Perioperative nursing education: the operating room as a learning climate

Perioperative patient care presents a demand for registered nurses with competence, skills, and experience. Without a well-grounded educational program, the novice perioperative nurse is often overwhelmed at the learning demands of the perioperative practice setting. Settings in which invasive and other operative procedures are carried out present a variety of challenges in orienting the novice nurse. There must be educational resources, coaching and support for novices who have limited real-world operating room experience, and work environments that encourage and foster professional development and a learning culture. An orientation program that focuses on the tenets of learning rather than seeing and doing without understanding holds the most promise for both recruitment and retention of perioperative nurses.