How many people have watched hospital dramas on television like ER or Grey’s Anatomy and wondered what it would be like to work in a high energy hospital setting? Probably most of the people watching the shows, but they are probably thinking about being the doctor or surgeon. The background cast of nurses and orderlies are hardy a blip on the radar. This can even be true when patients are in the operating room or emergency room. Everyone is focused on the physician, but without the nurses just how much would get done?

A perioperative nurse is one who has been specifically trained to work with surgeons and the medical team within the operating room environment. They are an integral part of the surgical team. It is a demanding and rewarding career in a high energy environment. There are several perioperative nursing positions including circulator, scrub, patient educator, and RNFA.

Circulator Nurse

A circulator nurse manages the patient’s care while in the operating room, as well as the needs of the attending surgical team. The circulator nurse maintains overall perspective of the environment and does not usually assist directly with the surgery.

Scrub Nurse

The reason most people call a perioperative nurse a scrub nurse is because they scrub in. He or she uses the same soap and sterile garments as the physicians so they are able to work within the operative field and assist in the surgery. They hand the sterile instruments to the physician as they are called for and may assist in monitoring the condition of the patient.

Patient Educator

A patient educator works with the patient and the family to provide information prior to the surgery to allow them to make informed decisions. This role is filled by a registered nurse with experience in surgical cases.

RNFA

An RNFA, or Registered Nurse First Assistant, is a nurse who has gone through additional surgical training. The RNFA assists by controlling bleeding during the procedure, using medical devices, cutting tissue, and suturing. An RNFA may also be instrumental in patient care before or after the procedure.

Environment

 Perioperative nurses are not relegated to hospital operating rooms. They may also work in outpatient surgery centers or in the office of a physician who performs procedures on site. Other health care facilities such as health departments and emergency care centers may also employ perioperative nurses.

Many nurses find once they begin working in a hospital setting that they want to delve further into a specialty. Surgical nurses are no different. Have you found a home in the OR? Do you love working in a surgical environment? What advice do you wish someone had given you before you became a perioperative nurse? What would you tell a nurse new to this specialty?

So you Want to be a Perioperative Nurse is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

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1. What is a Surgical Technician?
2. The Difficult Decisions of an ER Nurse
3. The Difference Between a Nurse Practitioner (NP) and a Physician Assistant (PA)

After 15 years, NBC’s hit medical drama ER is going off the air. Nurses who are interested in a career in emergency medicine may wonder if the TV show is an accurate portrayal of what happens in the emergency room.  A number of emergency medicine practitioners have weighed in on this.

One of the most basic criticisms against ER is infection control.  It wouldn’t be pretty to watch on TV, but real ER doctors and nurses would be wearing masks, gowns, and gloves when performing procedures on patients.  Hospital infections are a real danger, and the ER staff doesn’t do a very good job of protecting their patients or themselves.

The cast of ER also needs to take a basic Red Cross CPR certification course.  It’s not difficult or costly – I’ve taken the course numerous times!  It wouldn’t have taken much of the show’s budget to take an afternoon with a Red Cross trainer to teach everyone the proper technique and compression rate.

There is some disagreement as to whether or not the family members of patients would be allowed into the trauma rooms.  In that matter, it depends more on the emergency facility.  While many emergency departments have a family waiting area, others do allow family members into the room while patients are being treated.  It is unrealistic, however, that the doctors and nurses would answer as many questions from family members, because they would be too focused on treating the patient to be distracted.

The pace on ER is definitely not realistic.  Real doctors and nurses have to take their time to ensure mistakes are not made. Medications and procedures have to be documented in a patient’s chart.  Yes, there is a sense of urgency in a real emergency room, but everything is not as rushed as it is on television.

Nurses play a much more prominent role in real emergency medicine. When Abby and Carol were primary characters who were nurses, at least their actions were a bit more realistic. Toward the end of the series, nurses were rarely seen as the hands-on professionals they really are.  I have to give them credit, though, for the occasions in which Sam has been able to hold her own and tell the doctors how it really is – that the nurses are the ones who care for the patients around the clock and keep an eye out for trouble before it happens.

Emergency Medicine – Is NBC’s ER Realistic? is a post from: Sunbelt Staffing

Related posts:

1. So you Want to be a Perioperative Nurse
2. The Difficult Decisions of an ER Nurse