Every year, millions of Americans volunteer across the globe, driving positive change within the communities they serve. The perioperative community is no exception, with volunteerism impacting various sectors, including nonprofit organizations. Celebrating volunteerism is an opportunity to honor the countless selfless individuals who contribute to society through their generosity and commitment of time.
National Volunteer Week, observed every April, was first recognized in 1974. Volunteerism gained further recognition when President George H.W. Bush highlighted its significance in his inaugural speech in January 1989, famously referring to it as the “Thousand Points of Light.” He stated, “We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light … We all have something to give.” (Points of Light, 2020) Volunteers play a crucial role in driving change through a shared purpose, whether it’s advancing society or improving their own profession.
Medical volunteering offers numerous personal benefits, such as expanding clinical knowledge, enhancing decision-making skills, gaining insight into global health issues, improving interpersonal communication, and boosting self-confidence (Keelan, E., 2015; Paswan, A. K., et al., 2024). Nursing, at its core, is driven by a commitment to care for others and a sense of altruism. Beyond their daily responsibilities, many healthcare professionals choose to volunteer in similar roles to positively influence health outcomes, shape policy, and elevate the profession.
The importance of volunteerism in nursing is supported by both the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses and the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report on the Future of Nursing. The ANA emphasizes the obligation to serve and promote healthcare, safety, and policy development (ANA, 2017). The IOM report stresses the value of nursing representation on boards, noting, “Just as nurses serve as board members within health care, they can also serve on boards for programs or organizations outside of healthcare that have an impact on health” (IOM, 2010). At CCI, volunteers make up the board of directors and certification council, playing a vital role in the decision-making process to uphold the highest standards in certification and recertification. Similarly, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) is led by a volunteer board that directs the organization’s activities and upholds the standards of practice for the profession.
Volunteer contributions are also pivotal in the perioperative profession, particularly in credentialing and the development of the CNOR exam. The CNOR exam is constructed, reviewed, and evaluated by experienced perioperative nurses who generously volunteer their time. The credentialing team at CCI works closely with these volunteers to ensure the exam is rigorous and relevant to daily practice. Volunteers in education also devote countless hours developing content, activities, and practice items that help perioperative nurses stay up to date with best practices and maintain certification. Without these dedicated volunteers, these critical components of professional certification would not be possible.
The Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI) is a non-profit organization that benefits greatly from countless volunteers. The work of CCI and the ability to support certification and the perioperative community could truly not occur without volunteers. There is an annual call to recognize the volunteers of CCI for outstanding work by the CCI staff that works very closely with all of these volunteers. The winners are then selected by the recognition committee of the CCI board of directors. CCI had an incredible year of volunteerism, and we want to give a special shoutout to all our amazing volunteers. Our Excellence in Volunteerism Award winners for 2024 are:
- Denise Giachetta-Ryan
- Tamara Herrera
- Jessica Massouda
- Eugene Mamaril
- Bethany Dixon
- Gerry Y Asuncion
- Christopher Stucky
- Peter Graves
- Carole “Gert” Mayes
- Mary Harper
We are proud to present our Partner of the Year award to Beyond Clean for their unwavering support of CCI’s mission and our commitment to advancing healthcare outcomes. This year’s winner has played a pivotal role in supporting recertification through a variety of activities hosted on the CCI learning management system. You may recognize Beyond Clean as the sponsor of many of our professional development initiatives, including podcasts on sterile processing, First Case podcasts, and sterile processing microcredentials. The valuable content provided by Beyond Clean, developed in collaboration with our volunteer experts and education department, has contributed thousands of points awarded towards recertification. We are both privileged and honored to have this impactful partnership.
If you would like to volunteer with CCI, you may check out our website for volunteer opportunities.
– Dawn Whiteside, DNP, MSN-Ed, RN, CNOR, NPD-BC, RNFA is the Director of Education and Professional Development of the Competency & Credentialing Institute. Dr. Whiteside has over 35 years of experience as a perioperative nurse in many roles including circulator, scrub, first assistant, team leader, charge nurse, manager, and educator. She serves on the ABSNC Board of Directors as well as the editorial board for MD Publishing. As an educator, Dr. Whiteside is passionate about developing educational materials for all members of the perioperative team.
References
- American Nurses Association. Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. Silver Spring, MD: ANA; 2015.
- Institute of Medicine, Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing.
- Keelan E. So you want to be a medical volunteer? Ulster Med J. 2015;84(3):220-221.
- The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2010.
- Points of Light. (2020, July 27). Virtual volunteer opportunities. https://www.pointsoflight.org/virtual-volunteering-opportunities/
- Paswan, A. K., Rajamma, R. K., Sun, Q., & Suryandari, R. T. (2024). Motivational intricacies behind volunteerism. Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, 32(4), 449–462.
