If your facility has a clinical ladder system, know the criteria for advancement and work toward achieving them. One of the significant achievements of anyone wishing to claim clinical competence is being certified in a clinical specialty. If you have not taken the CNOR examination, make it one of your goals. Professional certification is appearing in advertisements for many middle management and staff positions. Committee work indicates a person's level of participation in an institution, his or her commitment, and provides experience that is expected in management or teaching positions.
Most ORs have many standing or ad hoc committees.
Professional activities indicate a person's career orientation and professional allegiance. AORN is one of the associations to which you should most certainly belong. You should also consider membership in state councils of operating room nurses, state nurses' associations, other specialty nursing associations, and nursing honor societies. Sometimes people fail to get involved because they are unsure about whether they are good enough, or they think that polite people do not vote for themselves. When you are developing your career, you must make activities meaningful.