Empower New Orientees: 3 Strategies for a Solid Start

Post-pandemic staffing losses hit hard at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The hospital saw more than 70 perioperative staff members leave, leading to the temporary closure of 10 operating rooms.

One positive outcome to this seemingly bleak scenario was the creation of a refined orientation program designed to develop competent nurses in both circulator and scrub roles.

Stacey Dusik, MN, RN, CNOR, led this initiative by first building a strong team of educators and leaders. Next, they made some big changes to their orientation program, including:

• Shifting from a nine-month to a more comprehensive 24-week orientation.
• Creating a two-week bootcamp with hands-on training for basics like learning to scrub.
• Requiring new mandatory education on patient transfer and positioning, surgical antisepsis, and prevention of surgical site infection.

“When we set our RNs up for success they want to stay, which has made a major improvement in our retention,” Dusik said. Today, the perioperative department at Henry Ford Hospital has more than 200 staff members and all 25 ORs up and running. Demand to join the team is the highest ever, with more than 20 nurses on a waitlist to work in their ORs.

To help other ORs struggling to recruit and retain competent nurses, Dusik and her team recently shared their keys to success at AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo. Her session, “Building a Strong and Successful Orientee,” is available through Virtual Pass through July 15.

Here are three keys Dusik suggested to create a successful orientation program that can improve OR nurse recruitment and retention:

1. Get Orientees Comfortable in the OR Before Periop 101

“Confidence comes with familiarity, but the OR can feel foreign to a new nurse,” Dusik said.  Dusik realized this when they started orienting nurses fresh out of school. So, they launched a two-week OR orientation before starting new hires in Periop 101. This gave them time to get comfortable with hospital-wide orientation while also building foundational knowledge in OR basics, such as:

• Preoperative patient interview
• Prepping the patient for surgery
• Documentation in EMR
• Common OR equipment such as ESU, OR table, lap tower, and basic instrumentation
• Safety practices such as counting and Time Out
• Scrubbing
• Specimen handling

2. Bring Surgeons into the Orientation Process

Surgeons from different specialties alternate giving monthly education during 1-hour sessions for orientees. “This helps orientees get to know surgeons outside of the OR and get a feel for what will be expected of them in specific surgeries,” Dusik said. It has also enhanced orientees’ understanding of the importance behind a surgeon's request for specific sutures, staplers, or other instruments.

3. Create a System for Orientation Communication and Feedback

A fresh look at their old orientation program helped Dusik and colleagues identify opportunities for more collaboration across the board. “We needed regular check-ins between leaders, educators, team leads, surgeons, preceptors and orientees,” she said. To address this, they established standardized check-ins:

• Daily meetings between orientees and preceptors to discuss feedback and address questions from the day.
• Weekly orientee review meetings where the orientee, manager, assistant manager, RN educators, and surgical tech lead coordinator assess the orientee’s progress towards meeting designated goals. They can also plan additional education sessions based on the orientee's needs and preferences.
• Weekly preceptor and team lead meetings to update the orientation team on orientee progress and address any concerns.
• Monthly meetings with top leadership to track the progress of new team members, helping in planning for their transition to independent practice.

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Gain On-Demand Access to 70 educational sessions from AORN Expo 2024 until July 15! Explore over 20 topics designed for leaders and 50 other on-demand sessions tailored to enhance your skills and tackle your daily challenges, all from the comfort of your own space. Sessions include We Don't Do That Here! Trauma Preparation in a Non-Trauma Operating Room, Patient First! Emphasizing the OR Nurse's Safety During Patient Handling, and Reduction of Surgical Site Infections: A Three-Pronged Interventional Approach. Additionally, delve into 100 CH, 4 keynotes, the virtual poster gallery, and more. Register Now for Virtual Pass.