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Collaborative
exercise encourages OR nursing careers
6/23/08
HOUSTON
– Nursing students from Texas Woman’s University’s
Houston campus experienced what it is like to be an operating-room
nurse during a surgery simulation exercise held June 5 at
the OR lab at the Houston Community College’s Coleman
College for Health Sciences.
“The
goal of the exercise was to encourage OR nursing careers for
the 16 nursing students enrolled in a perioperative elective
course at TWU,” said Dr. Kathryn Tart, TWU associate
professor of nursing and TWU-Houston baccalaureate coordinator.
Under
the guidance of nurses from The Methodist Hospital, the TWU
nursing students practiced pre-operative assessments; prepping,
scrubbing, gowning and gloving the surgeons; and positioning
a patient.
“The
nurses who served as instructors were able to show the students
all the steps that go into a successful surgery,” said
Michelle Brents, RN-CNOR, MS, TWU nursing clinical instructor
and OR nurse for The Methodist Hospital.
Dr.
Tart created the perioperative elective to address the increasing
shortage of OR nurses. She said that typically nurses graduate
with only observational experiences of the perioperative environment.
“Having an opportunity to practice these skills in a
safe simulation lab helps the students feel more comfortable
in their perioperative clinical experiences at one of the
hospitals,” said Christine Castillo-Sainz, RN, a surgical
instructor for HCC’s Coleman campus who helped administer
the exercise.
“The
simulation was easily one of the best learning experiences
I have ever had,” said Cameron Erickson, TWU nursing
senior. “It felt like the instructors were bursting
at the seams to provide you with their knowledge and experience.
I was totally blown away by how helpful and how meticulous
they were.”
The
TWU perioperative elective also included focused classroom
lectures, lab and surgery observations and perioperative clinical
experiences at The Methodist and LBJ hospitals.
“OR
nursing is such a niche area and a special expertise is necessary,”
Dr. Tart said. “I am encouraged by the large number
of students who signed up for this elective and have expressed
a desire to learn more about caring for patients in the perioperative
setting.”
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Media
Contact:
Amanda Simpson
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: asimpson1@twu.edu |
