Wendy K. Winer, RN, BSN, CNOR

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Coverage of the 37th Annual Global Congress on Minimally Invasive Gynecology

Center for Endometriosis Care

Coverage of 36th AAGL Congress November 2007, Washington, DC

Fibroids

 for coverage from last year's AAGL conference from Las Vegas, Nevada.

OBGYN.net proudly supports education for women on minimally invasive procedures

In the U.S. there are over 600,000 hysterectomies performed each year, about 1,643 a day. In fact, by the age of 60, 1 in 3 women will have had a hysterectomy. You may be feeling anxious, but remember that there are 599,999 other women this year who will feel like you. In addition, you can take comfort in knowing that recent medical advances have made this common procedure much less invasive. Follow these links to OBGYN.net resources tthat help you get the most minimally invasive treatment option possible:

Hysterectomy Resource Center - "Dawn" takes charge of her hysterectomy!

Fibroid Resource Center - Ask questions and get personal answers from the world's top physicians treating fibroid tumors!

Significant Smoke and Health Hazards to Operating Room Personnel

 Hi, I am  Wendy Winer. I am a nurse and my specialty is working with endoscopic surgery. I  work with Dr. Tom Lyons in Atlanta, Georgia, as a first assistant in surgery and  I am very, very devoted to education of nurses and the whole operating room team  with regard to laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, in particular, in gynecology.
 
 Here at the AAGL, we are very excited this year because we have revamped our  entire nursing education program and we did an entire day of training for OR  personnel. It was very well-attended and there was lots of enthusiasm. We are  really excited and encouraged because what we want is a comprehensive training  place where nurses can come to a meeting and really get a little bit of  everything. The things we are focusing on are the roles of the operating team  when it comes to GYN and laparoscopy. The reason for this is in order for the  physician to be their very best, they really need an efficient team and  particularly their nurses, their surgical technicians and everybody in the room.  Fortunately, with laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, thanks to the cameras and  monitors we have now, everyone in the room is really part of the procedure and  we want the operating room personnel to learn everything there is, from anatomy  to the procedure, from the set-up to the instrumentation and equipment, so that  we can provide the most efficient set-up for the physician. That way, the  physician can really focus on the surgery itself.
 
 All of this is geared so that we can provide patients with the best possible  care. We have so much wonderful technology, but the only way patients are really  going to benefit from this is if the physician can use this great technology and  all of this instrumentation and new equipment safely. We really want to protect  our patients by training the nurses, as well as the physicians, in the efficient  use of all of these new energy sources we are hearing about and all of the  exciting instrumentation and things that are available. What we are doing is  focusing on training the nurses and the OR techs with regard to anatomy, safety,  energy sources, pre-op care, inter-operative care and post-op care. Everybody  needs to work together as a team and it is important that the nurses take good  care of the patients pre-operatively - making sure the informed consent is  signed properly, any medical conditions the patient has - and that carries over  into the operating room itself and patient positioning - safely placing the pad  if you are using the monopolar, knowing the proper settings, knowing how all of  the equipment works, making sure all of the instrumentation is cleaned properly  and sterile, so many different things. It is so important to make sure the whole  OR team is trained properly. Just as important is after the procedure is over -  safe movement of the patient over to the bed and that carries over, of course,  into the PACU area so that the nurses in the PACU understand the procedures, as  well.
 
 Our goal here is to provide the best possible and most comprehensive training  for everybody in the room and all of the OR personnel, in particular. We are  very excited about our program. We have lots of support from AAGL from the board  and officers and we have been given a real shot in the arm. We hope that you  will participate with us. Feel free to email me at 

  and we would love for you to get involved and  hopefully we will see you at our meeting next year.
 
 Thanks very much.

Note: For more information on the training program please see 

OBGYN.net Conference Coverage - AAGL 2004

Author | Wendy K. Winer, RN, BSN, CNOR

Articles

Center for Endometriosis Care

Fibroids

Significant Smoke and Health Hazards to Operating Room Personnel

Training of Operating Room Staff in Endoscopic Surgery