Surgical Nursing
Surgical nurses assist in patient care in surgery settings; they help patients before, during, and after surgery. As in other hospital and health care settings, they are patient advocates and liaisons and the people most responsible for helping the patient be safe and comfortable. Primarily surgical nurses work in surgical centers or hospitals.
Surgical nurses are usually registered nurses who receive basic nursing training and then receive further on the job training as a surgical nurse. Because surgical nursing is a specialized field, many surgical nurses go through an extended period of training in the operating room learning about the equipment and instruments they will be expected to identify and assist the surgeon with using. Many surgical nurses work for a number of months or even years before they are proficient in the operating room.
Pre operatively, the surgical nurse is responsible for positively identifying the patient and ensuring that they have an identification band on that has the patient's correctly spelled name and other patient identifiers, like medical record number. They also obtain any lab work that is ordered by the physician. They are often responsible for establishing patent intravenous access and giving any preoperative medications, like antibiotics. Pre operative nurses also check allergies, review daily medications, and ensure that the patients' vital signs are stable.
Nurses that physically work in the operating room also have a stressful and important job. Scrub nurses in the operating room pass the surgeon sterile instruments and supplies. Circulating nurses work outside of the sterile field making needed adjustment to equipment and gathering supplies. First assistants in the OR provide direct surgical care to the patient; this can involve helping manipulate the patient so the surgeon can perform or even assisting the surgeon in holding different instruments. The intra operative nurse is also responsible for assuring that the patient correctly identifies the surgical site prior to being put under anesthesia and ensuring that the right procedure is being performed on the right patient. Nurses that work in the OR during surgery have maybe the most stressful jobs of all; they need to ensure patient safety and work with a variety of physicians and anesthesiologists.
Post operative nurses are an integral part of the surgical team. When they receive the patient in the recovery room, the patient is usually not awake yet from anesthesia. The nurse must closely monitor vital signs, urine output, the return of a gag reflex, and also monitor for bleeding. The patient must also be closely monitored for any untoward effects of anesthesia, like vomiting. The nurse that cares for the patient after surgery must be alert and aware of any changes that happen after surgery and contact the surgeon immediately if the patient's condition deteriorates. The post operative nurse is responsible for carrying out the remainder of the physician's orders as well as transferring the patient to a floor in the hospital or discharging the patient home.
Operating room nursing is a rewarding career. Operating room nurses need to be aware of their patients, what procedures the patients' are having, and follow directions to the letter. Patients who undergo surgery may not even remember the nurse who helps them in the operating room, but they are very grateful when their nurse performs in a safe and caring manner.
Published: 2009-11-03
