Perioperative Leadership Webinar
Inside Corewell Health's Recruiting and Training Pipeline: From Virtual Reality to Operating Room Success
Learn key insights and strategies from clinical educators Megan Eaton, MSN, RNFA, CNOR, and DJ Edgerly, BSN, RN, CNOR, as they reveal Corewell Health's proven blueprint for optimizing the new hire and onboarding pipeline using virtual reality.
Now available on-demand!
Watch it now!
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
Webinar Agenda
10 minutes | Introduction & Poll Kickoff and quick audience pulse check
30 minutes | Presentation: Perioperative Fellowship and VR Case Study
5 minutes | PeriopSim Demo: A focused walkthrough of the simulation software.
15 Minutes | Live Poll, Q&A & Wrap-up and closing remarks.
Healthcare facilities are expressing significant perioperative staffing challenges and are looking for specific strategies to optimize their new hire and training pipeline. In this exclusive webinar, clinical educators Megan Eaton, MSN, RNFA, CNOR, and DJ Edgerly, BSN, RN, CNOR, from Corewell Health share their insights and evidence-based strategies behind including VR in their orientation for Perioperative RNs and STs as well as for recruiting the next generation of surgical teams. Don’t miss this insider look at Corewell Health’s proven blueprint for optimizing the new hire and training pipeline for operating room success!
Key Learning Objectives
Prioritizing Staff from Day 1
Learn how to decrease orientation time, streamline skills building, and boost confidence for a stronger OR team.
The Power of Repetition
See how 62 simulation hours replaced an estimated 395 IRL surgical hours across cohorts of new Perioperative RNs and STs.
Standardized Assessments
Understand how to achieve “A” competency across critical procedures and instrument sets before a learner ever touches a live patient.
Reducing "Surgical Chaos"
Strategies to improve team communication, anticipate surgeon needs, and avoid performance errors.
Webinar Speakers
Megan Eaton, MSN, RNFA, CNOR
Clinical Educator | Corewell Health
Megan Eaton, MSN, RNFA, CNOR, is an accomplished perioperative nursing professional with 16 years of operating room experience spanning direct patient care, leadership, robotics coordination, and clinical education. Throughout her career, Megan has built a reputation for excellence in surgical services, interdisciplinary collaboration, and advancing evidence‑based perioperative practice.
Megan’s OR background is both broad and deep, including years of experience as a circulating nurse, scrub nurse, and RN First Assistant. She has served in multiple leadership capacities, guiding teams through process improvement, service‑line development, and the integration of new technologies. As a Robotic Coordinator, she played a key role in optimizing workflows, training staff, and supporting high‑complexity minimally invasive procedures.
In her role as a Clinical Educator, Megan is dedicated to preparing and empowering perioperative nurses through competency development, mentorship, and innovation in educational strategies. She is committed to fostering safe surgical environments, elevating professional practice, and supporting high‑quality patient outcomes.
Megan brings a strong blend of clinical expertise, teaching excellence, and leadership influence—making her a trusted resource in perioperative nursing and an advocate for continuous improvement in the surgical setting.
DJ Edgerly, BSN, RN, CNOR
Surgical Clinical Educator | Corewell Health
DJ Edgerly, BSN, RN, CNOR, is an experienced Surgical Clinical Nurse Educator with over 11 years of dedicated practice in perioperative nursing and clinical education. With a strong foundation in evidence-based practice and a passion for professional development, he has played a key role in advancing nursing competency and improving patient safety within surgical services.
In his current role, DJ designs, implements, and evaluates comprehensive educational programs for nursing, surgical tech, and anesthesia tech staff across preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care settings. DJ specializes in onboarding new nurses, supporting competency validation, and leading continuing education initiatives that align with current best practices and regulatory standards.
In addition to his educational leadership, DJ is committed to mentorship and professional growth, supporting nurses at all stages of their careers. Through a combination of clinical expertise, teaching excellence, and a patient-centered approach, DJ continues to make a meaningful impact on surgical nursing practice and healthcare outcomes.
Angela Robert
CEO and Cofounder | Conquer Experience
Angela Robert is CEO and Co-Founder at Conquer Experience, the company behind PeriopSim — a VR simulation and assessment platform transforming how perioperative nurses and surgical technologists train for success in the OR.
Angela began her career as a software engineer at IBM and Scotiabank before spending nearly a decade at Electronic Arts, where she led development on 20 titles including the Skate franchise. She channeled that expertise in immersive technology toward a mission that matters: improving patient safety by making surgical training faster, more rigorous, and more accessible.
Since co-founding Conquer Experience in 2018, Angela has led the growth of PeriopSim into a platform used by health systems, colleges, and online education platforms across North America. To date, over 10,000 learners have completed more than 900,000 simulations — which translates to over 100,000 patients who had a trained, quantitatively assessed clinician in the room during their procedure.
PeriopSim gives Perioperative RNs and Surgical Technologists a way to practice and demonstrate core competency on procedures outside the OR — before they’re standing in it. Three peer-reviewed RCTs validate what customers already know: PeriopSim accelerates time-to-competency up to 6x faster than traditional training methods. Powered by VR, PeriopSim is a competency platform that works across modalities to assess, track, and validate clinical readiness at scale. Guided by its values — Learning, Impact, Innovation, and Teamwork — and a commitment to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education), the company believes simulation training isn’t just a resource-saver. It’s a patient safety imperative.
Emily Smith
Customer Success Manager | Conquer Experience
Emily brings over 8 years of customer success experience spanning healthcare, education, and technology. Her CS journey began at the International Olympic Committee, where she designed and launched onboarding and training programs for global broadcast partners — giving her a strong foundation in large-scale, high-stakes implementation from day one.
Most recently, Emily led customer success for an immersive training platform focused on geriatric care, helping healthcare professionals deepen their understanding of the medical conditions and lived experiences of older adults.
Now at Conquer Experience, Emily is passionate about helping perioperative educators bridge the gap between theory and practice using the PeriopSim platform. She’s particularly drawn to PeriopSim’s ability to not just deliver simulation experiences, but to assess and surface the learning achieved — giving educators the data they need to clearly demonstrate training effectiveness to their organizations.
Emily looks forward to partnering with you to drive meaningful training success for your OR staff.
Bridge the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice
Speed up your team’s readiness by 50% and empower them to deliver exceptional care with confidence. Experience our unique approach—get a VR kit shipped directly to your hospital, school, or facility for a full week of independent trial alongside our innovative software. Ready to see it in action?
Book your demo now and discover how it works on our VR Kit page!
