Expanding your perioperative practice into the health care industry

AORN Journal, March, 2000 by Anita Jo Shoup, Patricia S. Stein

Perioperative nurses have been involved in the medical products industry for several decades. The formation of AORN's Nurses in Business, Industry & Consulting Specialty Assembly is evidence of the number of nurses involved in this nontraditional role.

Why are nurses working as consultants and sales representatives in the health care industry? What qualities does a preoperative nurse need to pursue a career with a health care company? This article answers these questions and discusses work-related responsibilities, as well as considerations for nurses who are selecting a potential employer in the health care industry.

Nurses who pursue a nontraditional career continue to affect patient care, which is one reason perioperative nurses enter industry. Though patients may be seen infrequently--sometimes not at all--health care industry nurses' influence can help health care companies provide customers with quality, cost-effective products that affect patient outcomes.

Nurses have a unique knowledge and perspective of the perioperative environment. They are qualified to articulate vital market information to customers and to their companies' other employees, including differences in products or why the company should consider redesigning a product to meet customers' and patients' needs more efficiently.

NECESSARY SKILLS

Interacting with customers and peers requires particular skills that many perioperative nurses may have, including

* credibility,

* problem-solving ability,

* flexibility and organizational ability,

* clinical expertise and a broad knowledge base,

* ability to listen attentively and communicate clearly,

* analytical skills,

* customer service,

* administrative and computer skills, and

* hardiness to withstand extensive travel and long hours.

Credibility, Establishing credibility early with customers is critical for a health care industry nurse. Initially, employers and customers may judge the health care industry nurse's credibility by the credentials he or she possesses. Though this is not always true, having a graduate degree may show customers that further education and research have been completed. If a health care industry nurse does not make believable and verifiable statements, however, he or she will not be perceived as credible despite academic degrees.

Extensive perioperative experience adds to a person's credibility. This allows a vital exchange of common terminology and experience to be established between the customer and health care industry nurse. For the company, extensive clinical experience means relationships with customers may be established easily. The health care industry nurse may be sought out by customers who want to increase their knowledge base. Success of the health care industry nurse depends on customer relationships, which are affected by the nurse's credibility.

Problem-solving ability. The ability to solve problems is important to customers and employers. Customers often are seeking more than a product. They often need a solution to a problem when a product is purchased. Companies need health care industry nurses who understand how a product can be fully integrated into a process and who will help that process. Integrating a new product introduces unforeseen challenges. The health care industry nurse must see the entire picture and the implications of a purchase or placement of a product. Customers expect the health care industry nurse to foresee difficulties and work through them.

Flexibility and organizational skills. Flexibility and organizational skills are important in any professional position, but they are essential skills for health care industry nurses. When meeting with customers, a health care industry nurse continually must refocus his or her agenda and masterfully blend it with the customer's agenda. The health care industry nurse must reorganize his or her presentation so topics or solutions discussed meet the customer's needs, not his or her own needs. Many perioperative nurses have these skills because of the constant demand to readjust, reprioritize, and reorganize patient care flow in the OR.

Expertise and a broad knowledge base. It may be challenging for people to present themselves as experts when they are new to a job or project. Expertise and a broad knowledge base must be obvious to coworkers. Customers trust health care industry nurses who admit when their knowledge is limited but commit to finding the correct answer to the customer's question. Acting honestly is far better than faking knowledge because falsehood can be detected immediately. Customers will test health care industry nurses to determine the depth of their knowledge and if what is said holds true for them.

Possessing a broad knowledge base allows health care industry nurses to offer customers more information than they expect to receive. For example, by offering a management perspective when introducing a new product, the customer knows that he or she will hear more than a brief educational overview. Customers feel they can depend on health care industry nurses who demonstrate knowledge. This helps to develop trust because without that, commercial transactions may not occur.