News Release

AORN Journal introduces new editorial features and enhanced layout

Changes reflect AORN's commitment to the perioperative community

Business Announcement

Elsevier Health Sciences

St. Louis, MO, February 3, 2010 – Elsevier, the leading global publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, is pleased to announce that the AORN Journal, the official journal of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), has expanded its editorial content and redesigned the layout of its print format. These changes reflect AORN's commitment to their mission and core values to provide perioperative nurses with the information and resources they need to provide safe and effective patient care.

Linda Groah, RN, MSN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, Executive Director and CEO of AORN, stated, "Since our journal was launched 47 years ago, it has been and remains our goal to provide useful, current material to perioperative nurses in all practice settings, from large medical centers to modest rural hospitals, to ambulatory surgery centers and physicians' offices. So as the AORN Journal enters a new decade, it is putting on a modern face and expanding its content to better reflect current trends."

"The world is shrinking in many ways, but it is also exploding in an ever-expanding array of information and knowledge. Current perioperative practice has expanded into interventional suites and embraced endovascular, video-assisted and minimally invasive techniques," commented Patricia C. Seifert, RN, MSN, CNOR, CRNFA, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief. "Newer communication modalities include electronic, web-based portals that open exciting vistas for nurses and patients alike."

Working in collaboration with Elsevier, AORN has enhanced both the print and online versions of the Journal as follows:

  • Tapping into Technology: This new column helps readers learn how to navigate new electronic information sources. Understanding both the medium and the message enables perioperative nurses to serve more effectively as patient advocates.

  • Innovation Zone: The AORN Innovation Zone is designed to share innovative technology that can be used by perioperative professionals to improve quality of care and patient safety. Perioperative professionals can use the information not only to bring personal awareness to new innovations that may make their way into their facility, but also to become advocates of the new technology and encourage administrators to choose the innovation for their facility. Technologies featured in this column are selected by the AORN Journal, and the column is not underwritten by the manufacturers.

  • Clinical Issues: This popular column now provides continuing education (CE) contact hours according to the criteria established by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Other regular columns will also offer CE content.

  • Topic Collections: This online-only feature offers collections of evidence-based articles on subjects such as pressure ulcers, competency, safety and other key topics. This feature helps perioperative nurses easily find the pertinent information they need.

  • Pre-Press Online Articles: The AORN Journal now offers select articles online ahead of formal publication as part of a specific issue to get information to readers as quickly as possible. This expedited publication process reflects both AORN's and the AORN Journal's commitment to its members and broader readership.

  • New Size and Design: Publication in a bigger 8.5 x 11-inch format and use of larger, crisper type make the Journal more readable, information more accessible, and the production process greener.

In addition, the AORN Journal will add two new quarterly columns in 2010, one contributed by the Cochrane Nursing Care Network and one by the International Association of Healthcare Central Service Materiel Management (IAHCSMM).

Seifert likens the various changes in the Journal to moving to a new or refurbished OR. "Many of us became quite used to our 'old' ORs. We learned to navigate the crowded hallways, the small rooms and the often drab walls. When we moved, the change was at first startling, but we soon learned to enjoy the space, the colors and the room for growth—technologically, intellectually, and clinically. Sure, it took some getting used to, but we learned quickly to enjoy not only the 'newness' but also the opportunities to practice more efficiently and effectively."

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