87 - Leading the Way: Perioperative Charge Nurse Workshop

Description: Description of team: Perioperative Educators across a health network identified common challenges novice perioperative charge nurses face in their transition to practice.

Preparation and planning: Perioperative nurses are increasingly expected to take on responsibilities traditionally held by charge nurses. The orientation process for the perioperative environment is intricate and time-consuming. Previously, an eight-hour workshop for charge nurses was mandatory, but much of the content was irrelevant. The training program has since been refined to better address the specific needs of the perioperative environment.

The team of perioperative educators collaborated with charge nurses to design a revised training program specifically for perioperative nurses. The new program includes a focused four-hour didactic session to minimize time away from the unit, followed by four hours of hands-on experience with experienced charge nurses. The didactic session covers essential topics such as communication, conflict resolution, prioritization, legal considerations, budgeting, and self-care.

Assessment: Charge nurses without formal training may struggle with leadership principles, conflict resolution, and advanced problem-solving. This can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, decreased confidence, and a higher risk of errors. They might also face challenges with delegation and interpreting policies, negatively affecting team morale. Often, they rely on clinical experience and mentorship while adhering to protocols, but this can distract them from effectively addressing critical situational demands.

Implementation: Perioperative Charge Nurses identified that the existing Nursing Charge Nurse Workshop did not address their specific needs. In response, the perioperative team developed a new workshop for novice charge nurses in the operating room.

The updated curriculum retains key modules from the original workshop, including communication strategies, budget management, conflict resolution, and self-care. It also adds new content on scheduling issues and emergency management specific to the perioperative setting, featuring case studies that address real-world challenges related to staff management and interpersonal conflicts.

The workshop takes place every three months at different hospitals in the network, and there is a virtual meeting option to include as many nurses as possible.

Outcome: A survey conducted following the course indicated that participants experienced increased confidence regarding the Charge Nurse role; participants reported a significant enhancement in their confidence levels as perioperative charge nurses.

Implications for perioperative nursing: Perioperative nurses are increasingly expected to function as charge nurses, a role vital for ensuring patient safety through protocol adherence, risk mitigation, and effective interprofessional communication. Nurse educators face challenges in preparing novice perioperative charge nurses due to experience gaps. Adapting the existing charge nurse training to include perioperative-specific content has been shown to increase confidence, improve patient safety outcomes, and potentially enhance retention. This initiative highlights the development and implementation of a specialized perioperative charge nurse workshop.