RN's rarely scrub??

Specialties Operating Room

Published

I don't think being a RN in the OR is what I thought it was. I always thought one RN scrubbed, and then there was also another RN that was the circulating nurse. This is not so? Surgical Techs now do the scrubbing? This is true everywhere?

If they are eliminating RN scrub, how will you be able to become a first assist? I thought you had to have multiple years of both circulating and scrub experience to become a RN first assist. Will that be a thing of the past, too?

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Can we keep this an intellectual debate and not resort to name calling? Geez, whatever happened to a good, old-fashioned debate?

I did not call anyone any names.

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Specializes in operating room.
I don't think being a RN in the OR is what I thought it was. I always thought one RN scrubbed, and then there was also another RN that was the circulating nurse. This is not so? Surgical Techs now do the scrubbing? This is true everywhere?
NO IT IS NOT I HAVE BEEN A NURSE FOR SOME 33 YEARS AND I HAVE BEEN SCRUBBING FOR EVERY ONE OF THESE. I HAVE CIRCULATED TO OVER THE YEARS, BUT NOW 65% OF MY TIME IS SCRUBBING. 50% OF THAT I AM WORKING AS AN RNFA FOR A GENERAL SURG GROUP/ AND I ALSO WORK FOR A GYN/ONCOLOGIST

WE DO HAVE ALOT OF CSTs THAT ARE GREAT, SOME PRIVATELY EMPLOYED PAs. SEVERAL OF OUR RNs SCRUB IT MAKE THEM MORE FLEXIBLE.

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Specializes in OR,L&D,HH.
Me too....since I graduated from nursing school in '91 after haveing been a scrub tech for almost 10 years........I can count on 1 hand the times I have gotten to scrub. About a week ago the OR I work at was short-handed and I got to scrub a lumbar decompression---first time in 20 years! I was so proud of myself that I could still do it and got compliments from the surgeon and first assistant. I wish I had more opportunities to scrub and several of my coworkers feel the same way.

The AORN and AST are at opposite ends of the spectrum with one group pushing to maintain RN's as the only group who can circulate. Yet the Association of Surgical Technologists are very politically active and not at all in aggreeement with the AORN that a scrub tech cannot circulate alone. This rivalry, IMHO, just makes it more difficult for nurses to get opportunities to scrub.

Had the pay not been double what I was making as a tech at the time, I probably wouldn't have chosen the nursing school route. However at that time (late '80's) I was a scrub tech on an open heart team and was teaching nurses how to scrub and felt, in the long run I would have more job security if I became a nurse. What I have found is that yes, I can always get a job circulating........however finding a nurse manager who supports my desire to scrub, gives me opportunities when I ask to scrub has been dissapointingly difficult. My goal is to become an RNFA however where I now work I see it will be an uphill battle and I may go to another hospital that is more progressive. While many hospitals in my area (SW US) have RNFA's on their staff, the one I work at hasn't accepted the idea and the only opportunities for a surgery nurse is to circulate.

Wow---we could be the same person!!! I could have written this and I had to double check this post because everything you wrote about happened to me at the same time----this summer I also scrubbed in for a tech who called in sick-- a lami decompression first time in 20 yrs, and received compliments and was so proud that I still could do it..... also went to nursing school in the late 80's, also was a ST on open heart team, also am fighting a battle to scrub instead of always circulate, also live in SW US, and am saving my $$ to go to RNFA school and finding little support at work. Thanks for sharing your ups and downs and don't hesitate to PM me.

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Specializes in none.
My institution is a teaching hospital the RN's are required to Scrub and circulate all services. I scrubbed during nursing school (learned to scrub OTJ). I don't see how having a Nurse circulate only is at all beneficial. I can anticipate everything my Ortho Guys need during a case because I have scrubbed. Your forced to pay attention in the scrub role. I think as a circulator it's much harder to pickup the little things that really make a difference.

Honestly I wish the ST's has to circulate. Than they'd be a little more apathetic to what we go through.

ive been a travel tech for 5 years, and I have circulated many times!!

you dont have it that bad.

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ive been a travel tech for 5 years, and I have circulated many times!!

you dont have it that bad.

Have you done EVERYTHING a circulating RN does? In my opinion, scrubbing is a holiday compared to circulating. I do both.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
You are wrong. The ONLY way you can be hired is that you HAVE to scrub. My Director is from the old school and will not hire you if the only thing you want to do is circ. I have been doing this for over 30 years and I still hold the opinion that the only thing that makes an OR nurse whole is the ability to not only circulate well but also to be able to scrub anything that comes through the door. Other than that you are obnly getting half the OR experience. Also, yes we are an exception and the hospital is in a metro area of 500,000, so it isn't because we are in a rural area. I also have the advantage of being highly sought after in other facilities because I can do both, so this is another advantage of being trained correctly. I personally wouldn't do this anymore if the only thing I could look forward to each day was circulating, rather boring.
Same here...I can scrub because I was a surg tech before but even the new OR nurses coming through the program at my hospital are being trained to scrub .My hospital is not alone in doing this either-most of the hospitals in my area allow RN's to scrub. I've been told I'm very marketable even with less than 2 years of RN experience, because I can do both roles. An RN that can do both is a huge asset in my opinion and evidently, it's my facility's opinion too. I feel badly for OR nurses that want to learn to scrub and are discouraged. However, many facilities now are going back to how it used to be, namely that RN's did both in the OR. Those places that don't allow nurses to scrub are shortsighted, IMHO.
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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
ive been a travel tech for 5 years, and I have circulated many times!!

you dont have it that bad.

Legally?

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Specializes in none.
ive been a travel tech for 5 years, and I have circulated many times!!

you dont have it that bad.

lol joe! hey ive been a tech at my hospital for 3 years now. its a fairly small hospital, and we're so short staffed that we have crosstrained house keepers so they can run and get stuff for us

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Specializes in ICU, OB.
Have you done EVERYTHING a circulating RN does? In my opinion, scrubbing is a holiday compared to circulating. I do both.

easy there mike,

i used to scrub back in my younger days(i'm sure i'm speaking for alot of us here) but it wasn't exactly a cakewalk.

at the facility where i work, these techs work hard.

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easy there mike,

i used to scrub back in my younger days(i'm sure i'm speaking for alot of us here) but it wasn't exactly a cakewalk.

at the facility where i work, these techs work hard.

I have scrubbed since 1996 and still do. I know that techs work hard, but if techs were paid as much as nurses, I'd let my nursing license expire and become a tech. Techs have to worry about one task, which can be tough, but circulators have to worry about 10 things at a time.

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ive been a travel tech for 5 years, and I have circulated many times!!

you dont have it that bad.

Legally?

There are some staes where Certified Surgical technologists can legally circulate.

Even in those states though, most hospitals will not allow it for obvious reasons.

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