By: Lynn C. Parsons, DSN, RN, NE-BC
NAON Education Committee Congress Unit Member
   
NAON Congress 2012 – A Must Attend Program!
As a member of NAON for well over 20 years, I am excited about Congress 2012 – “Envision, Energize, Engage!”  In all of the years I have attended the NAON Congress, never before have there been the number of interesting topic choices in four different tracks:  Education, Leadership/Management, Clinical Practice and Research!  The breadth of information shared in the abstracts was phenomenal!

Serving on the Nursing Education Committee
This is my second year for serving on NAON’s NEC Congress Unit and the challenge to select both podium and poster presentations keeps getting more difficult as there are so many excellent abstracts to invite for presentations! Another added bonus for serving on this committee is working directly with NAON professionals. Jan Foecke, NAON’s Director of Programs is highly organized and has a great sense of humor when 10 things happen at once at Congress! Katie DenHollander is our Senior Education Associate who is the organizer of the many abstracts we review and is always available onsite at Congress. The NEC members have quickly learned to put their cell phone numbers in our phone roster because you never know what situation will happen – technology failure to questions about popular sessions!

NAON 2012 Pre-Congress Workshops
There will be four pre-Congress workshops that reflect the tracks of clinical practice, education, leadership/management, and research.  For a few dollars more, you can participate in the interactive sessions and learn about assessing the shoulder and knee, improving presentation and authorship skills, problem solving some challenges faced by nursing leaders, and the research process, including  ways to reduce musculoskeletal health disparities.  Plan to participate in one of these exciting workshops and earn an additional 2-4 contact hours for your professional portfolio.

Review Courses
This year there are two review courses for participants to select from:  the Orthopaedic Nursing Review Course and the Orthopaedic Nurse Practitioner (NP) Review Course.  The Orthopaedic Nursing Review Course is intended to share foundational orthopaedic information (education level 2) for different diseases and disorders, develop holistic care strategies designed to prevent or decrease complications, identify mobility interventions using appropriate assistive devices, and evaluate educational approaches to facilitate self-care, maximum mobility and independence for the orthopaedic patient. The second course, the Orthopaedic NP Review course is designed to share major/complex orthopaedic patient problems (education level 4) based upon the current evidence.  Current evidenced-based research findings are incorporated in patient care protocols in all healthcare settings that care for orthopaedic patients. Both of these sessions are classified as Category A because the offerings are designated by the Orthopaedic Nurses Certification Board (ONCB).  Lunch is included in the price for each course.

NAON 2012 Course Offerings
NAON members and other Congress participants will have huge decisions to make in selecting from 42 concurrent podium and over 100 poster sessions to attend! The Congress Unit members and NAON Director of Programs Jan Foecke reviewed multiple abstracts and worked to ensure that each of the four tracks (Clinical Practice, Education, Leadership/Management, and Research) was represented in the 2012 Congress Program.

A major change for 2012 Congress will be that the program starts on Saturday and ends on Tuesday. We refined the program to offer as many courses as possible so participants would not have to take another day off from work. The poster sessions were popular last year; therefore, an increased the number of poster presentations will be available for 2012.  There will be more than 28 contact hours available for one price of $17.56 per contact hour – so register early!

Session Variety
All four session tracks will be represented, allowing participants to choose educational offerings in their areas of interest. This year the sessions will vary in length of time delivered to our audience:  60 minutes  (24 sessions), 75 minutes (6 sessions), and 90 minutes (12 sessions) for the 42 concurrent podium presentations at the 32nd Annual Congress. 

Track Offerings
Half the sessions will address clinical practice issues (50%) on topics ranging from physical assessment, fracture management, multiple trauma, prosthetics, complementary therapies and many more!  The leadership and management sessions (24%) are wide-ranging from healthcare reform law to avoiding hospital readmissions. The education track will offer choices (19%) from a diverse range of topics that include writing for publication, patient education, and disease/disorder specific offerings.  The research category (7%) offers current evidence on pain management, various surgical cases and findings associated with musculoskeletal and arthritis health disparities. 

Educational Leveling and Categorization
Seventy-four percent of the 2012 concurrent sessions are considered education level 3 or 4.  There is a constant strive toward more podium presentation abstracts at education level 4, advanced practice orthopaedic healthcare for advanced practice nurses (APN) and those with greater than 15 years of experience.  There will be 69% category A concurrent sessions.  As a reminder, the ONCB considers Category A as information that is about general health care and Category B as orthopaedic nursing specific information.

Congress Registration
Be sure to register early! I have attended the NAON Congress when it was held in New Orleans in the past. It is a popular region of the country and the culture and Cajun food is fantastic! While in New Orleans you must visit Bourbon Street! There are many different restaurants and shops to visit. Be sure to take a trolley car so you can take in all of the sites!

The online registration brochure can be found on the Congress Page. Be sure to complete your selections so that proper room size assignments can be secured and then return the form to NAON online. If you choose to snail-mail the registration form, the NAON address is as follows:

NAON Registration
8292 Solutions Center
Chicago, Illinois 60677-8002

You may also fax the registration form.  Be sure to complete the form, include your credit card information, security code, and expiration date. The NAON registration fax number is:  905-479-9297.  Current phone numbers and email addresses are appreciated on the registration forms so that Congress news can be communicated to registrants.

Registration Rates
Another reason to register early is to save money!  That extra money can assist you to take home colorful souvenirs or perhaps have an extra serving of jambalaya! Here is the breakdown of registration rates:

Early Registration: Postmarked by March 19, 2012
    Member:    $505
    ONC:          $490
    Non Member:    $605

After March 19, 2012, the regular rate applies as follows:
    Member:    $605
    ONC:          $590
    Non Member:    $705

Benefits of Attending NAON’s Annual Congress
I bet if we asked the participants the best thing about attending the Annual Congress we could get 1,000 different great answers! As a NAON member since 1982, I can share that learning at this event has always been incredible!  The variety of topics to choose from has been great and going to different areas of our country is always 100% fun! For me, the best aspect of attending NAON’s Annual Congress has been networking with nursing professionals from across the United States and beyond! NAON has always been a wonderful host to orthopaedic nurse leaders from all over the world. I am looking forward to visiting with all of you soon in New Orleans. Be sure to mark your calendars now for the 32nd Annual Congress of NAON to be held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from May 19 through May 22, 2012!

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