Student Immersion in Perioperative Nursing

The aging workforce and the lack of perioperative clinical practice and theoretical content in nursing education programs are factors contributing to the perioperative nursing shortage. This article discusses the implementation of a creatively designed perioperative program, which includes a didactic course and a 210-hour clinical course, developed by the faculty members of a Michigan school of nursing in collaboration with administrators at area hospitals. The didactic content covers materials presented during the first three months of orientation for newly employed perioperative nurses. Interested baccalaureate nursing students in their senior year are selected to participate in the program after being interviewed by hospital personnel and university faculty members. To date, the program has 18 student graduates in two semesters; all have been offered positions in the perioperative setting, and 14 have accepted positions. The active learning strategies used in the course are described with examples.