Read below to see how other orthopaedic nurses celebrated International Orthopaedic Nursing Day!

The Rochester Area Chapter of NAON may be a small chapter, but we know how to have a good time!  We recently had our annual orthopaedic picnic in the park.  Every year as a chapter, we sponsor a picnic. Attendances is not only for our chapter, but for our colleagues and our multidisciplinary health care team.  We encourage a family fun time with events for the kids such as games and face painting.  This year we were fortunate to have four of our Orthopaedic Trauma surgeons donate money to help with costs.  Even though all are not members of NAON, the picnic gives us an opportunity to tell health care providers what our specialty is about and encourage people to become active in NAON.  It is also to thank them for all they do for our orthopaedic patients.  We had a beautiful Minnesota evening and great socialization!

At the Orthopedic unit at Benefis Healthsystem in Great Falls, Montana we celebrated Orthopedic Nurses Day. We enjoyed cupcakes and Tibia shaped sugar cookies. We displayed out Orthopedics poster on the main elevator announcing the big day! We had a quiz about local orthopedic facts and gave prizes to those who participated and a grand prize to one winner. We also encouraged those that are ready to take the certification test and showed them the study book. It was a very great day!

For the past 20 years we have celebrated with an Halloween Open House. This year our theme was " Haunted Ghoul Theatre".  Based on a poem one of nurses wrote, old films have been playing for over 50 years continuously and now are coming to life. We used " The Birds", Godzilla, and Frankenstein. By painting flat white sheets we were able to transform our surgical waiting area into a "ghoulish" theatre complete with movies playing, theme backrounds, snack bar, popcorn machine, ticket booth and raffles. The staff at our hospital look forward to this big event every year. I have enclosed some pics that include some of our orthopedic surgeons and nurses who have dedicated many hours to make this event successful.

"Blood, I'd rather keep my own: A Vampire Tale or and Orthopaedic Dream" come true turned out to be a DREAM COME TRUE! In celebration of our special day, our chapter planned a 3-day event inviting NAON members from the state of Virginia to join us.
Our title reflects the focus of our workshop day.

Friday evening was our kick off event.  Some of the planning committee welcomed the participants in true Halloween Fashion.  A hand therapist massaged the tired hands of our nurse as we enjoyed a social hour together.  Welcoming statements about the week-end began with a treasured letter from our National President, Mary Jo, that set the stage for success!  As we enjoyed a fabulous dinner together, we displayed our silent auction items, networked together, and closed with a few words from a local Skilled Nursing Rehab Unit about their role in Rehabilitating our Surgical patients.

On Saturday, our focus was on Blood Salvage for our Surgical patients. From proper nutrition options to prepare the patients, to the role of the blood bank, to the latest drugs available intra operatively to prevent blood loss- a vampire would never survive on the lack of blood spilled during this discussion.

Our afternoon sessions focused on prevention of life-threatening blood clots and the role of the orthopaedic nurse through the eyes of a retired orthopaedic surgeon/patient.  He shared with the group why nurses are so vital to the orthopaedic team and to the success of his recovery as a patient who recently had a Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Our day concluded with the silent auction items awarded. Several of our Orthopaedic Surgeons contributed items from a hand crafted wood table, 2-day stay in a condo at the Lake, to sponsoring nurses memberships to NAON.

Our final event on Orthopaedic Nurses Day reflected the heart, spirit, and dedication of the Orthopaedic Nurse. Not only in those recognized but also in those who planned and executed the event. A "Memory Bench" was dedicated to 4 persons who dedicated their careers in service to our orthopaedic patients and have passed away. Families of these staff members were invited as well as our chapter members and anyone who wanted to share in this special time. Under a blue fall sky, with a crispy clean breeze, we remembered them, prayed for them and for our work as caregivers. To close, one of our NAON members and Director of Orthopaedics, a dedicated nurse in her own rite, sang "Amazing Grace".

So for our Blue Ridge Chapter, tucked away in the valley surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, this will be an event that we will not soon forget; ORTHOPAEDIC NURSES DAY 2011!

The Alegent Health Mercy Hospital orthopaedic floor celebrated International Orthopaedic Nurses Day by providing the hospital staff with the opportunity to visit our floor for snacks of popcorn with M&Ms and corn candy and hot apple cider. This allowed the nurses on our floor to be recognized by the other departments. We also gave femur shaped pens to all the staff on our unit! Congratulations Mercy Orthopaedics Team for another year of exceptional patient care!

Pictured with the snacks is Operations Director Andrea Bolte and clinical lead Becky Baker. Pictured with the pen is Staff Nurse Kim Petersen and Orthopaedic Care manager Marcia Weis.