Perioperative Nursing Program Director
Geisinger
Danville, PA
Job Summary
Are you passionate about shaping the next generation of perioperative professionals? Geisinger is seeking an experienced Perioperative Nursing Program Director to lead and administer our system‑wide AORN Perioperative 101 program. This role oversees all didactic and clinical components, supports the development of nurses and other professionals entering perioperative practice, and advances evidence‑based education across the health system. The Director serves as an educator, leader, consultant, and researcher, collaborating with perioperative teams to strengthen clinical practice, ensure competency, and enhance the delivery of safe, high‑quality patient care.
Job Duties
Oversees and facilitates Specialty Nurse Fellowship Program following established standards and expectations. Focus on continuing professional development and education for nurses new to specialty area. Various responsibilities focus on developing educational programs and processes to promote professional development for nurses through the organization.
- Plans, coordinates, and implement the didactic and clinical elements of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses Perioperative 101 program.
- Provide clinical and staff development expertise as an educator, leader consultant, facilitator, change agent and researcher to support system wide perioperative services in the provision of quality patient care by helping to ensure competence of all students and foster the delivery of evidence-based practice.
- Plans, coordinates, and implements the didactic and clinical elements of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses perioperative 101 program.
- Will function as the Perioperative 101 program administrator and is responsible for providing a solid foundation for registered nurses new to the OR, other nursing disciplines that carry perioperative practice principles in their respective units and other non-nursing disciplines to enable the provision of safe patient care.
- Work collaboratively with perioperative services educators to continue programmatic orientation and experiential learning throughout the entirety of the program.
- Incorporates perioperative nursing (& non-nursing) research into the health system by acting as co-principal investigator, research advocate and or collaborator with health system nursing research department.
- Encourages growth in perioperative research across the health system and acts as a source of support for that endeavor.
- Functions as liaison to the System Perioperative Practice Council to provide insight and leadership in the development, implementation and evaluation system perioperative policies, procedures, strategies and best practices.
- Prepares, develops and submits programmatic budget to the System VP of Perioperative Nursing Practice for final approval.
- Instrumental in creating a perioperative professional nursing climate within the health system to meet the needs of diverse units.
- Develops, implements, and coordinates continuous quality and performance improvement to enhance educational practice and administrative process.
- Conducts programmatic, systematic and ongoing learning needs assessments of Perioperative 101 cohorts using a variety of techniques and sources.
Work is typically performed in a clinical environment. Accountable for satisfying all job specific obligations and complying with all organization policies and procedures. The specific statements in this profile are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements considered necessary to successfully perform the job. Additional competencies and skills outlined in any department-specific orientation will be considered essential to the performance of the job related to that position.
Position Details
Preferred Qualifications:
- Operating room experience, including two years of perioperative clinical nursing experience, specifically in an operating room and three years of either perioperative education or nursing leadership experience within a large health care institution.
- Must have “expert” knowledge of perioperative clinical practice guidelines, to include AORN
Position Details:
- This is a system‑wide position and will require travel to Geisinger facilities to support programs and initiatives.
- To foster strong collaboration and hands‑on learning, this role is an on‑site position.
Education
Master's Degree-Nursing (Required), Doctoral Degree-Nursing (Preferred)
About Geisinger
OUR PURPOSE & VALUES: Everything we do is about caring for our patients, our members, our students, our Geisinger family and our communities. KINDNESS: We strive to treat everyone as we would hope to be treated ourselves. EXCELLENCE: We treasure colleagues who humbly strive for excellence. LEARNING: We share our knowledge with the best and brightest to better prepare the caregivers for tomorrow. INNOVATION: We constantly seek new and better ways to care for our patients, our members, our community, and the nation. SAFETY: We provide a safe environment for our patients and members and the Geisinger family We offer healthcare benefits for full time and part time positions from day one, including vision, dental and domestic partners. Perhaps just as important, from senior management on down, we encourage an atmosphere of collaboration, cooperation and collegiality. We know that a diverse workforce with unique experiences and backgrounds makes our team stronger. Our patients, members and community come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and it takes a diverse workforce to make better health easier for all. We are proud to be an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran.