Bendigo Health and the Victorian Perioperative Nurses Group (VPNG) recently hosted 33 Victorian nurses as they completed a two-day training course on perioperative nursing.
Nurses undertook theoretical and practical workshops designed to help participants understand the different roles within the operating theatre and the patient journey.
Senior Nurse Educator and Clinical and Redesign Manager of the Elective Surgery Reform, Catherine Barnes, said the training was aimed at nurses who have not previously been exposed to the operating theatre.
“The course gives them an insight into the different roles within the operating suite and the foundational skills and knowledge to be able to safely help with patient care,” she said.
“Perioperative nursing isn’t a speciality area you get exposed to in undergraduate training, so when we have people who are interested in learning more about it, we want to capture that enthusiasm and hopefully get them feeling passionate about it.
“These nurses will be the role models for the next course participants. If you can inspire someone to continue their professional development and spark someone’s interest, we can ensure patients are getting the care they need now and into the future,” she said.
Ms Barnes said some nurses had travelled from Castlemaine, Kerang and the alpine region to attend the training.
“The VPNG hold two sessions a year, one in Melbourne and one in regional Victoria. We wanted to help train nurses in the region, so that’s why we were really keen to bring this education to Bendigo,” she said.
Nurses from Bendigo Health also attended the training, including RN Erin Lehmann.
Erin, who works on the surgical ward, said she had never “stepped foot in a theatre” in her 17-year career.
“This course [was] a great introduction for me to learn what perioperative nursing is all about and the roles nurses have in this environment as a patient advocate,” she said.
“It’s great for my career development to be able to access this course [in Bendigo]. This is a complete career change for me in nursing so it’s great Bendigo Health are willing to support me.”
The perioperative nursing training has been delivered by the VPNG since 2017. This year’s course was conducted as a partnership between Bendigo Health, the VPNG, Medtronic, Ansell and Medline.