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Evaluation

Education Session

Leadership/Management

1049 - Illuminating Pathways to a Healthier Operating Room Culture

Saturday, April 11, 2026
2:15 PM - 3:00 PM CST
Location: 203 - 205
CE: .75 Contact Hours
Disclosure(s):
Megan K. Nolan, MSN, MBA, RN, CNOR, NEA-BC: No financial relationships to disclose
Stephanie Kruzynski, BSN, RN, CPN: No financial relationships to disclose
Katie Lucey, BSN, RN, CNOR: No financial relationships to disclose
Overview/Abstract: In the high-intensity world of the operating room, creating a healthy work environment is essential to ensuring patient safety and team well-being. Yet barriers like communication breakdowns, burnout, and unclear priorities often go unaddressed. This session presents a structured, evidence-based approach using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) to uncover root causes of cultural challenges and co-create meaningful, team-driven solutions.

Attendees will explore how a large academic pediatric OR applied the AACN’s six standards for a Healthy Work Environment to guide improvement. By engaging staff through surveys, facilitated sessions, and open forums, the team revealed hidden barriers to collaboration and surfaced ideas that were prioritized and implemented with visible outcomes.

This session offers a roadmap for participants to illuminate similar opportunities in their own settings—empowering them to bring clarity to team dynamics, elevate frontline voices, and lead cultural transformation with purpose and structure.