The decades of the 1960s and 1970s were unlike any US society had previously experienced. The order of society was openly challenged, which resulted in diverse viewpoints about what was acceptable behavior and thinking. The effects of scientific discoveries were evident in health care, and demands for options in care influenced the delivery of health services. Many of these influences were felt by nurses in the OR, and OR nursing itself transformed in response to the changes in society. The AORN Journal is used in this article as a source of information to ascertain how changes in society were reflected in OR nursing during the period from 1963 to 1983.