Course Overview
In this 150-hour clinical course, learners will develop beginner competency in the circulating nurse role. Students will implement theory from NSPO 7100, 7250/7251, and 7450/7451 in the practice setting. By engaging in nursing practices that progress from simple to more complex, learners will develop the skills needed to prepare patients for and support them during anesthesia and surgery. By course completion, learners will implement a framework for practice and develop skills to function independently as a novice circulating nurse. Participants will apply key concepts of safety, surgical conscience, and aseptic technique in the circulating role to promote a safe and supportive environment for patients and perioperative team members. Participants will gain further insight into the concept of caring as they work in partnership with patients and families during surgery and anesthesia. Learners will focus on utilizing comprehensive assessment techniques. Students will use effective communication, organization, and prioritization strategies to provide safe, patient-focused care. Additionally, participants will apply sound clinical decision-making processes during the pre-, intra-, and immediate postoperative phases of perioperative care. The course will emphasize the circulating nurse's collaborative role with patients, colleagues, instructors, and multidisciplinary team members. Students will create opportunities to humanize the perioperative environment for patients and team members using collaborative strategies. Leadership strategies at a novice level will be employed during clinical practice. In addition, learners may begin to integrate practices of the scrub and circulating nurse roles.
Prerequisite(s)
- S in NSPO 7350
Credits
6.0
- Not offered this term
- This course is not offered this term. Notify me to receive email notifications when the course opens for registration next term.
Learning Outcomes
As a healthcare practitioner, you are expected to follow professional standards of practice throughout all SN programs and courses. In this course, you will have opportunities to use the processes of critical thinking, systematic inquiry, communication, collaboration, leadership, professionalism, and clinical decision-making. Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Implement current ORNAC Guidelines for Perioperative Practice and relevant theory in the circulating role.
- Demonstrate the ability to organize and prioritize core entry-level activities in the circulating role for patients undergoing common, less complex surgery.
- Use a practice framework to gather information in an organized and systematic manner through patient assessment, conversational interview, and the preoperative checklist.
- Analyze various sources of information to identify potential and actual patient and procedure problems.
- Communicate assessment findings in a timely, comprehensive, and systematic manner to team members.
- Use appropriate and effective communication techniques with patients, families, and team members.
- Correctly complete perioperative documentation.
- Apply surgical conscience to patient care in the circulating role.
- Employ ethical, competent and safe actions with patients and families.
- Advocate for patients in the circulating role.
- Enact circulating nurse activities to protect self, patient, and team members from risks and hazards encountered in the perioperative environment.
- Recognize factors within the healthcare environment that contribute to inequitable healthcare experiences.
- Enact a plan for individualized patient-centered care in the circulating role using a clinical decision-making framework.
- Engage in independent and collaborative clinical decision-making activities related to patient assessment and admission, anesthesia induction and emergence, surgical intervention and the sterile environment.
- Begin to combine the circulating and scrub nurse roles at the novice level.
Effective as of Spring/Summer 2026
Related Programs
Perioperative Clinical 2: Implementing the Circulating Nurse Role (NSPO 7550) is offered as a part of the following programs:
- Indicates programs accepting international students.
School of Health Sciences
- Perioperative Nursing Specialty
Advanced Certificate Part-time
- Specialty Nursing (Perioperative)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Part-time
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