Operating Room
At Benefis, we are always excited when new graduates join our department. New staff members bring new ideas and improved ways to provide excellent care. Our Operating Room team consists of 18 nurses and 30 surgical technologists. Typically we staff one nurse and two techs per room, though this can vary depending on a case's severity.
Advantages of working for Benefis Health System include:
- Organ procurement center: We work with LifeCenter Northwest for procurements.
- We have six specialty teams: Cardiac/vascular; podiatry/orthopedics; general; ear, nose, and throat/ plastics/dentistry; gynecology/robot; and neurology/spine.
- Professional Growth Program: This is a bonus program that allows our staff to be compensated for going above and beyond after completion of two years of work. The maximum bonus is $5,000 per year, dependent on hours worked.
- Perioperative 101 Class: This class helps prepare new nurses for working in the operating room.
- Preceptor pay increase: Offered to those who help educate new members joining our team.
- Orientation: We allow our nurses a six-month orientation with their assigned preceptor.
- Innovative: We have some of the best technology in the United States.
- Separate Sterile Processing Department.
- We send two nurses every year to the Association of Operating Room Nurses conference.
- Fun family events: We enjoy spending time with each other at events such as pool parties, bowling parties, and lots of potlucks.
Perioperative 101 Class
Benefis uses the “Periop 101: A Core Curriculum” from the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN). It is a comprehensive, online education program based on the latest, evidence-based "Guidelines for Perioperative Practice." Designed to be used in conjunction with a clinical preceptorship, the program helps prepare new nurses for the operating room.
The program consists of 26 modules dealing with topics such as sterility, prepping, positioning, and anesthesia, among others. We use interactive classroom discussion, skills labs, and observation in the OR to reinforce the lessons. The program lasts about six weeks. After completion, orientation continues with preceptors in the operating room, rotating through each of our six specialty teams. Our new staff is important to us - we want to meet regularly to hear how you are doing and what we can do to help you with your orientation. The entire orientation process is approximately seven months long.
