A primer for perioperative education

AORN Journal, July, 2004 by Lynn Gentz

When a perioperative nurse sees the term PPE, images of personal protective equipment (eg, masks, gowns, gloves, eyewear) usually come to mind. Traditionally, nurses think of personal protective equipment when PPE is mentioned, but PPE is more than you think. This abbreviation also stands for Primer for Perioperative Education, a tool kit developed by AORN to educate student nurses about the perioperative environment.

The return of perioperative nursing to the nursing curriculum is important to the future of the profession, whether it is presented through perioperative electives or medical/surgical clinical rotations. The nursing shortage is being experienced not only in hospitals and clinics but also in schools of nursing. Many schools do not include perioperative curricula because they lack faculty members to teach the courses and clinical sites to meet the demands of expanding enrollment. During the past two years, AORN's National Committee on Education (NCE) has been developing a tool kit that will help AORN and its members work toward the goal of putting perioperative nursing curricula back into schools of nursing. The Primer for Perioperative Education is the result of the NCE's efforts.

THE PRIMER AND NURSING STUDENTS

Nurse managers should be concerned about the future of the perioperative profession. They cannot recruit and retain staff members if there are none to recruit and retain. The primer for Perioperative Education contains many tools that can be used to help put perioperative curricula back into schools of nursing and establish partnerships between schools and health care facilities for clinical experiences. Teaching nursing students about the perioperarive arena is not enough--they must have clinical experiences if they are to see perioperative nursing as a viable and worthwhile job opportunity. Many nursing students are given the opportunity to follow a patient through the surgical experience; however, a full overview of a perioperative nurse's role (eg, assessing patients, ensuring patient safety, contributing to the multidisciplinary team) often is not provided in perioperative clinical experience.

Managers must be supportive in providing clinical experiences for students so that staff members also will be supportive. A positive learning environment contributes to students' learning experiences. If students witness hostility and frustration among nurses in the perioperative environment, how likely are they to choose perioperative nursing as a profession? Providing an excellent clinical experience is crucial to creating interest and excitement about the specialty of perioperative nursing among students.

The primer contains a number of tools, including

* a strategy for contacting schools of nursing;

* a sample letter that can be sent to directors of undergraduate programs at schools of nursing regarding collaboration opportunities;

* a guide for meeting with faculty members;

* an outline for a nursing student lecture to be given before the observation experience;

* a scripted lecture;

* suggested perioperative nursing course content;

* a tool for an observation experience that includes observation terminology;

* recommended texts for a perioperative nursing course; and

* suggested readings.

The primer also contains AORN's position statement on the "Inclusion of perioperative nursing learning activities in undergraduate nursing curricula." (1)

OTHER USES FOR THE PRIMER

Although the main purpose of the primer is to address the needs of student nurses, experienced nurses can benefit from it as well. Clinical nurse educators can use the information contained in the primer to augment their existing orientation programs, which can be especially useful if many nurses are new to the perioperative arena.

The primer may be of even more use to novice educators who must create a perioperative nursing orientation program where one is either only partially existent or nonexistent. To novice educators, the job of creating a perioperative nursing orientation program can seem insurmountable. Where do they start? What type of support do they have from managers? What resources are available? These questions can make a novice educator's mind reel. The suggested perioperative course content contained in the primer is an excellent start. The content is designed to be a two-hour, four-hour, or 10-hour didactic course with minimal laboratory time, but each area can be adapted and expanded as the educator creates the perioperative orientation program.

PERIOPERATIVE COURSE CONTENT

The content provided in the primer is divided into two units. Unit one focuses on an introduction to perioperative nursing and includes the following objectives.

* Discuss the role of the perioperative nurse.

* Describe the role of the perioperative nurse in providing sale patient care.

* Discuss the role of the perioperative nurse in patient anesthesia induction and emergence.

* Discuss the roles of perioperative team members.

Unit two focuses on surgical aseptic technique. It includes the following objectives.