Blanchfield Army Community Hospital
Fort Campbell, KY – Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (CPD) recently earned the Certified Perioperative Nurse Strong designation by the Competency & Credentialing Institute.
“We are incredibly proud of our team. This recognition is awarded to facilities that have more than 50% of eligible certified perioperative nurses with the CNOR credential,” said perioperative nurse Maj. Kristine Lee, clinical nurse officer in charge of BACH’s operating rooms.
The Certified Perioperative Nurse credential is the only accredited certification for perioperative registered nurses. Perioperative nurses primarily serve in the operating room monitoring patients during surgery, but are also specialized to provide clinical care before and after surgery occurs.
“The certification makes you focus in different areas that you might not necessarily use on a daily basis,” said Julia Atzert, a perioperative nurse in the hospital’s operating room who earned the CNOR credential.
Atzert said that she never worked in a sterile processing department, where all the medical and surgical supplies and equipment are sterilized and prepared for use in the OR, but in studying sterile processing for her certification she has gained the knowledge to serve in that role if necessary.
“CNOR allows you to have a better understanding of a wide variety of procedures and have that higher skill set,” said Atzert.
The process to earn this credential requires a minimum of two years and 2,400 hours of perioperative nursing experience and includes a rigorous exam that assesses the nurse’s knowledge and skills in areas of intraoperative care, infection prevention and control, perioperative patient assessment and diagnosis, communication and documentation, emergency situations, plan of care and professional accountability. Certified perioperative nurses must recertify every five years in order to maintain their CNOR credential.
“Earning the CNOR is a mark of distinction and demonstrates a commitment to upholding the highest standards in patient safety,” explained Lee.
According to the CCI website, more than 40,000 nurses internationally hold the CNOR credential and consider the designation a personal and professional accomplishment.
The CCI website also states that research shows nurses who earn the CNOR credential have greater confidence in their clinical practice, having validated their specialized knowledge in perioperative nursing. Thus, a team of CNOR certified nurses who have mastered the standards of perioperative practice furthers a culture of professionalism and has been correlated to improved outcomes in surgical patients.
