The Effect of a Perioperative Nursing Elective on Nursing Career Paths

Abstract

Nurse educators play a role in addressing the growing perioperative nurse shortage in the United States by implementing strategies to entice new graduates to this specialty. The purpose of our study was to determine if an undergraduate perioperative nursing elective influenced the career choices of nurses four to nine years after they graduated from a baccalaureate nursing program in the midwestern United States. Using a descriptive study design, 23 of 50 nurses responded to a survey about positions they have held since graduating and the influence of a perioperative nursing elective on their career choices. Twenty-six percent of nurses in this sample went on to work in the perioperative specialty, and the majority indicated they continued to consider perioperative nursing as a career choice. Considering the potential long-term effects of this strategy, incorporating a perioperative nursing elective into nursing school curricula could be helpful to address the shortage of perioperative nurses.

Addressing the Perioperative Nursing Shortage Via a Perioperative Nursing Preceptorship for Baccalaureate Nursing Students

“…Nurses who lack previous exposure to the intraoperative setting may find themselves dissatisfied when entering the unique environment of the OR. Perioperative nursing care requires a vast knowledge base, as well as the ability to adapt to changing technology 13 and adjust to physical stressors that vary from the more traditional nursing specialties 14 . For many of these reasons, nurse leaders historically have been reluctant to offer perioperative positions to recently graduated nurses 4,15 …”

Expanding an Academic‐Service Partnership to Develop a Summer Perioperative Nursing Practicum for Baccalaureate Students

“…When nursing students observe perioperative nurses in clinical practice, they are better positioned to understand the intraoperative phase of care as a critical part of the patient experience . Students witness real‐time professional nurses as patient advocates who implement principles behind the art and science of nursing.…”

“…Witnessing patients’ intraoperative care provides students with valuable insights into the physiological and psychological stressors endured by patients during this phase of care. It also allows the nursing students to look beyond the highly technical environment of the OR and focus on the patient …”

“…When nursing students observe perioperative nurses in clinical practice, they are better positioned to understand the intraoperative phase of care as a critical part of the patient experience. [7][8][9][10] Students witness real-time professional nurses as patient advocates who implement principles behind the art and science of nursing. Exposing nursing students to the patient-centric, dynamic, multidisciplinary, and team-oriented environment of the OR provides them with valuable learning experiences 8,9,11 and has implications for recruitment into the perioperative nursing workforce.…”

“…It also allows the nursing students to look beyond the highly technical environment of the OR and focus on the patient. 7,13…”