How do I become a perioperative nurse?

[dhickey5]

I am interested in getting into perioperative nursing. I am currently in nursing school, and will be starting my internship in a few months. If my school does not offer internships in the O.R. what else would be a good area to gain experience? Would critical care, E.R., or med-surg be a good option? I have also looked at the 'Periop 101' curriculum on the AORN website. Can nursing students take this course, and would it help me to get a job in the O.R. after graduation? Thanks :)

[Stacey30]

OR nursing isn't normally taught in nursing school because they want you to learn the basic skills necessary to become a nurse. Sometimes students get to follow their patient down to the OR if they happened to have a procedure scheduled during their clinical shift, but that's about all the exposure you will get. Med-surg would be valuable experience for any nurse since you'd get experience working with a wide variety of medical diagnoses while honing your nursing skills. Periop101 is a pretty expensive class to do on your own, I think it's around $1200. And I'm not sure if nursing students can sign up for it, I think you have to be licensed (may want to check AORN.org for clarification on that) Many hospitals offer it as part of orientation. I went through a 5-week OR fellowship/Periop101 class paid for by my employer. You could check and see if there are any OR fellowships being offered in your area. In any case, this was my first job out of nursing school so obviously you don't have to have prior experience to get a job in the OR. Good luck!