Registered Nurse – Operating Room Perioperative Nursing Program (Postgraduate) (S414)

Program Description

Leadership Claims

Logo for the Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada (ORNAC)

Preparing Registered Nurses to work in the operating room for over 40 years.

George Brown offers the only full-time 14-week Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada (ORNAC) approved course in Ontario.

Program Overview

George Brown College's Registered Nurse – Operating Room Perioperative Nursing (S414) prepares the Registered Nurse with the theoretical and technical skills required to work as an operating room nurse. This program includes a theory and clinical practice component. 

Full Description

George Brown College's Registered Nurse – Operating Room Perioperative Nursing (S414) is an ORNAC-approved (2021) accredited postgraduate program that utilizes current perioperative nursing research and strictly adheres to the ORNAC Standards of Practice.

This program prepares the Registered Nurse to practise at a beginner level in the perioperative setting. Students will learn operating room principles and practice considerations for all surgical specialties. 

This includes:

  • the study of relevant anatomy
  • surgical modalities
  • surgical instrumentation
  • the nursing process of caring for perioperative patients
  • simulated lab practice to consolidate the development of the scrub and circulating nurse roles

Each student will complete a clinical practicum in an operating room with an emphasis on both roles in various surgical specialties. 

Course Delivery 

This course will be delivered through multimodal learning and will include: 

  • synchronous and asynchronous in class and online theory 
  • lab skills and simulations 
  • a clinical practical experience 

The program is organized in two phases. 

Phase I: Nursing 4045: Nursing Theory and Lab Skills

During the first five weeks of this program, students will learn: 

  • current ORNAC standards, principles and applications 
  • surgical anatomy and instrumentation 
  • intensive study of surgical interventions and surgical technologies 
  • role of the scrub nurse 
  • role of the circulating nurse 
  • clinical lab skills delivered at George Brown's Operating Room in our accredited Simulation Centre  

Phase II: Nursing 4046: Clinical Practicum  

During the second phase of this program, students will consolidate operating room theory and principles at a designated hospital facility during an eight-week (320-hour) clinical placement. 

This includes: 

  • development of the scrub nurse role 
  • development of the circulating nurse role 
  • exposure to various surgical specialties (i.e. General Surgery, Urology, Gynecology, Plastic Surgery, ENT and Orthopedic Surgery) 
  • safe and professional practice 

While in the clinical setting, students will participate in online discussions through live video conferences and complete clinical assignments as per the course syllabus. 

Clinical experiences are co-ordinated by the program co-ordinator at hospitals in and outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), or at the hospital where the student currently works. Sponsored (hired) students will complete their clinical placements at the hospital where they are employed. 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Public Health continues to recommend that people working with vulnerable communities be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Clinical agency partners continue to require students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to be approved to complete clinical placements within their facilities. Agencies have the right to decline the placement of students who are not fully vaccinated, and students who are not vaccinated are at risk of not being able to complete their clinical placement course requirements. 

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Educational Pathways

Students who complete George Brown's  Registered Nurse – Operating Room Perioperative Nursing postgraduate certificate program are eligible to submit the Course Curriculum Outline from the year the program was taken. Students may apply for a transfer credit toward the Post-Diploma B.Sc.N. program at Toronto Metropolitan University.

For further information, see the Transfer Guide.

"The Registered Nurse – Operating Room Perioperative Nursing program provided me with the theory and skills in order to provide safe and effective patient care in a surgical setting. By practicing each new skill in the Simulation Centre, I was able to add on to my skill set and feel confident entering my 8-week clinical placement. We were given the knowledge and hands-on skills required in order to work alongside surgeons, anesthesiologists, RNFAs and other healthcare professionals in a fast-paced environment."

Mathumesa Muhunthan
Ontario College Graduate Certificate

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