What Is An OR Tech?!

Scrubby · Mar 9, 2008

[i understand that the patient must be kept safe during the intraoperative period and during the entire case, we as circulators must monitor every inch of that OR table. The thing is if you've done your job properly and positioned in accordance w/ current safety protocols utilizing safety straps/armboards/foam pads/warming devices correctly, then you should be able to breathe a little easier once things get going]

Not really. You summarised the scout nurse role in your previous post into just three parts which were merely 'doing paperwork, maintaining patient safety :icon_roll, and 'fetching supplies'. Where i work we have to organise a barouche or bed for the patient (we don't have orderlies), sometimes we have multiple specimens going off at once, we have to organise someone to come in and do an on table x-ray,we have to sometimes reposition the patient if they are having multiple procedures, we have to get sterile supplies, we have to get out for the next days cases, we have to check the next patient off and makes sure they are ready to go to ensure a fast turnover, we have to document EVERYTHING including counts, implants, meditrax stickers, pathology forms, specimen forms, x-ray forms etc. We need to count with our instrument nurse, change suction liners, bring in equipment such as microscopes, harmonic machines if they are required. |We have to restock the theatres because no one else does. We have to take phone calls and messages for the surgeons, sometimes we have to weigh packs for our anaesthetist. And of course maintain patient safety at all times. And if it's a case like a free flap and you have two operating teams doing different procedures then your workload pretty much doubles.

And do you think that maintaining patient safety is something scout nurses just do at the start of a case when you put on the safety straps etc? It's a process that should be monitored and assessed during the entire procedure.

[The CST on the other hand cannot even drop their hands below their waist, cannot itch that persistent ear itch and cannot wipe the snot dripping down their face for the entire duration of that surgery. CST's deserve more credit than they receive and I will always give that credit for their hard work and dedication. Maybe you should pull up a stool under the drape next to the patients legs to make sure they dont fall off the bed while doing your paperwork

Ummm I am a scrub nurse. you don't have to explain to me what i already know. I've sneezed into my mask and have had snot plastered all over my face, been scrubbed for loooong hours and have had to do burns surgery where it's like working in a sauna. I've spent hours scrubbed in lead gowns and have had to hold on because i can't get out to go to the toilet. The comment about dropping your hands, what is your point exactly? You can rest your hands on your mayo table or trolley, it's not that big a deal to me.

[individuals like you make working as a team much harder than it should be.]

No people like you who disregard the hard work of the other team members during surgery and don't have a proper understanding of perioperative nursing roles make it much harder than it has to be. People who say such a thing as 'merely maintaining patient safety' need further education. We are all equally accountable and responsible for the patient, not just one team member.

MsLeylaBar · Mar 10, 2008

I traveled for 5 years as an OR nurse so I have experienced everyone's frustration when the RN and scrub tech does not work well together.

I don't agree with techs saying a circulator has the easier job. We each have our own responsibilities in the OR and we are working towards a common goal and that is to provide the patient with the best care possible and for them to have surgery that is free from any complications.

I guess I'm just lucky nowadays, I'm working in a place where almost everyone works well together. My good friends at work are actually techs, the ones who've worked with me a lot on long, long cases. We have each other's backs.

zerby1470 · Mar 10, 2008

Thank you. It is not comparing apples to apples. Both have skills that are brought for the operating room, some can to both, some cannot. But a good, well working and well trained team is in the best interest of the patient, regardless of the name that you give the roll. There are techs that I would let work on a family member in an instant, and nurses that I would not either. The inverse is also true, regardless of the role. If you are working with your best skills for your patient in the role that you are assigned and trained, the entire procedure does well.

aprilflower123 · Dec 1, 2009

I see everyone's point of view here, to some extent. You have some really good techs, some really good RN (circulators) and you have some lazy techs and you have some lazy circulators....this is true EVERYWHERE you go. I have to honestly say, too, that being certified, or not, AS A TECH, yes, there is a rate of pay difference and some have worked very hard to obtain that certification and some apply it very well. I have to say that it is not all taught in school, either. I have seen and worked with some tech's that were "on the job trained" that I would much rather let assist with my surgery, as some that I have worked with that are certified that I wouldn't let work on my dog! As to one job being more complicated than the other, they both have equally totally different roles, and at times, I'm sure one person's job looks to be more easy than the other, for example...you take a really long case (6-8hrs), Im sure to the tech that the circulators job looks easier because for the most part after the o.r. record is filled out, they do get to set for most the rest of the case, observing of course, or having to run, but if all goes smoothly, for the most part, the tech has the more difficult position here. In other cases, like lil simple mole removal or something, it seems the circulators job is more difficult...checking pt, transport pt to o.r., positioning, prepping, calling report, specimens, takes longer for her to fill out her o.r. record than it does to finish the procedure,etc....Everyone here that has commented is either a tech or nurse defending their own, but if all would agree, IM RIGHT! THE MAIN THING HERE IS NOT ABOUT WHO'S JOB IS THE HARDEST BUT TO DO THE BEST POSSIBLE JOB THAT YOU CAN DO, WORKING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE THE BEST PATIENT CARE AS IF THAT PATIENT WAS YOU OR YOUR FAMILY MEMBER, HOW YOU WOULD WANT TO BE TREATED!!!!