Course Overview
Introduction to Perioperative Nursing is appropriate for the experienced
RN, with acute care experience or Graduate Nurse intending to specialize in
perioperative nursing, who wants to work in any of the following settings: an
Operating Room (OR), an ambulatory surgery center, or a short procedure unit. RN's
who function in units where invasive procedures are performed on a routine basis
can also benefit from this course.
Using reading assignments, quizzes, web research, discussion forums, and clinical
activities, the student will gain a fundamental understanding of Perioperative Nursing
by the end of the program. The student will be able to function at the entry level in
an operating room and begin the clinical requirement and area specialization for your
facility.
Course Requirements
Participation in this course requires that a facility sponsor the student and sign a
sponsorship agreement, which states that the student meets the course
requirements. Additionally, the participating site must assign a clinical preceptor to
the student for the duration of the course and give the student access to the
Operating Room environment, which would enable to the student to complete the
weekly clinical requirement's for the course.
The sponsoring facility must:
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Complete and sign the Sponsorship Agreement.
Assign a clinical preceptor to the student for the duration of the course.
Give the student access to the Operating Room environment in order to
complete the weekly clinical requirements for the course.
The student must:
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Be a Registered Nurse (RN) with an active state license or a Graduate Nurse
with an active permit.
Have a minimum of 2 years clinical experience in an acute clinical care
setting.
Provide two letters of recommendation.
Be BLS certified.
Sign the Sponsorship Agreement.
Have provisional coverage under the malpractice insurance policy of the
sponsoring facility. If the student is not covered, the student must provide
proof of malpractice insurance coverage.
Consult with sponsoring facility for additional requirements.
The preceptor must:
• Sign the Sponsorship Agreement.
• Be CNOR certified or be overseen by a nurse with NCOR certification.
• Be in good standing with their department.
• Be responsible for ensuring the student has a valuable clinical experience for
the course.
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Work with the student to coordinate a date and time for the weekly clinical
activity.
Intend to complete, sign, and date the weekly clinical activity checklist.
Intend to email the course instructor on a weekly basis to communicate the
student's progression of the clinical activity.
Intend to submit hardcopies of the fifteen completed and signed checklists to
Northampton Community College for their records at the end of the course.
Clinical Preceptor Responsibilities
A key element to this course is the hands-on experience the student will gain while
working with the clinical preceptor to complete the clinical requirements for this
course.
The preceptor and the student should plan meeting dates and times as needed to
complete the weekly required activities.
The clinical activity checklists are formatted as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) documents and
printed copies have been provided to you in your Welcome Kit. If you need the free
Acrobat Reader, download it here. All checklists must be completed by the end of the
course.
The student will not be penalized for an incomplete checklist from week to week.
However, by the end of the course, the student must have a "completed" status for
each of the fifteen clinical checklists in order to pass the clinical component of this
course. The preceptor will then submit Pass/Fail. All papers will then be sent to NCC
for record keeping.
Student Responsibilities
Each week, the student is reminded to do the following:
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Print and review the attached clinical activity checklist for this week's class to
be sure you understand all of the requirements for this week.
If you have not already met with your preceptor to plan a date and time for
this week's clinical activity, please do so immediately. It is your responsibility
to contact your preceptor each week to plan a date and time for the week's
clinical activities.
Complete the checklists with your clinical preceptor. Ideally, you will complete
each week's clinical activity by the following Monday. However, I understand
that scheduling conflicts and the need to further practice a task may require
that you take more time to complete a given week's checklist.
Email Communication
When sending the weekly email, please be sure to include the following:
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Address the email to the instructor
Copy the student on the email
List the students name and clinical activity checklist number in the subject
line (i.e. Mary Smith - Week 2 Checklist)
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State whether the status of the checklist is complete" or "incomplete" in the
body of the email and any additional notes or comments as needed.
Completed Checklists
The NCC moderator will maintain email records for all clinical activities, but the
clinical preceptor and the student must keep completed and signed hard copies of all
checklists. At the end of this course, the clinical preceptor is required to submit
hardcopies of the fifteen completed and signed checklists to Northampton
Community College for their records.
The completed and signed copies of the checklists should be sent in one envelope at
the end of the course to:
Center for Business & Industry
Healthcare Education
Northampton Community College
511 E. Third Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Course Grading
This course has a Pass/Fail grading system. In order to successfully pass this course,
the student must have a score of 80% or higher for the didactic component and
100% for the clinical component. If these criteria are met, the student will pass the
course and can expect to receive a Certificate of Completion in Perioperative Nursing.
If a student is failing at time during the course, the moderator will initiate a meeting
with the student and preceptor to determine if there is successful progression on the
student's part to warrant their continued participation in the course.
Course Objectives
The goal of this introductory-level program in Perioperative Nursing is to provide an
experienced RN or Graduate Nurse with the basic knowledge to get started as a
perioperative nurse.
After completing this course, the student should have gained an understanding of the
following:
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Explore the evolution of the perioperative nurse
Identify the contribution the perioperative nurse makes to patient safety
Identify how infection control is practiced in the surgical environment
Describe basic principles related to surgical instrumentation
Discuss the role the perioperative nurse plays in safe patient anesthetic
outcomes
Describe the care of the malignant hyperthermia patient
Describe the care of the latex sensitive/allergic patient in the perioperative
setting
Identify various methods of preparing instrumentation for patient use
Describe the role of the perioperative nurse in supporting the surgical team
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Examine safe positioning of surgical patients
Describe methods used in the surgical environment for achieving homeostasis
Describe the impact of various wound closure techniques in the healing
process
Describe how the perioperative nurse cares for patients of various age groups
Compare the ambulatory setting to the inpatient/trauma setting.
Before the Class Begins
After reviewing your Preceptor Kit, please send an email to Healthcare Education
(healthcare@northampton.edu) with your name, contact information, and background.
Once the Director of Healthcare Education/and NCC moderator receives this information,
you will be contacted via phone to be introduced and to have any questions answered.
If you have any immediate questions, please contact us at 610-332-6585 or
via email at healthcare@northampton.edu.
Course Credentialing
Contact hours for this continuing nursing education activity have been applied for
through the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, Inc., an accredited
approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission of
Accreditation.
Activities that are approved by AORN are recognized as continuing education for
registered nurses. This recognition does not imply that AORN or the ANCC
Commission on Accreditation approves or endorses any product included in this
presentation. Contact hours: 324
Perioperative Academy Sponsorship Agreement
Course: Introduction to Perioperative Nursing (3(5,2) Section: __________ Start date: ______________________
Student Name: ______________________________________________Social Security # ___________________________
Participation in this course requires that a student be sponsored by a surgical facility that will agree to: Assign a
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clinical preceptor to the student for the duration of the course,
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Give the student access to the Operating Room environment and supervision to enable the student to complete the
weekly clinical req uirements,
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Assure that the student meets the enrollment req uirements.
Sponsoring Facility Name: _______________________________________________________________________________
Facility Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Name of Facility Representative (OR Director/Manager/Educator): ________________________________________________
Title: ________________________ Phone: _______________Fax: __________________ Email: _______________________
Enrollment in this course requires that the student meet ALL requirements. Copies of the documents listed below must
accompany this agreement.
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Active state Registered Nurse (RN) license with license number.
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Two letters of recommendation verifying a minimum of 2 years clinical experience in an acute care setting or a new graduate.
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Basic Life Supp ort Certification.
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Evidence of provisional coverage under the malpractice insurance policy of the sponsoring facility. If the student is not
covered, the student must provide proof of malpractice insurance coverage.
Print or Type Name of Clinical Preceptor: __________________________________________________________________
Phone # : (_____ _)______________________ Email: ________________________________________________________
The
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assigned clinical preceptor must meet the following requirements.
Be CN OR certified.
Be in good standing with their department.
Be responsib le for ensuring the student has a valuab le clinical experience for the course.
Work w ith the student to coordinate the weekly clinical activity.
Agree to complete, sign, and date the weekly clinical activity checklist.
Agree to email the course instructor on a weekly basis to communicate one of three completion levels for that week’s
clinical activity checklist.
The ab ove nam ed student meets all of the enrollment requirements for this course.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Student
Date
The ab ove nam ed preceptor meets all of the enrollment requ irements for this course.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Clinical Preceptor
Date
_____________________________________________________________________________
Signature of Facility Representative
Date
Registration, agreement and documentation must be received at least 1 full week prior to start of the course.
M ail or FAX com pleted form along with the Student Registration Form and payment of $899 or purchase order to:
CBI - Healthcare Education, Northampton Community College, FAX (610) 332-6556
511 E. Third Street, Bethlehem, PA, 18015. Phone: (610) 332-6585.
E-mail healthcare@northampton.edu to verify that information was received.
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NC C R epresentative
Da te Received