OR Manager Conference

Busy perioperative leaders rarely get a chance to meet with their peers, learn about what’s new in the field, and gain continuing education credit. The 30th Annual OR Manager Conference, to be held October 2, 3, and 4, offers all this and more: three days in one place (and that being exciting Orlando, Florida) to advance your professional knowledge and network with 1,400 other managers and directors who lead surgical suites around the country and share the same goals.

Conference organizers have developed tracks for OR leaders in all career stages. In addition to topics of general interest, this year’s program includes tracks for new managers, ambulatory surgery centers, OR business managers, and a masters series. New this year, the OR Manager Conference will be co-located with the inaugural PACU Manager Summit (note: separate registration is required).

Over three days, participants can take part in eight workshops, more than 40 breakout sessions, and four keynote addresses, all of which offer CE credit. In addition, conference exhibitors present 30-minute programs for additional CE credits, and poster sessions explore the latest in research and development. The sessions and workshops at the OR Manager Conference cover the full spectrum of topics that perioperative managers and directors face every day. The conference’s mission is to provide perioperative leadership with upcoming trends and challenges, best practices, and solutions to take back to their facility to improve the effectiveness of patient care.

Topics include

• Best Practices for Utilizing Technology and Data
• Bullying and Taboo Issues• Business Acumen
• Contracting
• Cost Savings
• Developing and Managing Your Workforce
• Hybrid Operating Rooms
• Infection Control and Sterilization
• Inter-Department Collaboration
• Improving Patient Care
• The Joint Commission
• Mentorship
• Operational Aptitude
• PACU Management (PACU+/or PACU Manager Summit registration required)
• Performance Improvements
• Upcoming Trends

Tracks covered

• Ambulatory Surgery Centers
• OR Business Management
• New Manager
• Masters Series
• General Interest

We at Whitman Partners encourage perioperative leaders to attend the conference: your success is important to us. We have partnered with this conference to underscore how crucial it is for professional development, and we will be in attendance in the exhibit hall to meet all of you—come see us!

Importance for new managers

“We have a nursing shortage in the United States right now, and many of our managers are looking to retire. We’re really focusing on that next generation of leaders,” says conference director Jess Tyler. “The new manager track is geared towards managers who’ve been in their role for five years or less. We focus on everything from human resources topics to hiring, firing, difficult conversations, all the way to the business side and the financial side of building and managing a budget: cost containment and supply chain management.“

One of my favorite sessions for new managers is ‘Ask Me Anything,’ where we bring in a panel of veteran leaders who have been in their role for 20+ years. It’s a heavy Q&A session, and a roundtable geared towards what these elite leaders wish they had known,” says Jess.

Continuing education

Participants have the opportunity to earn 19.0 contact hours during the conference program through breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and general sessions (provided by Access Intelligence, which is approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing). At the conclusion of the OR Manager Conference, you will receive a personalized CE certificate listing the workshop, breakout sessions, and CE programs you attended and the contact hours you earned. In addition, this program is approved for 14.75 hours of AEU credits.

Various sessions at the OR Manager Conference are approved for eligibility and recertification requirements for Certified Surgical Services Manager (CSSM) certification. You will receive credit towards your continuing education coursework requirements necessary for the exam application, as well as recertification activities.

CE Credits: Earn CEs and AEUs through work-shops, breakout sessions, poster presentations, keynote speakers, and exhibitor presentations

More info: https://2017.ormanagerconference.com/conference/

WP Discount: 10% off all registration packages Use Code “Whitman”

Networking

“Next to CEs, networking is a big reason for OR leaders to attend,” says Jess. “This allows OR managers who are often somewhat isolated in their role at their facility to meet their peers. They manage their staff nurses, and they report up to administration, so they’re kind of in between. This conference brings them together with their peers who are facing the same challenges that they are. It allows them to spend time saying, here’s what I’m experiencing. How are you handling this?”

“A lot of OR managers only attend one conference a year. If you’re able to step away from the hospital once a year we want to make it fun, as well as educational, especially since this is our 30th anniversary,” says Jess. “Every year we have an offsite reception, OR Manager’s Night Out. This year we’re going to SeaWorld, so it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it’s open to anyone.”

OR Manager Awards

A high point of the conference is the announcement of the OR Manager Awards: OR Manager of the Year, Ambulatory Services Achievement Award, and Emerging Leader Award. These are nominated by the individual’s peers, and the OR Manager Editorial Advisory Board and the OR Manager Conference Planning Committee select a winner. This is an important recognition program, since the nominations come directly from others in the field.

Justifying your attendance

For those who would like to attend the conference but need to present a strong case for the value of participation, the OR Manager Conference website offers two downloadable documents: a sample letter to management and a sample trip report. They outline the areas to emphasize with management, including:

• Detail the valuable education you will receive
• Stress the workshops and breakout sessions you will attend
• Know which companies you will visit in the Exhibit Hall
• Educate them on the continuing education credits you can earn
• Offer to share the information with co-workers. Bring home your conference materials to let co-workers share in the conference experience.
• Direct access to dozens of experts. Information sharing, question-and-answer sessions and networking are a vital part of the conference experience.
• Networking contacts can be invaluable once you return to work. The contacts you make at the conference can provide input far into the future on a variety of work-related topics.

About OR Manager, and thanks!

The OR Manager publication provides critical information, analysis, and best practices for management of the surgical suite. It also provides daily email bulletins with the latest news and information affecting the OR, access to archives and back issues on ormanager.com, webinars, and books and special reports directly related to management of the OR. The OR Manager Conference builds on the content developed in issues of the publication. We thank OR Manager’s editor, Elizabeth Wood, for her insight and partnership, as well as Pepper Coe and Jess Tyler of Access Intelligence for their generosity.

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