Operating room nurse implementation of perioperative nursing standards: a survey study.

Registered nurses working in the operating rooms of northern Utah hospitals were surveyed to assess the level of understanding, degree of compliance, and extent of implementation of preoperative Nursing; standards in Utah. The results of this Utah survey were compared to a national study conducted in 1976 by the Association of Operating Room Nurse (AORN). In addition, the Utah nurses were asked to provide demographic data concerning basic and advanced education, age, years in operating room Nursing;, size of hospital were employed, major work area, primary area of practice, and membership in Nursing; organizations. Data were analyzed to determine relationships between the demographics and the understanding, implementation, and compliance levels of the standards of care by northern Utah operating room nurses. The data suggested that older, diploma-educated OR nurses with more than five years of experience were more likely to have a copy of he AORN/ANA standards which they reportedly had read and understood. Also, the nurses in this Utah study compared well with an earlier national survey on compliance with the standards although this sample disclosed varying degrees of difficulty in implementing those standards.