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Undergraduate Perioperative Nursing Certificate (PNC)

Beginning Summer 2022, the UNMC College of Nursing offers an undergraduate Perioperative Nursing Certificate program to prepare nurses to work in the perioperative environment and assist graduates to transition to the institutional OR setting with greater ease and efficiency. This 14-credit certificate program is designed to prepare registered nurses (RN) to function at a staff nurse level in perioperative nursing. Perioperative nursing is the term given to care delivered during the perioperative continuum, which includes pre-operative care, the actual time in the operating room, and time patients spend in post-anesthesia (recovery room). This certificate will encompass all three areas of care delivery but will focus primarily on care delivered in the operating room. 

A student in the program must already be a nurse, but there is no restriction of which type of pre-licensure program completed by the applicantsStudents may be admitted as new graduates, or RNs with an unencumbered license in Nebraska, and a minimum graduation GPA of 2.0 from their pre-licensure program. Those who enter as new graduates must have completed their pre-licensure program before the program beginsIn order to be licensed as an RN in Nebraska, the graduate must successfully pass the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX). The new graduate may take the program, but transcripts and certificates of completion will not be released until NCLEX certification is complete and the individual is licensed as an RN. Enrollment for the program will begin with the summer 2022 term.

PNC Competencies

1. Utilize the concepts of safety, asepsis, advocacy, teamwork, communication and patient centered care to improve outcomes in the perioperative setting. 

2. Correlate critical thinking and systematic inquiry with patient care practices throughout the perioperative continuum. 

 3.  Demonstrate the clinical competency criteria in the key roles of the perioperative nurse: scrub, circulator and manager of care. 

 4. Manage patient care activity throughout the perioperative continuum that is based on respect for the patient’s preference, values and needs. 

 5.  Collaborate with the interprofessional team to inform decision-making regarding the care of patients, families and groups. 

 6. Integrate leadership in the provision, coordination and evaluation of safe, quality care in a variety of settings. 

 7. Analyze the impact of information technology when planning and caring for patients and families. 

 Curriculum

The PNC is taught in the 15-week summer term. It requires lecture attendance and a combined 225 hours of lab, simulation, and supervised clinical experiences. Lectures will be held via Zoom, clinicals completed at the nurse's chosen hospital, and lecture/labs scheduled at the OR Simulation Center in the Davis Global Center on the UNMC Omaha campus. Please check with Student Services for mandatory lecture and lab dates.

NRSG 460PRINCIPLES OF PERIOPERATIVE PATIENT CENTERED CARE3
NRSG 461CONCEPT: INFECTION CONTROL AND ASEPSIS2
NRSG 462CONCEPT: SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT2
NRSG 463THE SCRUB ROLE OF THE PERIOPERATIVE NURSE4
NRSG 464THE CIRCULATING ROLE OF THE PERIOPERATIVE NURSE2
NRSG 465THE MANAGEMENT ROLE OF THE PERIOPERATIVE NURSE1
Total Credit Hours14