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Jodi-Ann Bailey
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Brooklyn, NY - November 20, 2008 - In celebration of Perioperative Nurses Week, New York Methodist Hospital recently invited students from the Secondary School for Research's class of 2010 to the Hospital for a special presentation and tour of the operating rooms. The theme of this year's event, which was coordinated by NYM's clinical directors for surgical services, Michelle Chester, R.N., and Jennifer Williams, R.N., was "The Patient's Perioperative Journey."
Photo above, Surgical Technician Dwayne Adolphine gives students from the Secondary School for Research an inside look of New York Methodist Hospital's operating rooms as a part of NYM's celebration of Perioperative Nurses Week.
Over fifteen staff members from the Operating Room (OR) and Nursing Administration were on-hand to speak with the students about the pivotal roles they play in administering perioperative care. "Being an operating room nurse is complicated and stressful," said Haydeeflora Romero, R.N. "You have to have a passion for it."
Surgical technicians Dwayne Adolphine, Lisa Savory and Raynette Baptiste entertained the students with a precise and dramatic demonstration of how they are required to dress, and to handle and count surgical equipment before a procedure. After the presentation, the high school juniors were taken on tours of the OR; where they were able to witness live surgerical procedures. "This visit surpassed our expectations, said Joan Vendryes, community liaison at the School.
Operating room nurses, also known as perioperative nurses play a crucial role in the welfare of a patient before, during and after surgery. These registered nurses are an integral part of any surgical team. Perioperative nurses are responsible for an array of tasks that range from managing the operating room to making certain that all surgical instruments, sponges, and needles are accounted for during and after the procedure.
In 1979, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) designated a day each year to "promote consumer education and enhance public knowledge regarding the role of the perioperative nurse." A few years later, the event expanded to a full week.
New York Methodist Hospital
New York Methodist Hospital, a voluntary, acute-care teaching facility located in Brooklyn's Park Slope, houses 651 inpatient beds (including bassinets) and provides services to over 34,000 inpatients each year. An additional 350,000 outpatient visits and services are logged annually. The Hospital offers Institutes in the following areas: Advanced and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Asthma and Lung Disease; Cancer Care; Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery; Digestive and Liver Disorders; Diabetes and Other Endocrine Disorders; Vascular Medicine and Surgery; Family Care; Neurosciences; Orthopedic Medicine and Surgery and Women's Health. The Hospital, founded in 1881, has undergone extensive renovation and modernization over the years. New York Methodist is affiliated with the Weill College of Medicine at Cornell University and it is a member of NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System.
