Evaluation of a Redesigned Perioperative Specialty Elective to Address the Perioperative Nursing Shortage

A lack of targeted perioperative academic preparation may have led to not enough nursing graduates entering and staying in the perioperative field. This deficit and a large portion of the workforce approaching retirement age have contributed to a perioperative nursing shortage. In collaboration with an associated medical center, a college of nursing in the midwestern United States offered and evaluated a redesigned perioperative elective for student nurses. After implementation, interviews and focus groups were used to determine the effect on the student nurses’ confidence, their progression through orientation after graduating and being hired into the perioperative department, and the perioperative department’s retention rates. Recently graduated nurses with perioperative educational experience have a better understanding of the role of a perioperative nurse. Increasing prelicensure student exposure to the perioperative clinical environment is associated with positive outcomes for the department, organization, nurses, and patients. Similar results in other specialties may be possible.