Current methods of nurse-surgeon training and education: Systematic review

Background: The role of nurse-surgeons has recently emerged to meet patient and health system surgical demands. However, methods of nurse-surgeon training and education requirements are unclear. Objective: To identify and describe the current methods of nurse-surgeon training and education worldwide. Design: Systematic review. Method: An electronic search was conducted using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Cochrane Library, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, Public Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, and Google Scholar databases. Key words included nurse-surgeon, training, education, and perioperative. Following screening for inclusion, a mixed methods critical appraisal tool was used to ascertain methodological rigour and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations framework to assess confidence in the evidence. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram and checklist for reporting systematic reviews were used. Results: A total of 18 studies was included in this review. Current methods of nurse-surgeon training were identified as surgical speciality specific (n = 18). Most training courses were at least one year in length (n = 4) with a theoretical component (n = 15). All studies included a practical requirement (n = 18), which was generally supervised by a physician (n = 16). A competency assessment was required by 15 programmes, with nine (9) using a formative assessment approach. The evidence available for this review is low in quality and certainty. Conclusions: Current methods of nurse-surgeon training have been identified to be specific to speciality areas. Overall, training has required nurse-surgeons to undergo andragogical education in theory, supervision in practice by a surgeon and assessment of competency. An implication for practice is a streamlined nursing pathway to surgical residency training which would improve global surgical health outcomes and retain young perioperative nurses.