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Improving Associate Degree Nursing Students' Perioperative Clinical Observation Experiences
Author(s) -
Ricketts Donna L.,
Gray Susan E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
aorn journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1878-0369
pISSN - 0001-2092
DOI - 10.1016/j.aorn.2009.09.028
Subject(s) - perioperative nursing , perioperative , medicine , associate degree , nursing , medical education , anesthesia
For associate degree nursing students at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, the perioperative nursing clinical experience typically included a one‐day observation of a surgical procedure, with students entering the OR suite after the surgery started and having to leave before the surgery was completed. An associate professor of nursing and a perioperative staff education coordinator partnered to address this lack of a complete perioperative experience for students and offer a more formal OR experience. The clinical experience was altered to provide relevant didactic perioperative nursing content in class before the clinical day, a group orientation, and observation in the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative areas. Reactions of students and perioperative staff members to these changes were positive.