The Perioperative Nursing course will provide Registered Nurses with 
basic knowledge and clinical skills necessary to function 
independently in an entry level Perioperative Nursing position.  
Course content includes principles of aseptic technique, patient 
safety, universal protocol, and the nursing process in the 
perioperative setting.  The course will also address ethical, moral, 
and legal issues as well as specific considerations for various 
types of procedures and specialty services in the circulating role.

• Rothrock, J.C.. Alexander's care of the patient in surgery, 14th ed., Mosby, 2011. ISBN: 9780323069168
• AORN. Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices: for Inpatient and Ambulatory Settings, 2012 ed., AORN, 2012. ISBN: MAN012

MAJOR LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Professional Behaviors: identify attributes and values necessary 
for the role of the registered nurse in the perioperative setting.
2. Communication: differentiate among effective, non-effective, 
therapeutic, and non-therapeutic communcations with surgical 
patients 
and between members of the perioperative team.
3. Clinical decision making: relate the nursing process to clinical 
decision-making to promote the physiologicial and psychological 
integrity of the surgical patient.
4. Caring Interventions: maintain a safe environment for the patient 
undergoing surgery.
5. Teaching and learning: develop a teaching plan for a surgical 
patient.
6. Collaborating: Establish a collaborative relationship with the 
surgical patient to assure patient input into decision-making.
7. Managing care: effectively manage nursing care through planning 
and organizing nursing care to support the surgical patient's needs.

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Describe roles of the multidisciplinary surgical team in the 
perioperative, intraoperative, and postoperative areas and the 
specific role of the Registered Nurse.
2. Demonstrate basic skills of scrubbing and circulating, and the 
ability to conceptualize and control an aseptic environment.
3. Identify the needs of perioperative patients using the nursing 
process.
4. Identify common phamacological interventions used in the 
perioperative setting and demonstrate safe administration.
5. Perform perioperative care congruent with patient safety and 
comfort according to established standards of practice.
6. Describe pathological and physiological conditions requiring 
surgical intervention.
7. Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of nursing practice and 
the 
quality of patient care during surgical intervention.
8. Identify the ethical, moral, and legal responsibilities of the 
surgical team.
9. Demonstrate appropriate prioritization of nursing activities 
relevant to the perioperative setting.
10. Identify opportunities for professional growth as a 
perioperative 
nurse.
              

See expanded syllabus developed by the instructor for each section 
being taught.
              

Evaluation of student progress towards achieving the stated learning 
outcomes and performance objectives is the responsibility of the 
instructor, within the policies of the college and the department.  
Detailed explanations are included in the expanded Syllabus 
developed 
by the instructor for each section being taught.