Q&A: The operating room nurse offers insight into perioperative care

Marty Higgins, RN Marty Higgins, MS, RN, NE-BC, director of surgical services on the Plano Medical Center in Texas, said working within the operating room is one in every of nursing’s best-kept secrets. After graduating from nursing school, Higgins worked in childbirth after which began her profession as an operating room nurse. In this Q&A, Higgins offers advice to nurses who’re considering a profession in perioperative nursing. Perioperative nursing is a specialty during which nurses help patients before, during and after surgery. However, nurses working in pre-operative, surgical and post-operative departments perform three very different roles, and every position attracts candidates with different personalities and skills. Nurses working within the preoperative period should enjoy high-energy and fast-paced work. They should be organized and really detailed because they collect a variety of data in a brief time period, and they need to be reassuring and never let patients feel rushed. In the operating room, nurses act more like Energizer bunnies. They should have good time management skills and demanding pondering. Working within the operating room shouldn’t be for everybody. Nurses could be exposed to stressful situations, and tensions are sometimes high amongst staff. As an operating room nurse, you’re employed with three to 5 other colleagues for hours at a time, so nurses should be comfortable working as a team, but in addition confident enough to do their job independently. Nurses should have good assessment skills and give you the option to make decisions quickly when a patient’s condition changes. Much of the work involves monitoring patients after they emerge from anesthesia and awaiting signs of pain, nausea or other symptoms that will occur consequently of surgery. Nurses who work in other departments and are desirous about learning about this specialty ask in the event that they can come and conduct an informational interview or assist a perioperative nurse. When hiring nurses, I search for candidates who’re energetic, have good interpersonal skills and an important attitude, and are in search of a challenge. One of the candidates told me that being a perioperative nurse was her dream job and explained why. I liked her enthusiasm. Another candidate told me she thought she might work within the operating room, but it surely’s not the style of specialization to approach half-heartedly. Once nurses have been working in the sector for 2 years, I encourage them to think about CNOR certification for perioperative nurses desirous about deepening and validating their specialized knowledge and skills. Most nurses I do know who work on this field never leave. They stay in the sector because they love the fast pace and the proven fact that no two days are the identical. On one shift you have got many patients undergoing various surgeries. It could be rewarding when someone is available in for surgery with an orthopedic injury or has had their gallbladder removed and knows that they are going to get well and give you the option to maneuver on with their lives after surgery. Nurses also decide to stay on this facility since it is a specialty where they really get near their team members and luxuriate in the camaraderie. Moreover, this specialization offers great flexibility. Many nurses decide to work in a surgical center where they’ll have weekends off. In the hospital, I want staff who will work 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. This allows me to accommodate their schedule in the event that they want to go away early to select up the youngsters from school or prefer to work nights and weekends. There are many development opportunities on this specialization as well. Nurses can advance to positions as nurse practitioners, team leaders, or nurse managers/supervisors. I actually have seen only a few nurses leave this specialty, and for those who do, it is solely not the precise approach.

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