Developing Simulation Scenarios for Perioperative Nursing Core Competencies and Patient Safety

The perioperative environment is highly complex and technologically dense, makes use of interdisciplinary teams, and relies on human factors. These characteristics make the perioperative environment rich in opportunities to practice, test, investigate, and validate patient-care processes. Every process and procedure of this environment pose risks for patients and present chances of errors. For perioperative nurses preparing for this workplace, active learning exercises in a clinically realistic setting can improve psychomotor performance, critical-thinking decision making, clinician confidence, professional satisfaction, and interpersonal team skills. Simulation scenario training for the perioperative setting is a valuable educational tool for educating clinicians, for meeting regulatory expectations, and for promoting patient and staff safety.