RN's scrubbing in on c/s???

Specialties Ob/Gyn

Published

The supervisor in my LD dept is trying to get rid of all of our surgical techs and is wanting the RN's to train to scrub in on c-sections? Personally I don't want to, I don't think that is within the nsg scope of practice, what do you think?

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
I have no problem with it, as long as the necessary training is provided. But that is costly, time-consuming, and rarely done properly. Our unit scheduled a surgical tech each shift, or an RN capable of scrubbing. (We had a few former OR nurses working LDRP.)

Had each RN on our unit been truly cross-trained to all areas, we would have needed ante-partum, L&D, OR, PACU, post-partum, nursery and NICU experience, as well as ACLS, fetal monitoring, and NRP. Just not feasible.

:uhoh3: All midwives in the L & D in my unit in UK have to be crossed trained in all, it takes a further 18 months training to work in all L & D units here. You cannot work on Labour ward as a RN under any circumstances,you have to be doubly trained. You only have to be an RN to work on gynae and NICU.

Interesting how things differ over there. :rolleyes:

Maybe if things were different over here then we wouldnt have such a huge midwifery staffing shortage which doesnt seem to be the case in US.

One xmas i was the only midwife on call for 500,000 population ina 30 mile radius.

RN nurses have to be qualified for 1 year or more before they can apply to do further training.

The other way in is to be a direct entry midwife, where you train for 3-4 years and can only do midwifery.

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
I have no problem with it, as long as the necessary training is provided. But that is costly, time-consuming, and rarely done properly. Our unit scheduled a surgical tech each shift, or an RN capable of scrubbing. (We had a few former OR nurses working LDRP.)

Had each RN on our unit been truly cross-trained to all areas, we would have needed ante-partum, L&D, OR, PACU, post-partum, nursery and NICU experience, as well as ACLS, fetal monitoring, and NRP. Just not feasible.

:uhoh3: All midwives in the L & D in my unit in UK have to be crossed trained in all, it takes a further 18 months training to work in all L & D units here. You cannot work on Labour ward as a RN under any circumstances,you have to be doubly trained. You only have to be an RN to work on gynae and NICU.

Interesting how things differ over there. :rolleyes:

Maybe if things were different over here then we wouldnt have such a huge midwifery staffing shortage which doesnt seem to be the case in US.

One xmas i was the only midwife on call for 500,000 population ina 30 mile radius.

RN nurses have to be qualified for 1 year or more before they can apply to do further training.

The other way in is to be a direct entry midwife, where you train for 3-4 years and can only do midwifery.

Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

Just a quick note. I do agree that everyone needs to be properly trained to do anything. I have done dozens and dozens of crash C/S in my career and once you get the hang of it, no problem. I guess it is a matter of confidence and skills and believe me once trained that confidence will be there. Where I work they use Techs in L&D, but the RNs have to be trained to do C/S in a pinch. The OR has bailed out L&D many times in the past but there are times when we just can't do it. In that department it is imperative to be able to scrub and to delay because of this does put two lives in jeopardy.

Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

Just a quick note. I do agree that everyone needs to be properly trained to do anything. I have done dozens and dozens of crash C/S in my career and once you get the hang of it, no problem. I guess it is a matter of confidence and skills and believe me once trained that confidence will be there. Where I work they use Techs in L&D, but the RNs have to be trained to do C/S in a pinch. The OR has bailed out L&D many times in the past but there are times when we just can't do it. In that department it is imperative to be able to scrub and to delay because of this does put two lives in jeopardy.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Our OR does not bail us out, except to provide a SPACE for the section should our rooms for some unforseen reason not be ready. We are expected to scrub and circulate our own csections, always. I can think of a time or two when they provided us with a circulator, when there was no nurse at all to do this from the floor cause we had too many labor patients (labor nurses circulate). We also recover own patients, to that takes out one nurse for an hour for PAR recovery.....

When they send a circulator, we thank them profusely, as they have really helped us out.

Good point, Shodobe. tit for tat, if they bail us out, we should be ready to reciprocate. But we have plenty of techs so this is rarely a problem. Thankfully.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Our OR does not bail us out, except to provide a SPACE for the section should our rooms for some unforseen reason not be ready. We are expected to scrub and circulate our own csections, always. I can think of a time or two when they provided us with a circulator, when there was no nurse at all to do this from the floor cause we had too many labor patients (labor nurses circulate). We also recover own patients, to that takes out one nurse for an hour for PAR recovery.....

When they send a circulator, we thank them profusely, as they have really helped us out.

Good point, Shodobe. tit for tat, if they bail us out, we should be ready to reciprocate. But we have plenty of techs so this is rarely a problem. Thankfully.

Specializes in Rehab, Step-down,Tele,Hospice.

Shodobe,

I gotta say that your post was kinda hurtful. I don't agree with "once you have done 1 you can do them all"

Have you ever scrubbed a "true stat" c/s where the knife is applied to the skin with no prep, no drape, no gown, mask ,anesthesia? I really don't think someone who only scrubs occasionally would do well in this scenerio. And yes this happened to me more than once, I also had a Doc pass out on the floor once and guess who took over till another Doc was found?

I went to school for a year to became a certified scrub tech. I would match my scrub skills against almost any L&D nurse.

I DO think that L&D nurses should be properly trained to scrub c/s, but on the other hand they should also be payed accordingly.

I was NOT used as a CNA when I wasn't scrubbing a c/s section, I was scrubbing hysterectomy's, tubals, D&C's or whatever else was happening on my unit at any given time. I was also crossed trained to be an anesthisia tech.

I realized along time ago that surgical techs will eventually be phased out which is why Iwent to nursing school, but I still have much respect for ST's it's not an easy job and the majority of nurses feel as you do. :crying2:

Specializes in Rehab, Step-down,Tele,Hospice.

Shodobe,

I gotta say that your post was kinda hurtful. I don't agree with "once you have done 1 you can do them all"

Have you ever scrubbed a "true stat" c/s where the knife is applied to the skin with no prep, no drape, no gown, mask ,anesthesia? I really don't think someone who only scrubs occasionally would do well in this scenerio. And yes this happened to me more than once, I also had a Doc pass out on the floor once and guess who took over till another Doc was found?

I went to school for a year to became a certified scrub tech. I would match my scrub skills against almost any L&D nurse.

I DO think that L&D nurses should be properly trained to scrub c/s, but on the other hand they should also be payed accordingly.

I was NOT used as a CNA when I wasn't scrubbing a c/s section, I was scrubbing hysterectomy's, tubals, D&C's or whatever else was happening on my unit at any given time. I was also crossed trained to be an anesthisia tech.

I realized along time ago that surgical techs will eventually be phased out which is why Iwent to nursing school, but I still have much respect for ST's it's not an easy job and the majority of nurses feel as you do. :crying2:

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Our OR has never "bailed out" our L and D dept. We do this wacky thing called working as a team which, go figure, works well.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Our OR has never "bailed out" our L and D dept. We do this wacky thing called working as a team which, go figure, works well.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Think about it, if a Tech isn't scrubbing then they are just a CNA.

This is VERY untrue unless the tech IS actually a Certified Nursing Assistant.

It doesn't mean they're worthless, either.

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Think about it, if a Tech isn't scrubbing then they are just a CNA.

This is VERY untrue unless the tech IS actually a Certified Nursing Assistant.

It doesn't mean they're worthless, either.

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