Tri-County Offers New Perioperative Nursing Certification for R.N.'s

CONTACT: JANELLE HICKS, EXT. 2115

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10/3/2001
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- In response to an expressed need from area hospitals, Tri-County Technical College's Continuing Education Division is offering a new program for registered nurses who have no previous experience in the operating room or who desire formal study for this specialized area of nursing.

This new 82-hour class, called Perioperative Nursing Certification, trains R.N.'s to take care of the patient through all phases of surgery, said instructor Gloria Garner, nurse supervisor for neuro and orthopaedic surgery at Greenville Memorial Hospital. "It's an excellent investment. It's hard to find nurses to work in the OR," said Garner.

"Nursing schools no longer offer perioperative in the curriculum," said Garner, "so that's why this course is so important. We (at Greenville Memorial) have a nurse educator in the OR and R.N's are trained on the job with the help of preceptors who are trained OR nurses. This class gives them an edge," said Garner who is certified by the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN). She also taught and developed the class for Tri-County.

Tri-County sent Garner to AORN specialist training as the instructor for this course. The 26-topic curriculum includes safety in the OR, how to circulate and to scrub, technical equipment, cameras, monitors and OR equipment in general. "A floor nurse doesn't know how to do OR nursing without training," added Garner.

Tri-County's Health Care Director Janelle Hicks attributes the program's success to collaboration with area hospitals. "A major purpose of our continuing education health care department is to assist in the training needs of the health care facilities in our area. This program was a perfect example of Tri-County being able to do just that," said Hicks. She also commented on the talent, enthusiasm and experience of Garner, who holds associate and bachelor's degrees in nursing. Garner has been employed by the Greenville Hospital System for 22 years, is an OR nurse and is a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

"The hospitals have been extremely supportive," said Hicks. "They have been more than willing to sponsor R.N.'s in the course." Recently the Continuing Education Division's first Perioperative Nursing graduates received certificates at a ceremony.

"The students were excellent and a real pleasure to teach," said Garner. "They were very interested in learning."

Tri-County's Perioperative Nursing Certification program is accredited by the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, the gold standard of training R.N.'s for this specialized area of nursing.

To participate in the next class or to take advantage of independent study in perioperative topics while earning AORN continuing education credits, contact Janelle Hicks, Ext. 2115, at (864) 646-8361. Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled should call TDD/VOICE 1-800-735-2905.
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