Opportunities from the Center for Perioperative Education

PERIOPERATIVE NURSING COURSE 101

AORN's Perioperative Nursing Course 101 is a comprehensive program for educating new perioperative nurses. The curriculum covers 27 crucial topics in a scripted lecture format with PowerPoint presentations and is designed to be integrated with your facility's specific policies and procedures.

Perioperative Nursing Course 101 will help you develop confident, better-educated, safety-conscious, novice perioperative nurses. The course includes overviews, reading assignments, glossaries, bibliographies, posttests, preceptor guidelines, handouts, slide presentations, a critical skills assessment checklist, a “Preparing the Preceptor” module with free contact hours, and more. For more information, visit AORN Online at http://www.aorn.org/education/periop101.htm. For a free information packet, contact Laurie Clark at (800) 755-2676 x 258, or send an e-mail to periop101@aorn.org.

AORN CONFERENCES

11th Conference on Infectious Diseases

Dec 5-7, 2006

Kimberly-Clark Corporate Facility, Roswell, Ga

This conference brings together a nationally recognized faculty of experts on infectious diseases and patient and workplace safety. The conference is ideal for perioperative managers, staff nurses, infection control professionals, risk managers, and anyone else who is concerned about patient and staff member safety related to infectious diseases. Attendees will learn about

• •the impact of human factors training,
• •the latest information on pathogens of concern,
• •prevention strategies to protect patients and staff members from pathogens of concern,
• •the needs of nurses during a disaster event, and
• •how to decrease morbidity and mortality related to surgical site infections.

This conference is presented by AORN, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and Kimberly-Clark. For more information or to register, visit http://www.aorn.org/events.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Home Studies. AORN Journal Home Studies published since December 2003 are available online at http://www.aornjournal.org. Home Studies are available in portable document format (ie, PDF) to print and complete. Use these programs to earn contact hours and stay abreast of the latest nursing information.

Management courses. The following online courses offer contact hours and may be taken by themselves or used with AORN's Perioperative Management Resources seminars and manuals for more in-depth understanding. In Budgeting, you will learn

• •basic cost accounting,
• •essential steps in the budgeting process,
• •components of capital and operating budgets, and
• •steps to improve budget performance while providing safe patient care.

After completing Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements, you will be able to

• •describe the key components of a financial statement,
• •identify ways to use statistical data to improve day-to-day operational efficiency,
• •describe the types of statistical data used to support budget development,
• •discuss two types of statistical reports that nurse managers can use to evaluate purchasing decisions,
• •demonstrate the proper use of various statistical techniques,
• •define the importance of personnel budgeting, and
• •use statistical data to support program development or maintenance.

AORN EVENTS.

11th Conference on Infectious Diseases

Dec 5-7, 2006

Kimberly-Clark Corporate Facility, Roswell, Ga

AORN Pre-Congress

March 10, 2007

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla

AORN Congress

March 11-15, 2007

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla

The Meeting Management course will provide you with practical guidelines for planning and conducting effective and productive meetings. After completing the course, you will be able to

• •state two vital purposes for meetings,
• •identify rationales for choosing a particular meeting type,
• •demonstrate how a meeting agenda outlines the purpose or direction of a meeting,
• •identify several types of meeting processes,
• •identify ways to facilitate positive group interaction,
• •identify logical components of a meeting, and
• •identify tools to evaluate a meeting's effectiveness.

The Performance Improvement (PI) course provides a basic knowledge of PI activities that will allow you to meet regulatory requirements by analyzing performance gaps, planning and developing interventions for PI activities, and evaluating the results of these improvements. After completing the course, you will be able to

• •list the objectives of a PI program,
• •discuss different PI plans that can be used, and
• •develop a PI plan to address a specific need.

For more information or to register for any of these courses, call customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1, or visit http://www.aorn.org/managers/online.asp.

Fire safety. The online fire safety course Preventing Surgical Fires will expand your knowledge of the mechanisms of surgical fire prevention and the nurse's role in surgical fire prevention. After completing the course, you will be able to

• •identify fire triangle components that are prevalent in the perioperative environment,
• •describe prevention measures that a nurse must take for every surgical procedure, and
• •discuss actions to be taken when a fire occurs on the surgical patient.

For more information or to register, call customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1, or visit http://www.aorn.org/events/fireprevention/default.asp.

Preparing for the CNOR Examination—online course. This program will alleviate participants' fears of taking the CNOR examination by walking them through the examination's format. Subjects are related to clinical situations with which perioperative nurses are familiar. The program also provides effective test-taking strategies. Participants have six months from the time of registration to complete the self-paced, online program. Visit AORN Online at http://www.aorn.org/events/cnoronline/default.asp for more information.

Online master of science (MS) degree programs. AORN and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) School of Nursing are offering preferred tuition rates for MS in health care leadership and MS in health care informatics courses. Course work is available entirely via the Internet.

The MS in health care leadership consists of 37 credit hours. This course work prepares nurses for roles in nursing management and leadership in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, health departments, and private health-related businesses, as well as the public policy arena and other decision-making roles in health care. The courses taken in the Perioperative Management Certificate program offered in collaboration with UCHSC are required courses for this MS program.

The MS in health care informatics course consists of 34 credit hours. The courses taken in the Nursing Informatics Certificate program offered in collaboration with UCHSC are required, and up to 12 credit hours from these courses can be applied to this MS program.

Participants must meet admission and course requirements to be accepted into the School of Nursing. Participants must be AORN members to receive the preferred rate for the health care leadership program. For more information, visit http://www.aorn.org/education/culeadership.asp and http://www.aorn.org/education/cuinformatics.asp.

Perioperative Management Certificate program. This certificate program is offered in collaboration with the UCHSC School of Nursing. It is ideal for any perioperative professional with a bachelor's degree in nursing who wants to improve his or her skills in management and leadership with a goal of successfully managing single or multiple perioperative nursing departments. For more information, visit AORN Online at http://www.aorn.org/education/management.htm, or contact Holly Heston at (800) 755-2676 x 318 or hheston@aorn.org.

Nursing Informatics Certificate program. AORN and the UCHSC School of Nursing are offering preferred tuition rates for an online nursing informatics certificate program. Health care informatics is an interdisciplinary field that draws on knowledge from computer information and health sciences. This program uses informatics as a broad framework with a specific focus on nursing.

The course work in the certificate program is developed using the American Nurses Association's definition of nursing informatics. The certificate program courses focus on the core content for nursing informatics and provide a total of 16 graduate-level, academic credits. For more information, contact Holly Heston at (800) 755-2676 x 318 or hheston@aorn.org, or visit http://www.aorn.org/education/informatics.htm.

Ambulatory Surgery Administrator Certificate program. This four-month program combines face-to-face education with the convenience of an online program. The program provides the basic skills and tools needed to manage every aspect of an ambulatory surgery practice, from daily operations to regulatory requirements. The next course begins May 19 and 20, 2007, and will be held in conjunction with the American Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers' annual meeting and exhibition in Denver. For more information or to register, visit http://www.aorn.org/events/ambadmincert, or call customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1.

FREE CONTACT HOURS

1.5 contact hours for patient safety program— Free for AORN members. The goal of the program “Patient Safety in the OR” is to provide information to perioperative nurses about medical errors and adverse events in perioperative settings. Topics include

• •definition of a medical error,
• •frequency and types of medical errors,
• •the contribution of system flaws to medical errors, and
• •risks for medical errors.

Visit http://www.aorn.org and click on the “Free Education” link under “Member Resources” to print and complete this free program.

1.0 contact hour for Perioperative Nursing Data Set (PNDS) online program—Free for AORN members. Learn about the PNDS, test your knowledge, and receive one free contact hour. Visit http://www.aorn.org and click on the “Free Education” link under “Member Resources” to print and complete this free program.

5.8 contact hours for infectious disease independent studies—Free for AORN members. These independent studies are taken from past conferences on infectious diseases. Topics include

• •patient safety from a national perspective;
• •severe acute respiratory syndrome, 2004 and beyond;
• •perioperative hypothermia and infection;
• •infections in minimally invasive surgery; and
• •prevention of surgical site infection.

Visit http://www.aorn.org and click on the “Free Education” link under “Member Resources” to print and complete this free program.

4.8 contact hours for comprehensive Safe Medication Administration Tool Kit independent study—Free for AORN members. This independent study will help AORN members implement safe medication administration practices in their facilities to ensure safe patient outcomes. Developed by AORN with an educational grant from Sandel Medical Industries, the tool kit provides concrete resources to enhance perioperative medication competencies and create awareness of safe medication administration among surgical team members. Visit http://www.aorn.org and click on the “Free Education” link under “Member Resources” to print and complete this free program.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT HOURS

Contact hour opportunities may be used independently or in a group setting to educate perioperative staff members. Nurses can earn contact hours by purchasing the following materials, reviewing the goals and objectives, and completing the learning packages.

CD-ROMs/Videos

Educational videos, CD-ROMs, and digital video discs, most of which include independent studies, are available through the AORN perioperative nursing video library. Programs available for purchase address

• •clinical topics,
• •communication and conflict resolution,
• •infection control,
• •patient and family member education topics, and
• •patient and staff member safety.

Five recently updated videos are available:

• •video 1933—Perioperative Assessment: Helping Patients Achieve Their Goals;
• •video 1934—Concepts of Scrubbing, Gowning, and Gloving;
• •video 1935—Preoperative Skin Preparation;
• •video 1936—Fire Prevention in the Perioperative Suite; and
• •video 1937—Electrosurgery: Function, Practice, and Safety.

Discounted group rates for contact hours are available. For details, visit http://www.aorn.org/education/videos.htm. To order, call Ciné-Med, Woodbury, Conn, at (800) 633-0004 or AORN customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1.

One-year subscriptions for AORN Online video-based education are available through Ciné-Med. For information on this service, visit http://www.cine-med.net/library/index.php?aorn.

Print

An independent study program based on AORN's 2006 Standards, Recommended Practices, and Guidelines is available for 20 contact hours. A minimum score of 80% is necessary to earn the contact hours. The deadline for submitting the posttest and evaluation is March 31, 2007. The purchase price includes the contact-hour fee. The program may be ordered online at http://www.aorn.org/bookstore/default.asp.

Perioperative Professional Excellence Criteria (Magnet Model). This independent study was developed to assist facilities in achieving Magnet Status through perioperative excellence. Using the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC's) Magnet Recognition Program Application Manual as the basis of the work, AORN has developed a series of articles identifying perioperative sources of evidence related to the 14 Forces of Magnetism. The articles were reviewed by members of the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program. Visit http://www.aorn.org/education/magnet/ to print and complete this independent study to earn 4.0 contact hours.

Perioperative Management Resources. AORN has developed a series of perioperative management resources to meet the needs of current OR managers and staff nurses who are considering moving into managerial roles. These resources consist of printed manuals, online modules, and one-day regional seminars. The following manuals are available online at http://www.aorn.org/managers/manuals.asp:

• •Accreditation/Regulation/JCAHO,
• •Block Time,
• •Budgeting,
• •Business Planning,
• •Criteria for Selection and Implementation of Information Systems,
• •Evaluation of New Technology,
• •Meeting Management,
• •OR Renovation/ Construction,
• •Performance Improvement,
• •Productivity Measurement in the Perioperative Setting,
• •Risk Management,
• •Statistics for Perioperative Managers,
• •Stress Management: How to Stay in Control,
• •Supply Chain Management,
• •Time Management, and
• •Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements.

Online modules on Budgeting, Understanding and Interpreting Financial Statements, Meeting Management, and Performance Improvement also are available. For more information, visit http://www.aorn.org/managers/online.asp, or call customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1.

Group Study Modules

AORN's Center for Perioperative Education has education, inservice program, and specialty modules to assist nurses in making presentations to their peers and other staff members. The modules are designed to help orient new nurses and provide staff members with information about various required topics. Most modules can be presented in one to two hours.

All modules contain a printed study guide with visual aids formatted in PowerPoint, which are available only on CD-ROM. The modules are in a scripted format for the instructor. Stopping points included in each module facilitate discussion of specific facility policies and procedures as well as various aspects of the module and provide an opportunity for group interaction. AORN's Standards, Recommended Practices, and Guidelines is used as a blueprint for the presentations.

Module prices are $189 for AORN members and $249 for nonmembers. The following inservice program modules are available:

• •Aseptic Technique,
• •Disaster Preparedness,
• •Electrical Safety,
• •Fire Safety,
• •OSHA Regulations,
• •Radiation Protection in the Perioperative Suite,
• •Skin Preparation, and
• •Standard and Transmission-Based Precautions.

Contact hours are available for the following modules:

• •Care of the Elderly Patient,
• •Environmental Sanitation and Terminal Cleaning,
• •Laser Safety,
• •Latex Allergy, and
• •Positioning the Surgical Patient.

Contact hours also are available for modules on the following specialties:

• •cardiovascular,
• •neurosurgery,
• •ophthalmology,
• •orthopedics,
• •otorhinolaryngology,
• •pediatrics, and
• •plastic/reconstructive surgery.

Preparing the Preceptor module. This expanded preceptor module from AORN's Perioperative Nursing Course 101 is available for purchase separate from the course. The module uses the most current knowledge available to provide an opportunity for experienced OR clinicians to practice building precepting skills with some helpful coaching. If your facility currently is licensed for the Perioperative Nursing Course 101, you already should have this updated module as part of your course materials.

Two contact hours are awarded for completion of this module. To order modules, call customer service at (800) 755-2676 x 1, or visit http://www.aorn.org/education/inservice.htm.

REGISTRATION

To receive an event brochure, call (800) 755-2676 x 1. AORN ensures that no individual with a mobility, visual, or hearing disability is excluded, denied services, or treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids or services.

ACCREDITATION

AORN is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

AORN is provider-approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 13019.