By Jaana Perttunen, EORNA President
Across healthcare settings, the evidence is clear: higher levels of nursing education are associated with better patient outcomes. In perioperative care, where risk is concentrated and margins for error are small, education is not a luxury — it is a safety intervention.
Patient safety is often discussed in terms of technology, protocols, and checklists. While all of these matter, decades of research point to a less visible but equally powerful factor: the education of the nursing workforce. Large‑scale studies consistently demonstrate associations between higher nursing education levels and reduced mortality, fewer complications, and improved quality of care.
In perioperative settings, the stakes are particularly high. Patients undergoing surgery are exposed to complex procedures, invasive devices, and rapidly changing clinical conditions. Perioperative nurses must anticipate risk, recognise deterioration early, and coordinate safe practice across multidisciplinary teams. These are not tasks that can be reliably performed through task‑based training alone.
Research published in peer‑reviewed journals has shown that hospitals with a higher proportion of graduate‑educated nurses experience lower rates of adverse events, including failure‑to‑rescue and postoperative complications. The World Health Organization has repeatedly highlighted education as a core component of nursing’s contribution to patient safety and health system resilience.
For perioperative nurses, education supports more than technical competence. It underpins clinical judgement, situational awareness, and the confidence to speak up when safety is threatened. In the operating room, where hierarchy can be pronounced and time pressures intense, these attributes are essential.
From an EORNA perspective, professional education is inseparable from patient safety. EORNA’s standards and guidelines assume a workforce capable of critical thinking, evidence appraisal, and ethical decision‑making. Undermining education standards risks undermining safety itself.
Call to action As health systems face workforce shortages and financial pressure, education must be protected, not diluted. Investing in perioperative nursing education is an investment in safer surgery.
References World Health Organization. State of the World’s Nursing. Aiken et al. Educational levels of hospital nurses and surgical patient mortality. The Lancet. AORN. Perioperative Nursing Education and Patient Safety.
