Explaining the Performance of Operating Room Technicians: A Qualitative Study

Background and During trainings for operating room technician a student is familiarized with innovative technologies in different surgical procedures and would learn how to care and manage patients before, during and after a surgery. This study aimed at analyzing the performance of operating room technicians (who earned a bachelor degree) according to their college curriculum.
This qualitative study used a content analysis approach in which semi-structured interviews were conducted among operating room technicians. Participants were purposefully selected and interviews lasted for 6 months until data saturation. Data (from 10 interviews) was analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.
Qualitative content analysis of data resulted in six themes reflecting the analysis of operating room technicians’ about their performance based on their college curriculum. The themes included ineffective teaching, credentialism, performance-based experience, the crisis of ignoring the staff dignity, learning motivation, and concerns over ignoring main modules.
The main concern of the participants was inefficiency of teaching in undergraduate educational programs since the courses in this period are not practical. Also, common training programs in this field do not increase the students’ knowledge and skills to ideal level. Therefore, appropriate planning is recommended to provide more practical trainings.