Charting Progress: A Reflective Debriefing for Novice Perioperative Nurses

Perioperative nursing faces staffing shortages, high turnover, and resource-intensive orientation that threaten safety and operational efficiency. Charting Progress is an internally developed program at a multicampus academic medical center that complements existing curricula by addressing readiness, resilience, and professional identity formation. The program integrates peer-led strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats reflection; intraoperative mock code simulation; leadership dialogue to clarify expectations; and career pathway mapping grounded in emotional intelligence principles. In October 2025, nine novice perioperative nurses participated. Self-reported confidence in core OR skills increased from 62.5% to 75.0%, and perceived readiness to advance increased from 62.5% to 87.5% by program completion. Costs were minimized by using existing simulation resources, protected staff time, and a half-day cohort format. Limitations included the small sample size, limited campus participation, and reliance on self-reported data with possible response bias. Overall, findings suggest this concise emotional intelligence program may accelerate transition to practice.