Background: Clinical experiences allow nursing students to apply theoretical knowledge into practice hence socialize with their future professional roles and responsibilities. This is a report of observations made by thirteen perioperative nursing students in the first cohort of Master of sciences in nursing training program during their practicum in selected Rwandan Referral Hospitals aimed at improving students' learning outcomes in future. Methods: Teams of four to five students were allocated to the operating theatres in three selected referral and teaching hospitals in Rwanda for thirteen weeks. At the end of their clinical placement, they wrote clinical reports that highlighted their observations informed by theoretical knowledge of perioperative nursing care using a structure, process and outcome format. These reports focused on the strengths and challenges observed. Results: Students were able to translate theoretical knowledge gained in class to clinical practice. Although the hospitals provided good learning opportunities in relation to the number of patients attended to and the various surgical treatments provided, the existing infrastructures, and care delivery systems, still need improvement. Conclusions: Hospital structure and processes helped the students to achieve their clinical learning objectives. Fostering strong collaboration of Universities, Hospitals and Ministry of Health will promote specialization in the emerging field of perioperative nursing in Rwanda.

BackgroundSurgery cancellation is a challenging and costly event resulting in operating theatre inefficiency and psychological and financial problems for the patients and their families. This study aimed to find out the incidence and reasons for surgical cancellation at a Rwandan hospital.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 736 patients’ files obtained from theatre registry lists of surgical operations done from January to March 2017. The American Association of Perioperative Nurses (AORN) checklist for documenting cancelled surgical cases was used to establish the rate and reasons for cancellation. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentage descriptive statistics.ResultsOut of the 736 surgeries booked, 179 (24.3%) were cancelled as follows: Orthopedic and general surgeries (28.2%) respectively, gynecology and obstetrics (27.4%), urology surgeries (15.5%), maxillofacial surgeries (15.9%), ENT (15.6%) and plastic surgeries (13.3%). Time constrain/long list (19.6%), acute change in medical status (10.6%), non-turn-up of the patient (8.4%), and abnormal lab findings (7.8%) were the most prevalent reasons.ConclusionThe surgical cancellation rate at the study hospital was 24%, increasing with the number of patients booked and the type of surgical procedure. A prospective study is required to gain more insight into the reason for cancellations, mostly amenable to mitigation measures.Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(3):379-386