Fleming College

This 1-semester graduate certificate offers Registered Nurses the skills to become a part of the surgical team, working with surgeons and anesthesiologists in an operating room setting. The program was developed to allow students to continue working while studying:

• In the first 14 weeks students learn theory through online material
• Two weekly online synchronous evening lectures, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, are recorded for those who are unable to join
• Three intensive weekend (Sat-Sun) labs, one each month during the semester, will take place in the Perioperative Nursing lab at the Sutherland Campus in Peterborough to develop and practice hands-on skills
• The design of the Perioperative Nursing lab at Fleming is specific to the fundamental knowledge required as a scrub nurse or circulating nurse
• The 14-week theory and labs are followed by a 160 hour preceptorship in an operating room, arranged by Fleming based on your top three choices of where you would like to practice.

Registered Nurses (RN) will advance their nursing skill in the operating room to be a member of the sterile team, in the role of scrub nurse, assisting the sterile team (Surgeon and Surgical Assistant) during the interoperative phase of the surgical experience. This will include preparing surgical instrumentations specific to surgical cases, assisting with instrumentation and the handing of surgical equipment to the sterile surgical team, ensuring sterility throughout the surgical case, prepping and draping the surgical patient while under anesthetics, and monitoring hemodynamics for patients during surgical procedures.

Through this program and with clinical placements in a working operating room, RPN nurses will become proficient in the understanding of surgical consciousness, develop an understanding of anatomy specific to surgery, learn surgical instrumentation and their specific uses in surgery, learn proper passing of instrumentation in the sterile field, develop understanding of the needs of the anesthetized patient, and learning the importance of surgical counts and medications used for the perioperative patient.

• Flexible, hybrid delivery to allow nurses to study while working
• Extensive lab practice in a dedicated perioperative lab
• Practical experience with increasing responsibility during the 160-hour placement
• Placement locations that take into consideration students’ preferences
• The certificate is designed in accordance with the Standards of Practice of the College of Nurses of Ontario, and in alignment with the guidelines and Standards of Practice of the Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada (ORNAC)

As part of the program, students will receive 160 hours of surgical time during their clinical placement, one on one with a Registered Nurse in the Operating Room. Placements are arranged by Fleming based on a student’s top choices of operating room or location. During the placement students will experience increasing responsibility to help integrate theory and clinical practice and explore the roles and responsibilities of a Registered Perioperative Nurse.

This specialization can open more employment opportunities and bring new challenges. As a Perioperative Nurse, you will gain specialized training in the pre, post, and intra-operative phase of the surgical process. You will be working under pressure in a rewarding and fast paced environment that requires good time management and critical thinking. Perioperative Nurses are needed in operating rooms, private surgical suites, endoscopy suites, cataract suites as well as private surgical facilities across North America. They typically work an 8-hour shift that may have an on-call rotation component.

Semester 1

• Immunization Form (signed by health care provider)
• Vulnerable Sector Check (within 1 year)
• Basic Life Support / CPR BLS (renewed annually as required)
• Mask Fit Test (renewed every 2 years as required)
• TB Annual Test (as required when two step is older than 1 year)
• Flu Shot (fall and winter terms)
• COVID Vaccinations (2 dose minimum)
• WSIB Student Letter (signed)

Placement

• Students will receive early access to a Placement Request Form; please note that late submissions will not be accommodated
• Synergy/NARs Compliance are required prior to placement
• Due to backlogs and high demand locations, students may need to wait more than one semester to be approved and begin their placement
• Students are responsible for costs incurred to meet placement prerequisites and requirements; these costs include, but are not limited to, travel expenses and parking fees
• Perioperative placements are predominantly Full-Time; this may require students to take a leave of absence from their current employment to complete the placement requirements.

• Practice in a legal, ethical, and professional manner by implementing recognized perioperative standards.
• Create a therapeutic environment for surgical clients and their families in order to support client care.
• Communicate effectively with interprofessional team members, ancillary personnel and satellite departments to ensure seamless, safe, patient care.
• Participate effectively as a team member to support surgical clients' optimal surgical outcomes.
• Integrate theory, principles and evidence-informed practice into competent perioperative nursing care.
• Complete comprehensive nursing assessments that allow for prioritization, implementation and evaluation of perioperative nursing interventions.
• Use technology to support and document surgical clients' perioperative experience and outcomes.
• Reinforce preoperative and postoperative teaching-learning as appropriate to promote surgical clients' health and wellness.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

Students applying to Registered Nurse - Perioperative Nursing must meet the following requirements:

• BScN Degree, Registered Nurse (RN) in good standing with the College of Nurses of Ontario.
• Students with a RN Temporary License to practice will also be considered.