The demand for surgical services continues to increase, creating a strain in our healthcare system and causing increasing backlog hours for the operating room. Allowing nurse practitioners (NP) to function in an expanded role in the perioperative environment requires additional training beyond the generic NP program. With this additional training, the NP can function as a first assistant, providing delegated medical functions in the perioperative environment. An in-house NP registered nurse first assistant orientation program was developed based on the adult learning theory as a conceptual framework combined with the AORN perioperative standards as a foundation. The cost of using an NP or physician assistant in the perioperative environment versus a physician and the effectiveness of a structured orientation program were evaluated.
","abstract_html":"<p>The demand for surgical services continues to increase, creating a strain in our healthcare system and causing increasing backlog hours for the operating room. Allowing nurse practitioners (NP) to function in an expanded role in the perioperative environment requires additional training beyond the generic NP program. With this additional training, the NP can function as a first assistant, providing delegated medical functions in the perioperative environment. An in-house NP registered nurse first assistant orientation program was developed based on the adult learning theory as a conceptual framework combined with the AORN perioperative standards as a foundation. The cost of using an NP or physician assistant in the perioperative environment versus a physician and the effectiveness of a structured orientation program were evaluated.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lofton, Romoanetia"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)","degree_level":"Project","degree_discipline":"Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Marjorie Barter"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-12-15T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-12-15T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:00Z","subjects":["nurse practitioner","first assistant","orientation","advanced","physician assistant","Perioperative, Operating Room and Surgical Nursing"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/96","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Marjorie Barter"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lofton, Romoanetia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-07-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Project"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["nurse practitioner","first assistant","orientation","advanced","physician assistant","Perioperative, Operating Room and Surgical Nursing"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/dnp/96"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The demand for surgical services continues to increase, creating a strain in our healthcare system and causing increasing backlog hours for the operating room. Allowing nurse practitioners (NP) to function in an expanded role in the perioperative environment requires additional training beyond the generic NP program. With this additional training, the NP can function as a first assistant, providing delegated medical functions in the perioperative environment. An in-house NP registered nurse first assistant orientation program was developed based on the adult learning theory as a conceptual framework combined with the AORN perioperative standards as a foundation. The cost of using an NP or physician assistant in the perioperative environment versus a physician and the effectiveness of a structured orientation program were evaluated.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Development of a Nurse Practitioner First Assistant Orientation Program"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Marjorie Barter"],"dc:creator":["Lofton, Romoanetia"],"dc:date.available":["2017-07-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The demand for surgical services continues to increase, creating a strain in our healthcare system and causing increasing backlog hours for the operating room. Allowing nurse practitioners (NP) to function in an expanded role in the perioperative environment requires additional training beyond the generic NP program. With this additional training, the NP can function as a first assistant, providing delegated medical functions in the perioperative environment. An in-house NP registered nurse first assistant orientation program was developed based on the adult learning theory as a conceptual framework combined with the AORN perioperative standards as a foundation. The cost of using an NP or physician assistant in the perioperative environment versus a physician and the effectiveness of a structured orientation program were evaluated.
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