Developing a perioperative educational video web site

Nurses frequently have to adjust to changes in technology, particularly in the OR, but cataloging the wealth of resources commonly used in the OR (eg, equipment, supplies, how to use them) has not kept pace. To address this, I worked with the information systems administrative coordinator at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, to design and implement a perioperative intranet site that includes videos and fact sheets about equipment and supplies and that can be accessed by all perioperative staff members. This required promoting the idea and getting stakeholder sign-on, soliciting videotapes and DVDs and screening all submissions for appropriateness, choosing and formatting applicable resources for use on the site, working with members of the information systems department to create a web site after the video library was assembled, and helping staff members use and accept the site as a valuable educational resource. This intranet web site has been available to staff members for two years, and data from a recent survey of staff members and from mandatory intranet inservice compliance programs show evidence of its effectiveness.