Opportunities from the Center for Perioperative Education

AORN Journal, Jan, 2006

PERIOPERATIVE NURSING COURSE 101

AORN's Perioperative Nursing Course 101 is a comprehensive program for educating new perioperative nurses. The curriculum covers 27 crucial topics in a scripted lecture format with PowerPoint presentations and is designed to be integrated with your facility's specific policies and procedures.

Perioperative Nursing Course 101 will help you develop confident, better-educated, safety-conscious employees. The course includes overviews, reading assignments, glossaries, bibliographies, posttests, preceptor guidelines, handouts, slide presentations, a critical skills assessment checklist, a "Preparing the Preceptor" module with free contact hours, and more. For a free information packet, contact Laurie Clark at (800) 755-2676 x 258 or x 280, or visit AORN Online at http://www.aorn.org/education /periop101.htm.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Visit http://www.aorn.org/education for the latest continuing education opportunities. AORN Journal Home Studies published since January 2003 are available online at http://www.aorn .org/journal/homestudy/default.htm. Home Studies are available in portable document format (PDF) to print and complete. Use these programs to earn contact hours and stay abreast of the latest nursing information.

Online courses. The following online courses may be taken by themselves or used with AORN's Perioperative Management Resources seminars and manuals for more in-depth understanding. In Budgeting, you will learn

* basic cost accounting,

* essential steps in the budgeting process,

* components of capital and operating budgets, and

* steps to improve budget performance while providing safe patient care.

In Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements, you will learn how to

* describe the key components of a financial statement,

* identify ways to use statistical data to improve day-to-day operational efficiency,

* describe the types of statistical data used to support budget development,

* discuss two types of statistical reports that nurse managers can use to evaluate purchasing decisions,

* demonstrate the proper use of various statistical techniques,

* define the importance of personnel budgeting, and

* use statistical data to support program development or maintenance. The Meeting Management course will provide you with practical guidelines for planning and conducting effective and productive meetings. You will learn to

* state two vital purposes for meetings,

* identify rationales for choosing a particular meeting type,

* demonstrate how a meeting agenda outlines the purpose or direction of a meeting,

* identify several types of meeting processes,

* identify ways to facilitate positive group interaction,

* identify logical components of a meeting, and

* identify tools to evaluate a meeting's effectiveness.

The Performance Improvement (PI) course provides a basic knowledge of PI activities that will allow you to meet regulatory requirements by analyzing performance gaps, planning and developing interventions for PIs, and evaluating the results of these improvements. You will learn how to

* list the objectives of a PI program,

* discuss different plans that can be used, and

* develop a PI plan to address a specific need.

The completed Budgeting, Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements, and Performance Improvement courses each are worth four contact hours. The completed Meeting Management course is worth two contact hours. To register, visit http:// www.aorn.org/managers/online .asp. For more information, call customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1, or visit http:// www.aorn.org/managers.

Preparing for the CNOR Examination--online version. This program will alleviate participants' fears of taking the CNOR examination by walking them through the examination's format. Subjects are related to clinical situations with which perioperative nurses are familiar. The program also provides effective test-taking strategies. This self-paced, online program is available for six months after registration. Visit AORN Online at http://www.aorn.org/events /cnoronline/default.asp for information.

Online master of science (MS) degree programs. AORN and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) School of Nursing are offering preferred tuition rates for MS in health care leadership and MS in health care informatics courses. Course work is available entirely via the Internet.

The MS in health care leadership consists of 37 credit hours. This course work prepares nurses for roles in nursing management and leadership in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, health departments, and private health-related businesses, as well as the public policy arena and other decision-making roles in health care. The courses taken in the Perioperative Management Certificate program offered in collaboration with UCHSC are required courses for this MS program.

The MS in health care informatics course consists of 34 credit hours. The courses taken in the Nursing Informatics Certificate program offered in collaboration with UCHSC are required, and up to 12 credit hours from these courses can be applied to this MS program.