The Effect of a Perioperative Nursing Elective on Nursing Career Paths

Nurse educators play a role in addressing the growing perioperative nurse shortage in the United States by implementing strategies to entice new graduates to this specialty. The purpose of our study was to determine if an undergraduate perioperative nursing elective influenced the career choices of nurses four to nine years after they graduated from a baccalaureate nursing program in the midwestern United States. Using a descriptive study design, 23 of 50 nurses responded to a survey about positions they have held since graduating and the influence of a perioperative nursing elective on their career choices. Twenty-six percent of nurses in this sample went on to work in the perioperative specialty, and the majority indicated they continued to consider perioperative nursing as a career choice. Considering the potential long-term effects of this strategy, incorporating a perioperative nursing elective into nursing school curricula could be helpful to address the shortage of perioperative nurses.