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Perioperative nurse skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Mund,

Angela Mund

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical perioperative nurse skills. We ranked the top skills for perioperative nurses based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 34.9% of perioperative nurse resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a perioperative nurse needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 perioperative nurse skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how perioperative nurses use patients:

Prepared patients for surgery/procedures by reviewing identification, consent, surgical procedure and starting IVs.
Assisted physicians and staff during surgery and provided education to patients of post-surgical complication.

2. BLS

Here's how perioperative nurses use bls:

Maintain appropriate certifications vital to job performance (BLS, ACLS, Malignant Hyperthermia response team).
Obtained BLS and ACLS certifications among others such as telemetry certification and gained experience with multiple computer documenting/charting systems.

3. PACU

Here's how perioperative nurses use pacu:

Core responsibilities: Post-operative recovery in main hospital PACU.
Provided PACU care, monitoring airway, vitals and pain levels.

4. Acute Care

The branch of secondary healthcare which is responsible for giving short-term care to patients recovering from severe injuries or urgent medical problems is known as acute care. Acute care comprises multiple domains like; emergency care, urgent care, short-term stabilization, pre-hospital care, critical care, and trauma care.

Here's how perioperative nurses use acute care:

Received many compliments from hospital nursing managers on ability to adapt almost immediately to any acute care unit that was scheduled.
Implemented nursing care for psychiatric patients admitted to acute care crisis stabilization units within the hospital (child/adults/detox/geriatric units).

5. Acls

Here's how perioperative nurses use acls:

Required ACLS certification and good customer-service and post-surgical assessment skills.
Certified BCLS, ACLS and PALS.

6. Plastic Surgery

Here's how perioperative nurses use plastic surgery:

Scrubbed for all specialties: Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery, Urology, Gynecology, Vascular and Otolaryngology.
Involved with patient care during various surgical procedures in the specialties of Urology, General Surgery, Gynecology and Plastic Surgery.

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7. Care Plan

Here's how perioperative nurses use care plan:

Assessed the patient's condition before, during, and after the surgical operation, and planned the intraoperative care plan.
Planned accurate nursing care plan in a pre-operative unit.

8. Quality Patient Care

Here's how perioperative nurses use quality patient care:

Provide quality patient care in the OR as a circulating nurse.
Handled MultiSpeciality Ambulatory Surgery as Pre OP/PACU/Post RN and delivered high quality patient care through strong knowledge base.

9. Surgical Procedures

Surgical procedures include the list of tasks that are done while doing surgery. Usually, a surgical procedure involves an incision with instruments, performed to repair damage or heal the disease in a living body. Surgical procedures are performed by trained individuals such as surgeons, doctors, and nurses.

Here's how perioperative nurses use surgical procedures:

Circulated in general surgical procedures advised and counsels the patient and families regarding medical problems, surgical clearance and precautions.
Circulated and scrubbed during various minimally invasive spinal surgical procedures for pain management.

10. Urology

Here's how perioperative nurses use urology:

Specialized skills in GYN/Oncology, general surgery, plastics, ENT, orthopedics, urology, and ophthalmology.
Experienced and skilled in the Urology, Gynecological, General, Ear/Nose/Throat specialties.

11. IV

Here's how perioperative nurses use iv:

Administered medications and monitored IV's.
Titrate drips, IV sedation, monitored A lines, CVP lines, maintain drains, wound vacuum and wound care.

12. GYN

GYN is a commonly used abbreviation that stands for gynecology or a gynecologist. The word "gynecology" has emerged from the Greek word "gynaikos" which means women and "logy means "study" making it a study of women. A doctor who specialized in handling pregnancy, childbirth, and treating female reproductive system diseases is called a gynecologist. They diagnose and treat issues of the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and breasts.

Here's how perioperative nurses use gyn:

General, GYN, Orthopedic, Vascular, Neuro/Spine
Staff nurse, charge nurse, Pre-op/PACU Nurse, GYN service nurse

13. Pre-op

Here's how perioperative nurses use pre-op:

Maintain patient charts, pre-op and post-op patient phone calls Any other appropriate duties.
Cross-trained and work in pre-op, operating room and post anesthesia unit.

14. Infection Control

Infection control describes the principles and practices used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to control and minimize the spread of infections with the aim of lowering rates of infection. Infection control refers to the process of detecting and controlling pathogens in order to reduce their spread.

Here's how perioperative nurses use infection control:

Assist in the development of Surgical Services Infection Control Surveillance Plan in collaboration with facility infection control nurse.
Graph and report quarterly trend data during Infection Control Committee meetings.

15. Ortho

Ortho is a medical prefix that refers to straightening something. This is seen in medical professions such as an orthodontist, who straightens teeth, or an orthopedic physician or surgeon, who assists in straightening a skeletal structure to prevent future deformities or harmful issues to develop.

Here's how perioperative nurses use ortho:

General surgery, ortho,GU,GI and ENT and dentals.
Scrub and Circulated for ENT, Plastic, Ortho, and Podiatry, and Urology cases.

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What skills help Perioperative Nurses find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What type of skills will young perioperative nurses need?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To meet the needs of our current volatile and complex healthcare landscape, all healthcare providers will need to understand the business of healthcare, in addition to providing expert patient care. Starting in 2025, all graduates from nurse anesthesia programs will be awarded a doctoral degree, a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), or a doctorate in nurse anesthesia practice (DNAP). These degree programs include additional anesthesia experience as well as an understanding of effective leadership, healthcare economics and reimbursement, the use of big data for improving patient outcomes, and evidence-based practice.

What skills stand out on perioperative nurse resumes?

Angela Mund

Vice President, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

To become a CRNA, the applicant must first be a registered nurse and graduate of a baccalaureate nursing program. A minimum of one year of clinical experience in an intensive care unit (ICU) is required. The application process is rigorous, and many nurse anesthesia programs are seeing higher than typical applicant numbers, perhaps due to the impact of COVID-19 on the ICU nurse workforce.

The most competitive applicants will have an overall GPA >3.5. Basic science courses are heavily weighted with respect to both course grade and type of course. A competitive resumé should include evidence of clinical expertise, leadership, volunteerism, and scholarly work. In addition, all registered nurse applicants should have shadowed a CRNA to learn about the profession prior to application. The interview process may include assessments of critical thinking, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.

What soft skills should all perioperative nurses possess?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

The most important skill for new nursing graduates is critical thinking. You will be put into varying roles and assume different responsibilities. You must critically think and evaluate situations you find yourself in and make wise nursing decisions. Another important skill that we emphasize in education is communication - this is key to safe, quality care.

What hard/technical skills are most important for perioperative nurses?

Diane Salvador Ph.D.

Executive Director and Professor, Elmhurst University

New nurses should be prepared to demonstrate proficiency in basic nursing care and procedures. It is important to realize that each hospital has its own policy and procedure to follow, so taking advantage of your nurse preceptor and orientation program will ensure you are familiar with these basic procedures.

What perioperative nurse skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Michelle Hampton Ph.D.

Associate Professor, San Jose State University

I think there are always opportunities to work and gain experience once the nurse is licensed. They might need to be creative, flexible, and work where there's a need. That might be a specialty area they hadn't considered or a geographic area that requires some travel. I don't think a gap year is inevitable for all new graduates and there might be opportunities for them to find work, and they can always continue the learning process after you're employed, even if it's not your dream job. The more significant obstacle seems to be for students who are currently still in nursing programs.

Clinical sites weren't accepting students for several months, and now that they are again, they have significantly limited the number of students allowed at one time and the number of hours they can train. When a staff member or patient tests positive, students are pulled from the site for some time, and students are struggling to get the minimum number of hours required to continue progressing in the nursing program. Some schools have even suspended admission for new groups of students instead choosing to focus on getting the current students through the program.

Do you want to know more?

List of perioperative nurse skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a perioperative nurse resume and required skills for a perioperative nurse to have include:

Patients
BLS
PACU
Acute Care
Acls
Plastic Surgery
Care Plan
Quality Patient Care
Surgical Procedures
Urology
IV
GYN
Pre-op
Infection Control
Ortho
Endoscopy
Direct Patient Care

General Surgery
Surgical Services
CNOR
Education Programs
Robotic Surgery
Vital Signs
AORN
Nursing Documentation
Surgical Equipment
Sponges
Patient Assessment
GI
Recovery Room
Patient Satisfaction
Pain Management
Epidural
Patient Education

Pre-operative
ICU
Surgical Specialties
Surgical Site
Surgical Cases
Medical History
EKG
Intubation
Medication Administration
Epic
Post-Operative Care
Catheter
Patient Advocacy
Conscious Sedation
EMR
Patient Care

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Perioperative Nurse Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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