Student Nurses in the OR: Improving Recruitment and Retention.

Changes in nursing education have made it difficult for students to find or participate in perioperative clinical experiences, which makes it difficult for employers to find experienced perioperative nurses. We developed a perioperative preceptorship for senior-level nursing students, to provide them with the opportunity to learn RN circulator skills based on AORN's Guidelines for Perioperative Practice. Senior nursing students had the opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking skills within the context of patient-centered care while integrating knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. The students applied the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom in the OR setting during a required minimum 210-hour clinical commitment. We believe the course has been successful in providing the foundation needed to become a competent perioperative nurse, because, to date, all students who were hired are still employed in the OR.

Using an age-specific nursing model to tailor care to the adolescent surgical patient.

A surgical experience can be stressful for any patient. When the patient is an adolescent, however, the surgical experience can create significant stress, which is related to normal adolescent development. Perioperative nursing care should address what adolescent patients perceive as stressful and should provide a safe environment so that a successful surgical outcome can be achieved. To accomplish this, a nursing model specific to perioperative nursing practice should be developed to guide nurses when providing care to adolescents. The Adolescent Perioperative System Stability Model based on the Neuman Systems Model provides a framework for defining scope of practice and organizing nursing care that is appropriate for the adolescent during a surgical experience. In addition to guiding nursing practice, this model provides direction and guidance for future studies of adolescents in the perioperative setting.