For Colleges of Nursing

What’s the Role of an Operating Room Nurse?

AORN is working to grow the pipeline of perioperative nurses and advocating for undergraduate students to consider this exciting, fulfilling specialty. We are partnering with Colleges of Nursing across the country, providing access to an introductory course as well as resources that support a perioperative curriculum.

Perioperative nurses – also known as operating room nurses, OR nurses, and surgical nurses –are registered nurses (RNs) who work in hospital surgical departments, day-surgery units, ambulatory surgery centers, and in clinics or physician offices that perform invasive procedures. They also work in pre-op and post-operative areas, where they help plan, implement and evaluate treatment of surgical patients.

This tool kit provides nursing school faculty with educational resources to enable them to provide their students with an introduction to perioperative nursing.

Introduction to Perioperative Nursing is an undergraduate course for nursing students and provides essential knowledge of pre-, intra-, and post-operative practices through the continuum of care for surgical patients.

How to Become a Surgical Nurse

Get more information on how to become a surgical nurse with this article by AORN.

Check out AORN's Career Center for more resources.