Perioperative Clinical Nurse Educator

Perioperative Educator @ St. Clair Hospital
Client: St. Clair Hospital
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Schedule: Full-Time, Days | Monday–Friday
Position Type: Salaried
Reports To: Nursing Professional Development / Clinical & Professional Development
Dotted-Line Relationship: Operating Room leadership and management team
 
POSITION OVERVIEW
This is a specialized Perioperative Educator position supporting the entire Operating Room department at St. Clair Hospital.
 
The educator will not report directly through OR operations. Instead, the position sits within Nursing Professional Development, while working very closely with OR leadership through a dotted-line relationship.
This person will serve as the primary education resource for perioperative staff and will be responsible for coordinating onboarding, ongoing education, competency development, and broader professional development initiatives within Surgical Services.
 
The educator will support education across the entire OR department, including:

• Registered Nurses
• Surgical/Scrub Technologists
• Other perioperative staff

 
The ideal candidate needs enough OR credibility and clinical experience to effectively navigate relationships with experienced OR leadership and staff.
 
WHY THE POSITION IS OPEN
The previous educator left primarily for location-related reasons.
The organization has had difficulty finding candidates because this is a particularly niche combination of:

• Operating Room experience
• Nursing education/professional development
• Master's-level education

 
OR leadership has currently stepped in to help cover some of the educational responsibilities while the search continues.
 
DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES
New Hire Onboarding
Coordinate the educational onboarding and orientation of new employees entering the Operating Room department.
This includes helping ensure new staff receive the clinical education, competency development, and support needed to successfully transition into the department.
Continuing Education
Develop and coordinate ongoing education for existing perioperative staff.
The educator will identify educational needs and collaborate with OR leadership and the Nursing Professional Development department to develop appropriate training.
Staff Development
Support professional and clinical development for:

• OR Registered Nurses
• Surgical/Scrub Technologists
• Other Surgical Services staff

The educator will function as an:

• Educator
• Clinical expert
• Consultant
• Role model
• Resource to staff
• Change agent/innovator

Competency & Program Development
Identify opportunities for improvement within perioperative patient care and develop educational programming to support quality and clinical outcomes.
The position requires demonstrated experience with:

• Program development
• Program implementation
• Staff education
• Competency development

Hospital-Wide Education
Although primarily focused on the OR, this person will also collaborate with the Nursing Professional Development team on broader hospital-wide education initiatives and campaigns when appropriate.
 
OPERATING ROOM ENVIRONMENT
St. Clair operates surgical services within the main hospital as well as an adjacent outpatient surgical area.
The hospital-based OR and outpatient surgical center are connected, and staff may work across both areas.
Surgical Specialties Include

• General OR
• Cardiovascular Surgery / CVOR
• Orthopedics
• Neurology/Neurosurgery – smaller service line
• Additional general surgical specialties

This is considered one overall OR department, although surgical services span both the main hospital and adjacent outpatient area.
 
Facility
St. Clair Hospital is a 333-bed community hospital located in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.
The organization is intentionally smaller than some of the major Pittsburgh healthcare systems, which is an important recruiting differentiator.
 
MUST-HAVE QUALIFICATIONS
Candidates should meet the following requirements:

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing – BSN
• Master's degree in Nursing or Nursing Education OR currently enrolled in a Master's program
• Minimum 3 years of Operating Room RN experience
• Current or ability to obtain Pennsylvania RN licensure
• BLS certification
• CPR Instructor certification
• Experience with program development and implementation
• Comfortable using Microsoft Office

 
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Preferred but not necessarily required:

• CNOR – Certified Nurse Operating Room
• CPAN – Certified Peri-Anesthesia Nurse
• PALS
• ACLS
• ACLS Instructor certification
• Previous formal educator experience
• Previous perioperative education experience

 
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
The ideal candidate is an experienced Operating Room nurse who understands perioperative workflow and has enough clinical credibility to work effectively with OR leadership and experienced surgical staff.
The client is open-minded regarding formal educator experience.
A candidate does not necessarily need to currently hold an educator title.
Strong candidates could include:

• OR Clinical Educator
• Perioperative Educator
• Nursing Professional Development Specialist with OR experience
• OR Clinical Nurse Specialist
• OR Charge Nurse with strong education responsibilities
• OR RN heavily involved in orientation
• OR RN who regularly precepts new staff
• OR RN who has developed competencies or educational programs
• OR RN involved with onboarding or staff development

Preceptor Experience Can Be Valuable
A strong OR nurse who has not formally worked as an educator may still be considered if they have substantial experience:

• Precepting new nurses
• Training new employees
• Leading orientation
• Creating educational resources
• Teaching competencies
• Acting as a clinical resource
• Participating in professional development initiatives

The client's priority is finding someone with strong OR expertise who can successfully transition into the education role.
 
SCHEDULE
Monday–Friday, Day Shift
There is some flexibility with the exact daily schedule.
The hiring manager is willing to discuss the candidate's schedule and determine what works based on departmental needs.
 
COMPENSATION
Salary Range Equivalent: approximately $33.53–$52.80/hour
 
BENEFITS / RECRUITING SELLING POINTS
Generous PTO
Employees in this type of role receive front-loaded PTO and accrue approximately:
23 days annually
Tuition Reimbursement
Up to:
$5,000 annually
This can be particularly valuable for candidates who are currently completing their Master's degree.
Retirement Benefits
St. Clair offers both:

• 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer match
• Pension plan

Having both a matched retirement savings plan and pension can be an important differentiator.
Professional Development
The organization supports continued professional development and certification, including perioperative certifications such as CNOR.
 
WHY A CANDIDATE MAY WANT TO JOIN ST. CLAIR
Smaller Organization – Greater Visibility
St. Clair offers an environment where employees can have a noticeable impact without feeling like one person within a massive healthcare system.
A key message from leadership:
You are not just a number.
Compared with very large Pittsburgh systems, St. Clair offers candidates the opportunity to build closer relationships with leadership and staff.
Opportunity to Make an Impact
Because this educator owns education across Surgical Services, the individual can have significant influence on:

• Orientation
• Staff development
• Clinical competencies
• Education strategy
• Quality initiatives
• Staff engagement

Strong Community Culture
The organization's culture emphasizes:

• People first
• Patients
• Community
• Long-term relationships

Employee Tenure
Historically, St. Clair has had strong retention.
Prior to COVID, average employee tenure was approximately 15 years.
The department currently has a mixture of newer and long-tenured employees.
The Director has been with the organization approximately five years, and there is also meaningful tenure among OR supervisors.
Independent Community Hospital
St. Clair provides candidates with the culture and visibility of a community hospital while still offering exposure to sophisticated surgical services.
Mayo Clinic Relationship
St. Clair is an independent organization and member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, which can be an attractive differentiator for candidates.
 
PITTSBURGH MARKET / COMPETITORS
Primary organizations recruiters may encounter when sourcing include:

• UPMC
• Allegheny Health Network / AHN
• WVU Medicine and affiliated facilities expanding into the region

Candidates from larger systems may particularly appreciate St. Clair's smaller, relationship-driven environment.