Developing Your Skills

One of the best perks of working in the OR is the team. Everyone knows their job and does it well. But what do you do when someone refuses to be a team player? Here are three tips (and one absolutely essential skill) to deal with inhibitory attitudes in the OR.

Entering unfamiliar surgical procedures as an orientee or recently trained nurse can be daunting. Utilize the preference card as a resource to alleviate fears and position yourself to anticipate the needs of the surgical team.

Caring for patients through their surgical journey is a big job—families and loved ones trust us and believe that evidence-based care will be delivered. So, speak up and continue to ask questions until you have the knowledge you need to take care of the patients under your watch.

One nurse describes her years as a new nurse, the bullying she faced, and how she overcame the challenges she experienced to thrive as a perioperative nurse.

Ask any perioperative nurse, and they will tell you about a personal experience (or two) with a medical device failure. Therefore, knowing how to prevent and handle medical device errors is critical.

This article will provide some tips to help you navigate The Joint Commission onsite visits with ease and confidence.

Many of our habits and techniques in patient care stem from one intent: to prevent harm to our patients. There is one tool that you likely do not utilize to its fullest potential to optimize your patients’ safety. The way in which we use our words significantly impacts our patients’ risks for sentinel events.

Family members of patients in perioperative settings should be included during key moments of communication, such as teaching moments (e.g., preoperative discussions) and data collection (e.g., discussing medications and allergies).

This article will help you identify the types of people to surround yourself with as part of building a personal advisory board.

In the perioperative setting, procedures like dilation and curettage are not just medical routines but deeply personal journeys for the patients involved.

Communication is one key component of providing safe care for patients and building trust among team members.

Get at a glance at the steps to perform a vaginal prep.

Here are three tips to be more effective when communicating a message in the perioperative setting.

Learn about important components of cataract extraction, such as patient assessment, positioning, surgical prep, needed supplies, and more.

AORN advocates for a systems approach to prevent RSIs, including standardized counting and reconciliation procedures, methodical wound exploration, radiologic confirmation, adjunct technology, and teamwork training.

For novice perioperative nurses, adjusting to the demands and expectations of the OR can be a daunting task. This article explores five ways that a novice perioperative nurse can excel in surgery and establish themselves as a respected and trusted member of the OR team.

Perioperative personnel rely on team members from other departments and services, such as radiology, laboratory, environmental services, nutrition services, medical records, and respiratory services, to provide specific patient-centered care needs.

Your scrub person is the direct link between you and the patient. If they have what they need, the surgeon has what they need. If they are not stressed, they present a calm front to the surgeon.

Not only are travelers filling in gaps for overworked staff, but they are also helping ensure that patients still receive the care they need.