A knowledge comparison of nursing students in perioperative versus other rotations

As more patients undergo surgical interventions in ambulatory facilities and patients in acute care settings have shorter lengths of stay, nursing students may have limited interaction with the surgical patient population. This study used a repeated measure, experimental design to compare knowledge of surgical patient care among undergraduate nursing students who experienced a perioperative clinical rotation (ie, experimental groups) with knowledge among students who experienced rotations in other clinical settings (ie, control groups). Results demonstrated a significant change in mean knowledge scores over time and a significant difference in mean scores between the experimental and control groups. Students in the perioperative group scored higher in all four testing periods.