CNA use in the OR?

RNIAM, BSN, RN · May 23, 2003

You may want to considered being an OR TECH then. You need a high school diploma and a couple years experience in the medical field. This is just for the areas I live in. The education and skills needed are probably different depending on where you live. You might want to contact your local hospitals and find out what the requirements are. Good luck.

chartleypj · May 27, 2003

Warzone,

We have several OR attendants in our OR. Not all are certified nursing assistants. Their duties include transportation of pts to and from an OR bed, cleaning rooms between cases, ordering and stocking supplies & linens, transporting specs. and moving equipment. they all work under the supervision of the charge RN and circulating nurses. This would be a good place for you to see whether or not the OR is for you.

If you wish to try the surg. tech route as RN2be suggested, it would also benefit however, here in the northeast, graduation in an approved surg tech program (at least 1 full year) is required.

Good luck,

Paula

warzone · May 27, 2003

Thanks for your information!

Yes, the Surg/Or Tech does sound interesting, but I will not have the time to get certified while finishing my 2 years in the BSN program. I'll check around and see if anyone has any openings in their OR for a CNA. I need to get my feet wet (not literally of course! )

Thanks again.

spineCNOR · May 27, 2003

You should have no trouble finding a position as a NA in one of your local ORs- generally certification is not required for OR attendants.

Another thing you might want to look into is a unit secretary position- this would give you an opportunity to learn medical terminology, etc, without the physical labor involved in working as a nursing assistant.

cwazycwissyRN, RN · Jun 4, 2003

Some facilities have anesthesia techs that are on the job training also. You may find this very interesting and useful with your career choice.

VicChic · Jun 9, 2003

What exactly are the duties of an anesthesia tech?

What type of training or qualifications are required?

carcha · Jun 10, 2003

while i admire the authors interest in operating room nursing i feel the attitude of some of the replys is one of " hey what the hell give it a shot". i wish all or nurses took themselves more seriously and then prehaps everyone else. can u imagine if the author had written that he would "like to get his feet wet" in a hdu. would everyone had said "yeah, give it a shot". until or nurses respect their own skills as much as other specialities we will always be the handmaidens to the surgeons. so i say to the author if u have a genuine interest in or work and feel you have the unique skills which makes an or nurse successful, good luck, but or nursing is as challanging as any other nursing field, so be prepared.

warzone · Jun 10, 2003

carcha-

Maybe, I am just reading all the replies to this thread wrong, but... I do not see any "what the hell" type of attitude in the posts above. Sure the replies were informal, but this is the nature of this board - or in this case the lack of your proper use of capitalization.

As for getting "my feet wet", that alluded to the fact that I would be a CNA. I would not be referring to getting 'my feet wet' if I was going to be an OR Nurse. I have no prior OR experience...how would you suggest I get it? Shadow an OR Nurse is one option perhaps, but I cannot really think of another.

My original posts states that my goal is to become a CRNA. Now don't get me wrong a CRNA is a Nurse who generally works in the OR, but I do think there is a distinction between what most would consider the role of an OR Nurse and what most would consider the role of a CRNA.

Frankly, I found your post pretentious and making way to many assumptions about the replies posted (Projection perhaps?).

Thanks for bringing up the point about having a genuine interest and obtaining the skills necessary to work in the OR and the challenges I will face. Your experience is appreciated.

Of course, I shouldn't ask a question if I don't want to hear the answer...right?

chartleypj · Jun 10, 2003

warzone,

To clear up any possible misconceptions on my earlier post, I wish to share I am as passionate about perioperative nursing today as I was 26 1/2 years ago when I started. I take my job and my patients very seriously, advocating for them at a critical time when they cannot advocate for themselves. I assess, plan, implement and evaluate nursing care for each patient on an ongoing basis. I became an OR nurse to serve my patient and my surgeon and to that end I am darned proud to be a Registered Nurse as well as a CNOR. I've earned respect from my peers as well as surgeons for the care I give.

I truly hope my post didn't come off as a "what the hell give it a shot" type of attitude"

Sincerely,

Paula

Well respected OR nurse

cwazycwissyRN, RN · Jun 18, 2003

anesthesia tech

. These skills include assisting with intubations, assembling monitoring lines, patient transport, interpreting physiological information, patient preparation, and patient positioning.

The anesthesia tech assists the anesthesiologist of CRNA with their equipment and supplies. Their role varies from OR to OR. The educational requirements vary from OR to OR.

If you are interested in becoming a CRNA, I would think this may be the opportunity to see just exactly what you are getting into, and provide you with experience while you are getting your education. Just a thought. In our facility it is on hands training with a preceptor for this position.

yoga crna · Jul 4, 2003

Warzone. I have a job for you if you are interested working in a surgery center in Orange Co,, CA, It would include learning sterile processing, cleaning the operating room and assisting wtith patiens, Easy place to work, lots of great people and reasonable Pay. Get in toucb at mjm1@cox,net

YogA CRNA