AORN, with HealthStream and AdvaMed, Create Online Education for Reps

With more than 500,000 healthcare industry representatives entering perioperative settings in the U.S. each year, current and convenient rep credentialing is invaluable to perioperative nurse leaders who are required to have policies in place and enforced. RepDirect ™ is going to give reps the training they need for safe and collaborative interactions with healthcare providers.  

Credentialing programs can be challenging to keep up-to-date with the latest practice recommendations, said AORN’s Lisa Spruce, DNP, RN, ACNP, CNOR, CNS-CP, ACNS, FAAN, director of Evidence-Based Perioperative Practice.

RepDirect™, available through HealthStream, addresses these challenges by combining credentialing resources and making them more convenient for reps to access and complete.

Here are three things Spruce says nurse leaders should know about this new online rep credentialing tool:

1. It meets AORN and AdvaMed credentialing requirements

   RepDirect is the only certification to incorporate AORN’s OR Protocol and AdvaMed’s Code of Ethics. “Providing all of the necessary components for certification reassures hospital leaders they can be certain the industry representatives have the competence and knowledge to be a part of a safe, ethical and competent healthcare team,” Spruce says.

   AdvaMed’s Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals, which has been updated for 2020, provides guidance to medical technology companies based on the Code’s Six Cornerstone Values, including: innovation, education, integrity, respect, responsibility and transparency. Additionally, the 2020 updates to the Code include clearer and more user-friendly guidance with examples to address the evolving nature of health care professional interactions.

   AORN’s OR Protocol provides credentialing and also ensures industry representatives are current on best practices for patient safety and personal safety based on AORN’s perioperative practice guidelines. OR Protocol provides the knowledge for industry reps to enter the perioperative setting with critical safety knowledge, such as identifying appropriate surgical attire to wear, understanding the importance of hand hygiene, and knowing the steps required if there is a blood borne exposure incident.



2. It’s accessible through mobile devices

   The courses in RepDirect are all mobile-friendly and accessible from any device. “As an online course, this program is easy and convenient for healthcare industry representatives to take and complete,” Spruce notes.

   AdvaMed’s Code of Ethics and AORN’s OR Protocol may each be purchased individually or purchased as a bundle that includes AdvaMed’s Code of Ethics, AORN’s OR Protocol, and HealthStream’s Safety Library.



3. It provides one source for safety

   Perioperative nurses want to be sure that all members of the health care team have undergone training and credentialing to be granted the right to participate in a patient’s care, Spruce says.

   “Having a tool that assures perioperative nurses that healthcare industry representatives have undergone training and have demonstrated competency and ethical practices helps support patient safety goals,” she adds.

Learn more about RepDirect.

AORN Group or Industry Membership

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