Implementation of the RN first assistant role.

The RN first assistant (RNFA) program at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va, began as a dream in which RNs could expand their role within a cost-effective, hospital-based implementation of the RNFA role. Our dream included a career development path for perioperative nurses who had few other career options within the surgical arena. This article describes how the dream came true.