PATRICIA NARDONE, STREAMLINING THE PERIOPERATIVE TEAM
By Diane Solomon

Pat Nardone, Ph.D., R.N., recounts her path to becoming OHSU’s perioperative educator as though it were a dream. “It was an epiphany,” she says. “I sought a teaching hospital – one where the most creative impulses flourish – and a clinical role.”

Just as she decided to target OHSU, she received a call from Melody Montgomery, director of perioperative services. Montgomery invited her to apply as perioperative educator. From the first interview Nardone became so engaged in discussing how to teach staff what they need to know, improve communication, and contribute to quality and evidence-based practice, she felt she was already part of the team. “It was like coming home,” she says.

Since then, with vast experience in both managerial and staff positions, Nardone moved swiftly to high gear. She organized competencies and post-tests to ensure staff nurses, technicians and interns are prepared with excellence. She created videos and online digital education so staff at the point of service – from Casey Eye Institute to Doernbecher Children’s Hosptial to OHSU Hospital – access salient and potentially lifesaving information. With a click, they discover how to position a headrest for neurosurgery or prepare an operating theater for emergency aortic aneurysm repair.

Nardone doesn’t stop at education. She infuses a personal yoga and spiritual practice into her style, creating a compassionate environment where physicians and nursing staff collaborate. Where workshops on Transforming Nurses’ Anger and Pain, or Health, Wellness and Empowerment in Practice are commonplace ways to create camaraderie and unite staff, improving the work culture. She spreads her message by presenting posters, publishing articles, implementing mock codes, and more.

“I try to bring deep passion and commitment to my work,” she says softly. “And because of the sheer excellence at OHSU, it’s an honor to be here.”

Last updated January 19, 2005 by OHSU School of Nursing Web Managers.
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