009 salary survey, reporting on current salaries and benefits for perioperative nurses as well as trends, such as effects of the economic downturn on the profession and RNs' perceptions of the nursing shortage. The survey was sponsored by Duke Medicine. "This year, the average staff nurse earned $64,400, $2,900 more than in 2008, and the average VP/director/assistant director of nursing made $101,800, $4,500 more than last year," states a summary of survey highlights in the current AORN Connections. If you are an AORN member--which we certainly encourage--you may log in and read the detailed survey report in the December 2009 AORN Journal. The latest survey data is incorporated in AORN's Salary Calculator, also available to members. |
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Student in the Spotlight
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 Name: Sheila Thornton
Credentials: RN, MSN, CNR
City and State: Hampton, VA
Current Job: Perioperative Educator, First Medical Group, Langley Air Force Base
Student Status: Working on clinical hours
Career Path: I've been an OR nurse for the last 20 years. I'm career Air Force. I have a master's degree, but I wanted to stay clinical and was looking for something to expand my clinical background. As an OR nurse, where do you go from here? First Assistant is a great next step, something new and different for me and another skill to put in my pocket.
We get deployed every 18 months. Last time I was in Afghanistan and sometimes the first assistant wasn't available; that RNFA would have been awesome, a definite asset to have in the field.
Currently at my facility we do a lot of C sections, OB/GYN cases. They were asking for the techs to become first assists because so many people were deployed. There's been a real push to help our surgeons here, and I felt I could really help.
I took NIFA's three-day express workshop, C-section class and the Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting class. The class was great, Jeremy was an excellent instructor. I've learned a lot from the videos and the simulator box is so helpful--better than working on chicken bones or pig bones--you can identify the different layers of muscle, scarpa's fascia, etc.
Quote: Have an open mind and keep learning. I learn stuff from everybody. Stop learning, stop growing.
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News: Opportunity to Win $5,000 Grant
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 Hand-washing is still the one of the best ways to prevent and control healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). To promote this habit, AORN and 3M Infection Prevention are sponsoring a fun, new idea: a hand hygiene video contest. Submit your entry by January 18, 2010, for your chance to win the grand prize: a $5,000 educational grant from 3M good for any AORN educational and reference material, programs or services. Click the link above for contest details.
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NIFA helps fund
OR Management Education monthly as an
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the
accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual state scope of practice.
 The National Institute for First Assisting (NIFA) is the nation's leader of distance learning RNFA programs. NIFA students receive over 34 hours of simulated skills hands-on lab training at our 3-day SutureStarXpress Workshops (or over 54 hours of simulated skills hands-on lab training at our 6-day SutureStar Workshops). NIFA's RNFA programs are CCI-accepted and meet all standards as set forth by the AORN for formal RN First Assistant programs, taking Perioperative Nurses and NPs to expert levels in the expanded role of Registered Nurse First Assistant. |
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