Back to Nursing at Women & Infants
Our Surgical Services specialty encompasses the operating rooms, post-anesthesia care unit, and outpatient surgery.
Perioperative nursing services include various gynecological specialties, including oncology, endocrinology, urology and infertility.
After completing the general nursing orientation classes, nurses orienting to Surgical Services will focus on one of these three specialty areas: Ambulatory Surgical Unit (ASU); Operating Room (OR); or Perioperative specialty area and Post-anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). Each specialty area has an orientation plan and performance-based assessments are given.
Nurses working in the ASU, depending on their skill level, receive four to six weeks of orientation to pre-operative and postoperative care. Pre-operative skills include all procedures and patient education that is required prior to surgery. Post-operative skills include the foundation for Stage II care of the post-operative patient, including patient education.
Nurses working in the OR or perioperative specialty area receive three to four months of orientation, working with preceptors and focusing on the role of the scrub nurse and the circulating nurse. Both orientations include eight to 10 hours of lecture, one on one preceptorship, and a self-learning packet that allows you to work at your own pace. Perioperative nurses specialize in C-sections and selected OB cases, while OR nurses will be oriented to more complex clinical specialty cases.
Nurses working in the PACU receive four to six weeks of orientation with preceptors to Stage I postoperative care. A variety of classes are offered so you can become skilled in caring for patients in this acute clinical area. Exposure to critical care nursing will take place at an adjacent hospital.
