Expanding an Academic-Service Partnership to Develop a Summer Perioperative Nursing Practicum for Baccalaureate Students

Addressing the increasing shortage of perioperative nurses requires innovative educational strategies. A private university and a teaching hospital with an academic-service partnership collaborated to offer an educational perioperative nursing experience to baccalaureate nursing students to increase student interest in the perioperative nursing specialty. The university offered an elective summer practicum to baccalaureate nursing students between their junior and senior years. After completing the practicum, students had the opportunity to complete their senior-year clinical rotations in the OR. Continuous evaluation contributed to refining the design and implementation of the perioperative nursing practicum. The challenges of the program included cost, demands on staff members' time, and timing of the practicum relative to student and hospital needs. The practicum has been offered for three summers, and a total of six students have enrolled and participated in this program.