Using an Academic-Practice Partnership to Implement a Perioperative Nursing Elective in a Baccalaureate Nursing...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• Perioperative nursing faces critical staffing shortages due to an aging workforce and lack of student familiarity.
• Baccalaureate nursing students often overlook perioperative roles due to insufficient exposure during their education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of a perioperative nursing elective course.
• To address the gap in perioperative nursing knowledge among baccalaureate students.
• To create a pipeline for recruiting nurses into the perioperative specialty.

Main Methods:

• Collaboration between a college of nursing faculty and hospital leaders in Oklahoma.
• Development and delivery of a specialized perioperative nursing elective course.
• Tracking student enrollment, externships, and post-graduation employment.

Main Results:

• 34 students completed the elective course over three years.
• Nine students secured perioperative nurse externships.
• Nine graduates accepted perioperative nursing positions.
• 100% of students completing the course passed the NCLEX-RN exam on their first attempt.

Conclusions:

• The perioperative nursing elective course is an effective strategy for recruiting nurses into the specialty.
• This academic-practice partnership successfully prepared students for perioperative roles and improved NCLEX-RN pass rates.
• The course continues to be offered as a vital recruitment tool for perioperative nurses in Oklahoma.