Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop a competency-based orientation (CBO) protocol based on the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses Nursing Standards and CBO for perianesthesia nurses.
Design: Feasibility study with pre-post survey design.
Methods: A CBO protocol that included nursing care workflows for 11 common surgical cases was developed and used in orienting newly hired perianesthesia nurses. Newly hired nurses completed a pre-post self-assessment on their level of competency in caring for surgical patients.
Findings: Using Wilcoxon signed rank test, improved competency was found in all service areas except for pediatric care.
Conclusions: Nursing competency in the perianesthesia area is critical in fulfilling one's role as a nurse. A robust CBO protocol for the perianesthesia nurse is important when integrating an employee into the organization and preparing the nurse for success.
Keywords: competency; nursing competency; nursing orientation; perianesthesia nurse.
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