Should Surgical Technicians Circulate

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Should Surgical Technicians be permitted to circulate in the O.R?

I would not agree with a surgical tech taking over the position of a circulating nurse. Would it shock me if hospitals started to allow this to save them money....NO....I would not put anything past those who have turned the healthcare field into nothing but profits thats can make upper mng and administators rich.

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I am a student in a surg tech program. As I have stated in another thread on this site,

I am a little worried about the war between RNs and CSTs. I DO NOT think that CSTs should circulate in the OR if they are working under the RNs license and are NOT qualified to do so. In the same breath..I do not intend on be some RNs "gofer" as stated before. I want to be trained to do the job of a CST, not take over the RNs job. I am not going to stop at just getting certified as a ST and will continue my education. But reading all of the threads has somewhat deflated my excitement of getting into the Medical field. Yes, I will be proud to be a CST. Even if I will be considered "cheaper help", I will be doing something that hopefully , I will love. I would rather pass instruments and watch the procedure being done, than watch machines and do paperwork(not to mention everything else a circulator does). If I did, I would have gone to school to be a nurse. So all of you 10-30 year vets give us newbies a break ..because everyone has to start somewhere. Who knows, may love the OR and want to advance , go back to school. UNTIL then, I intend on doing a CSTs job, not an RNs!

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I agree.....A couple of things have shocked me here...For one, I can't believe a Lpn is in a operating room,why??? And I also would like to know why a RN in an OR would not have ACLS?(this was a previous thread)

Lonman, I will say this again: Patient assessment cannot be delegated to an operating room technician--whether he is certified or not. We are not talking here about doing paperwork, opening laps , adding suture, counting--we are talking about NURSING DIAGNOSIS and NURSING ASSESSMENTS. Nursing responsibilities cannot be delegated. Most nursing responsibilites, if not all, in an operating room setting, are RN responsibilities. Would I feel comfortable delegating insertion of a Foley to an LVN (LPN?) Sure, if she was experienced in the procedure.

Would I feel comfortable delegating nursing assessments and nursing diagnosis to an LVN or LPN ? Probably not--the patients we deal with really are best dealt with by RNs. They have multi-system problems and, worse yet, potential problems.

Anyway, my professional organization, AORN, has standards that state that patient assessment/diagnosis is an RN responsibility. Standards, as opposed to guidelines, are essentially bare bones, written in stone, do not cross this line RULES. You cannot attempt to change those rules that dictate OR policy and procedure to suit your own needs or interpretations. They dictate minimum standard of care. Who are you to challenge what constitutes minimum standard of care for a surgical patient?

LIke it or not, the circulating nurse is in charge of the room. Surprised? Don't believe me? Ask your boss.

Even in an all RN OR, where the scrub AND circulator are both RNs, the circulator is in charge of the room. The circulator is the patient's advocate. The circulator must anticipate, and respond appropriately to, in a timely fashin, when seconds count, anything that could possibly go wrong with that patient. Can you honestly say you have that capability? Didn't think so.

We have a slogan out here, widely televised and on billboards: "Every Surgcial patient Deserves An RN."

It is not media a hype. It is not publicity. It is a FACT, distributed in the interest of safe patient care.

Oh, and excuse me--I can scrub virtually any specialty,proficiently, and have done so for 30 years--as opposed to some techs who can "only do GYN' or "only do ENT" or "can't scrub a crani, or a spine." Bunch of da** prima donnas.

Wherever I have worked, it was required--one cannot take scrub call, especially trauma scrub call, without being able to scrub whatever comes crashing through the doors.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
For one, I can't believe a Lpn is in a operating room,why???

Perhaps it's because he/she (as long at it's within their scope) is skilled, competent, and great at what they do.

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I am a student in a surg tech program. As I have stated in another thread on this site,

I am a little worried about the war between RNs and CSTs. I DO NOT think that CSTs should circulate in the OR if they are working under the RNs license and are NOT qualified to do so. In the same breath..I do not intend on be some RNs "gofer" as stated before. I want to be trained to do the job of a CST, not take over the RNs job. I am not going to stop at just getting certified as a ST and will continue my education. But reading all of the threads has somewhat deflated my excitement of getting into the Medical field. Yes, I will be proud to be a CST. Even if I will be considered "cheaper help", I will be doing something that hopefully , I will love. I would rather pass instruments and watch the procedure being done, than watch machines and do paperwork(not to mention everything else a circulator does). If I did, I would have gone to school to be a nurse. So all of you 10-30 year vets give us newbies a break ..because everyone has to start somewhere. Who knows, may love the OR and want to advance , go back to school. UNTIL then, I intend on doing a CSTs job, not an RNs!

OMG... I honestly do not believe i could have said it better myself!!! Preach it on.... Exactly what I would say and what I think! Ill second that one... "as a rule!!" :rotfl:

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

The problem with this whole thread is the one thing that is completely missing. States dictate what each individuals scope of practice is. Everybody would love to "think" what they should or shouldn't do but should be constantly reminded of what reality is. This is why I am glad I work in the state of California and have not only a powerful union, the CNA, but also the the AORN to keep everything in check. There are states out there who don't care about the welfare and safety of patients and will basically give carte blanche to almost any individual with a little or no education. The CNA, on the other hand, protects patient's rights to have an RN as their advocate. Other states will for the sake of a few dollars, allow non-liscensed individuals to give care in certain dangerous conditions. I feel sorry for these patients and also fear for their safety. The ultimate responsibility lies on the shoulders of the RN and no one else. You may feel responsible as a nursing auxillary staff but it is the RN who assigns and directs your assignments so don't feel like you are flying solo. All members of the OR, from housekeeping all the way up to the Director need to know their jobs and what is expected of them. To demean your fellow employee is detrimental to the workings of a well-oiled department. I guess what I am saying is I have people who work "with" me but also know I am in charge and the one who will get called on the carpet if anything goes wrong. It may not be my fault or I might not even know it happened but I am still responsible, the RN not the ST or the Rad Tech or whoever. It's a little bit more than watching monitors or doing paperwork, you ask any veteran OR nurse. Mike

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Is it me or are the colleges just starting to offer ST program's. My school just started one and I think it is great. Compared to the minimal training that military tech's get, The students at my school are sitting next to us in all the advanced sciences (2 A&P 4 credit course and a 4 cr micro) and have a very intense clinical rotation yes as busy and varied as the RN students. As a new grad and doing first assist I waould rather ine of them than an RN. As for circ yes that is an RN job currently. New better training is going to up their game and I beleive they are headed toward licensure of some sort. Compared to my grandmother who was OJT exclusively and was a high school dropout I think ST's are headed nowhere but up.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
As for circ yes that is an RN job currently.

And i sure as heck don't see that changing anytime soon, for very good reasons.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
To demean your fellow employee is detrimental to the workings of a well-oiled department.

And this should apply to everyone.

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Is it me or are the colleges just starting to offer ST program's. My school just started one and I think it is great. Compared to the minimal training that military tech's get, The students at my school are sitting next to us in all the advanced sciences (2 A&P 4 credit course and a 4 cr micro) and have a very intense clinical rotation yes as busy and varied as the RN students. As a new grad and doing first assist I waould rather ine of them than an RN. As for circ yes that is an RN job currently. New better training is going to up their game and I beleive they are headed toward licensure of some sort. Compared to my grandmother who was OJT exclusively and was a high school dropout I think ST's are headed nowhere but up.

I did my OR tech training in the military, during Vietnam. I did it in CA, and the community college in the city in which I did it offered a fair number of units--can't recall how many, but it was substantial--as credit toward an A.A.

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When I did my LPN, the military were sending groups of Medics through our college to obtain LPN certification, so they could acquire the OR Technicican education. Some were pretty ticked at having to work LTC, but found that the civilian qualification came in pretty handy in supplementing their incomes at local hospitals.

Whys shouldn't an LPN who has obtained OR Tech. credentials be in an OR?

My scope of practice REQUIRES me to be capable of assessing a patient, there is a big difference between assessment and diagnosis (which I believe RN's arent allowed to do either).

Perhaps part of the problems with healthcare today is the fact that RN's appear to be hostile to others with different training being employed in positions that they have traditionally held. Makes sense to use an OR Tech at $21/hour (with 5+years experience) than an RN (new grad) at $28/hour.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Perhaps part of the problems with healthcare today is the fact that RN's appear to be hostile to others with different training being employed in positions that they have traditionally held.

I really agree with this statement, except for the fact that i don't think the hostility is just from RNs. It can be from anyone (i've learned that here, that's for sure).

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