Ideas That Work: Memorable Learning Makes for Safer Outcomes
By: Outpatient Surgery Editors
Published: 7/10/2023
Practical pearls from your colleagues
If you’re looking to improve the effectiveness of your training, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, consider borrowing some ideas from what many surgical facilities view as the gold standard of perioperative learning: AORN’s Periop 101 Program.
The program combines traditional learning with realistic experience in multiple areas of care from pre-op to PACU, and even sterile processing. The most impactful training, according to students, is the hands-on experience, which includes chicken suturing, airway management and a bone lab, among others. Here’s what the Perioperative 101 Cohort 2023, Boston Children’s Hospital Satellites, had to say about their learning: “These experiences have given us the opportunity to learn about the various roles that keep the perioperative environment running and to better understand the collaboration and communication that is necessary to provide the best and safest outcomes for patients. This combination of more traditional and experiential learning will help us become more well-rounded, effective members of the team. We can’t wait to put all we have learned into action!”

Bottom line: Combining traditional education with experiential hands-on learning will make education stick regardless of whether you’re teaching new nurses or offering refresher training to long-tenured providers. OSM