Perioperative Nurses Week Honors These Dedicated RNs
Perioperative Nurses Week, hosted by the Association of perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN), takes place annually from November 11 through November 18. It represents over 160,000 operating room nurses across the United States and calls those hard-working RNs, those who work with them and those whose lives have been changed by them, to celebrate this special week by spreading the word about what they do.
Facilities should reward the outstanding efforts of their perioperative nurses by recognizing their dedication, boosting morale, and inspiring continued excellence both individually and as a team. Those who work in this field may help to inspire others to join them in this career and help everyone throughout the community understand just how important their role is in patient care.
How to Celebrate
Whether you’re a travel nurse working temporarily at a facility or a permanent part of the staff, be sure to show off the pride you have in the work you do.
By visiting AORN.org, you’ll find lots of ways to celebrate, including posters that that be used to decorate your workplace, raising awareness of Perioperative Nurses Week. Facilities and staff can also honor their colleagues, mentors and perioperative team by making donations in their name to the AORN Foundation. Of courses, perioperative RNs and their colleagues can also give shout outs through the various social networking sites too.
Learn more about a career as a perioperative travel nurse
Inspiring Others to Become a Perioperative Nurse
If you’re a perioperative nurse, do you love your job? If so, think about what you love about it and try to inspire others who are on the path to becoming a nurse to enter the field. Many are in this role because they enjoy the fast pace and, no two days are the same. It can be very gratifying to see someone come into surgery, knowing afterward that they’ll heal and be able to go on living their lives. This specialty also offers lots of flexibility, with opportunities in surgical centers that allow for weekends off, or to work flexible shifts in a hospital that’s open 24/7. Perioperative nurses can also work in travel nurse positions, seeing the country while enjoying various challenges and making great pay.
What Operating Room Nurses Do
If you aren’t an OR nurse, but are thinking about becoming one, there are a number of personality traits you should have, such as the ability to work at a fast pace, being very detail-oriented and a critical thinker as well as being able to remain calm in stressful situations.
Perioperative nurses help plan, carry out and assess treatment for patients who are undergoing surgery, and may work in a clinic, physician’s office, hospital surgical department or ambulatory surgery unit. They’re involved in their patients’ care before, during and after surgery.
Interested in a career as a perioperative travel nurse? Start here!
How to Become a Perioperative Nurse
Before becoming a perioperative nurse, you’ll need to become a registered nurse, or RN, by first earning a Bachelor Degree of Science in Nursing (BSN), and then passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, known as the NCLEX-RN. Embarking on the path to becoming a perioperative nurse generally requires a year or more of perioperative training. Some nurses can choose to take electives in the field through nursing schools, though most get their training via a perioperative certificate program or by joining an on-the-job training program.
Related: What it takes to become a travel operating room nurse
Understanding what it takes to become a perioperative nurse surely makes you appreciate these professionals even more – there’s many good reasons to celebrate them on their special week!
Speak with a staffing specialist about perioperative travel nursing jobs