MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Linda Sigsby, RN, MSN, CNOR

For the love of nursing

"A shortage of perioperative nursing professors, along with limits on nursing curriculum, often result in a lack of perioperative specialty courses in nursing schools. Yet perioperative nursing education provides essential knowledge of basic nursing care, stresses Linda Sigsby, RN, MSN, CNOR, assistant professor of nursing at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

"Learning about perioperative nursing involves a basic understanding of instrument handling, the sterilization process, healthcare costs and the different roles nurses can play in providing patient care," Sigsby says.

After trying unsuccessfully to establish an elective, for-credit course on perioperative nursing at her institution, Sigsby decided to create a voluntary summer program for undergraduate nursing students to expose them to the perioperative specialty. That was eight years ago, and Sigsby has taught the course every summer since, resulting in a steady stream of nursing students who become perioperative nurses.

"There is such a lack of understanding about what perioperative nurses do. My students are often familiar with terms like RNFA and CRNA, but they want to know what these nursing roles involve as they plan their nursing careers," she notes.

While the demanding curriculum Sigsby provides during the summer program is time-intensive, Sigsby says she enjoys every minute of it because it gives her a chance to share her passion for perioperative practice with the next generation of nurses. "Being able to share my love for nursing makes it all worth while," Sigsby says.

Read more about her voluntary summer program in the October issue of AORN Journal.