By James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CSSM(E), CNAMB(E)
This month I would like to highlight the accomplishments of a colleague – Dr. Shelly Mason. She recently completed a Ph.D. with a perioperative nursing focus. Mason’s academic achievement is noteworthy on a personal level but there are important implications also for perioperative nursing.
Our specialty has a relative shortage of researchers prepared at the doctoral level as compared to other nursing specialties. Even though our specialty is among the largest in American nursing, other groups such as critical care nurses have many more nurse researchers. We do have some distinguished perioperative nurse researchers in Imelda Wright and Christopher Stucky. They are well known to regular attendees at the AORN Global Surgical Conference & Expo.
We have experienced a recent surge in perioperative nurses attaining terminal degrees but there is a tendency for many perioperative nurses to go the DNP route versus a research-intensive Ph.D. Many of our current perioperative nurses who hold a Ph.D. have had long, accomplished careers. However, our research activity has declined and, frankly, there is a need for new blood. That is the connection to nurses like Mason. She is an accomplished perioperative nurse educator who returned to school for a Ph.D. at Nova Southeastern University. She completed a qualitative study which has implications for perioperative nursing practice. The study is titled “Perioperative Nurses’ Experience in a Period of Rapid Technological Change: A Phenomenological Study.” Qualitative studies, especially those using approaches such as phenomenology, can be a weighty affair but her study has some useful insights.
There have been some recent studies on the topic of technology and perioperative nursing to include the studies listed in the references section at the end of this column.1,2,3 Mason’s work takes a different perspective. Her work, which attracted participants mainly from the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), studies American perioperative nurses with an active perioperative nursing clinical practice. Specifically, Mason looked at the impact of technological change on these nurses. A phenomenological study uses lengthy in-depth interviews to arrive at the essence of the lived experience of perioperative nurses using a nationwide sample. This study gives us a richly detailed account of how the rapid uptake of technology impacts the practice of perioperative nursing.
There were a number of significant findings in the study, and some key points emerged. First, technology is ubiquitous in modern surgical care and perioperative nursing is integral to the use of that technology. Secondly, the rapid and unrelenting advance of technology in the operating room is quickly changing the nature of perioperative nursing practice. Mason has many years of experience facilitating the orientation of new perioperative nurses, and she realizes the impact of technological change in the education and training of novice nurses. These challenges are compounded by two factors: the absence of perioperative nursing content in pre-licensure programs and the lack of a uniform, reliable approach to delivering high-quality teaching and learning methodologies
I do realize that many perioperative professionals are challenged by time constraints to keep up with research findings. But the dissemination of research findings remains imperative to keep the specialty current. Mason recently presented her findings in a poster presentation at the OR Manager meeting and will make a podium presentation at the 2026 AORN Expo in New Orleans. She will present more detail on her work and attendees will have a chance to meet with her. If you are in New Orleans, consider attending this presentation. I believe it will be thought-provoking and informative. Congratulations Dr. Shelly Mason and welcome to the small group of perioperative nurses holding the Ph.D. degree.
James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CSSM(E), CNAMB(E), is the director of hospital and ASC relationships with National Institute of First Assisting (NIFA). He is also a member of the Central Michigan University faculty.
References
- Kaldheim, H. K. A., Munday, J., Haddeland, K., & Fossum, M. (2025). Newly Graduated Perioperative Nurses’ Experiences of Transitioning to Clinical Practice: A Qualitative Explorative Secondary Analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 81(6), 3252–3267. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16537
- Redondo-Sáenz, D., Cortés-Salas, C, & Parrales-Mora, M. (2023). Perioperative Nursing Role in Robotic Surgery: An . Integrative Review. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, Volume 38, Issue 4, 636 – 641
- Smith, J. & Palesy, D. (2018). Technology stress in perioperative nursing: An ongoing concern. Journal of Perioperative Nursing, 31(2), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.26550/2209-1092.1028
