While the average age of a practicing nurse is 47, the average age of an OR nurse nationwide is between 50-55. These numbers are a canary in the coal mine warning us that if younger nurses do not join the specialty of operating room nursing, soon there will be no replacement set for the current nursing staff, said Mary Anne Greene, Director of Nursing Education and Practice at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Although nursing students typically receive experience in hospitals before graduation, many do not spend clinical time in the operating room. A nursing student’s lack of exposure to the OR can prevent new nurses from selecting the OR as a place to work upon graduation. Greene wanted to change that by creating an introductory course in perioperative nursing that would spark an interest in students to enter the field. After Greene contacted several colleges, Dr. Roberta Raymond, Nursing Program Administrator at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) enthusiastically agreed to offer the five-week course at CCBC.

The first two weeks of the course took place at CCBC Essex where students focused on theory and laboratory preparation. Afterwards, they received three weeks of hands-on instruction at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Each of the five students received one-on-one OR instruction and learned about aseptic technique, surgical instruments, scrubbing, gowning, and gloving.

According to Raymond, “The collaboration with Bayview was a good one — the development and implementation of the course went smoothly and students really enjoyed it.” Both Raymond and Greene believe the best part of the program was the one-on-one instruction and direct hands-on-experience students received. However, the course was not without its challenges.

One of the difficulties Greene faced in designing the course was the price tag — the largest expenses were the Masters of Science in Nursing-prepared faculty and the OR materials provided to support the learning of the students. Another challenge she faced was commitment; four of the five students were hired by Hopkins Bayview, yet none stayed long. Looking back, Greene said next time she would make the entrance criteria stricter to ensure the students’ commitment.

Despite this, Greene feels that more OR experience should be built into college curriculums. She hopes that nursing faculty will consider offering student experiences in perioperative nursing that can be used to apply clinical concepts learned in the classroom.

Greene said, “Orienting a new nurse is a costly and time-consuming process, but it’s worth it if you end up hiring an excellent long-term employee.”

Contact:
Mary Anne Greene
Director of Nursing Education and Practice
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
410-550-7632

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