The operating room is an area of high stress. Even if the operation is small, there may be many things that would make a mistake. Therefore a surgeon needs a team of experts who can handle such pressing situations and who can work with such experience. That’s why the nurse in the operating room has a special position in the medical profession.
The title is quite clear; the nurse in the operating room can only mean one thing, nurses assisting surgeons in the operating room. Nurses in the operating room are particularly well-trained for this position. The first quality they must possess is the ability to work under pressure so many times that surgeons need to intervene in the event of an emergency. They should also be able to tolerate the sight of blood that patients bleed during the operation.
Nurses in the operating room give the doctors all the necessary equipment during operation. The tools used must be cleaned and sterilized before the surgery by the nurses. ORN should check before surgery if all required equipment is present or not. They must also prepare the patients before surgery.
An important duty in describing ORN work in the workroom is to check the number of required tools before and after surgery. Many times, surgeons forget the instruments inside the patients and conceal them. However, surgeons control the instrument; the nurses must be very careful and avoid incidents of this kind.
Duty and Responsibility of the Operating Room Nurse
They assist the surgeons during surgery and should also coordinate with the surgeons.
All surgical equipment must be sterilized before and after surgery
Clean and maintain proper hygiene standards
ORN must control the instruments before and after surgery
They need to deliver surgical equipment quickly during surgery
They must be able to stand for a long time, as some operations can continue for several hours.
They have to prepare the patients before surgery and take them to the operating room
They should talk to the patient’s family along with the surgeon and help them understand the procedure
They have to examine the patient before and after the operation and make sure they wake up from anesthesia
Collect all the necessary materials for the operation
Take responsibility for maintaining a sterilized operating room
Place and prepare the patient on the operating table
Transfer of medical instruments or other objects to the surgeon during surgery
Check vital signs of patients on abnormalities
Evaluate the patient in postoperative phases
Observe safety standards and precautions
Assign tasks inside or outside the sterile field as assigned
Requirements
Proven experience as an ORN (circulating and scrub)
Excellent knowledge of aseptic and sterile techniques
Solid knowledge of patient safety and precautionary measures
Deep knowledge of surgical procedures
Exceptional organizational capacities
An exceptional team player with exceptional communication skills
Cool tempered with emotional and physical resistance
Diploma in nursing and a valid license
Skills
Excellent surgical preparation and nursing skills
Fluency in spoken and written English
Powerful Evaluation and Coordination Skills
Capable of postoperative care
Ability to explain and put patients on ease of operation
Experience in assisting surgeons and equipment during surgery