Perioperative Nursing Training
Perioperative nurses, formerly known as operating room nurses, are registered nurses who assist in patient care before, during and immediately after surgery. They can be scrub nurses, who select and pass supplies during the procedure, or circulating nurses, who manage the overall care and patient's comfort in the operating room. The nationally recognized training for perioperative nurses is the CNOR certification, which demonstrates a level of expertise in the OR.
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Eligibility
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There are three main requirements to be certified as a CNOR, without exceptions. The nurse must be licensed without restrictions in the country in which she works in perioperative nursing. She must have performed a minimum of two years and 2,400 hours of perioperative nursing (graduate nurse experience is not acceptable), and she must be working in surgical nursing full-time or part-time at the time of her application for certification.
Occupations
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CNOR candidates can come from a variety of nursing fields, as long as they are directly involved in the OR. They can be staff nurses, surgical services managers, RN first assistants, perioperative nursing instructors, or consultants who provide in-service training to OR nurses. Some professions that are ineligible for CNOR certification are PACU or preoperative check-in/holding nurses (unless they also relieve nurses in the OR), ICU or coronary care unit nurses, nurse anesthetists, emergency room nurses, graduate nurses or nurses with inactive licenses.
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Test Prep
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The Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI), which administers the CNOR certification, offers training sessions around the country to help prepare for the certification exam. It also offers online practice tests and a bibliography list for candidates. For students who want more in-depth training, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) offers an online self-directed training course with a guarantee: If the student takes the exam within six months of completing the course and fails, he can receive a full refund or retake the course at no charge.
Fees
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The fee for the certification exam is $295 for AORN members and $375 for nonmembers. The student chooses the testing window from available options, and failure to show up for the test with proper identification and a valid RN license will result in forfeiture of the exam fee. There are no refunds if the student fails the exam.
Recertification
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The CNOR certification lasts for five years. To recertify, the nurse must have worked as a perioperative nurse for a minimum of 500 hours during that five years, and must have completed 125 hours of continuing education, at least 75 of which must be perioperative-specific. The cost for recertification is $210 for AORN members and $280 for nonmembers. Exam, certification and recertification fees can be deducted on taxes as business expenses but not as charitable donations.
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References
- Photo Credit laparoscopic surgery image by Grzegorz Kwolek from Fotolia.com
