Advice on my journey to the OR!

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 21, 2016

I've been exploring the nurse practitioner physician's assistant position.

There is no such role- NPs and PAs are completely different professions. Do you mean RNFA (registered nurse first assistant)? If so, AORN and CCI both have lots of information. NPs and PAs can function in the role of first assistant in the OR as well as work in a role outside of the OR. RNFAs, unless they also hold an NP, are limited to just working in the OR.

However, I always tell students to keep an open mind. Just because you think you want to work in a certain specialty before you start clinicals doesn't mean you won't find something else you like better or that what you think you like ends up being a completely different experience than what you expected. I thought I wanted to go into peds or L&D- they ended up being my least favorite clinical experiences.

Britt.lee0911 · Nov 21, 2016

Thank you so much! I'll look in to those. So if i do decide to go with the surgical field becoming a NP would be unnecessary?

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 21, 2016

Potentially. It would depend on finding an employer willing to hire an RN, provide enough hours in the assistant role to meet the RNFA requirements, and then change employment role to RNFA. Not all facilities utilize RNFAs.

You do understand that you will not be performing surgery in any way, right? It's strictly an assisting role. And even with the vast majority of surgeries, it's not putting "my hands inside someone to save their life". It's routine surgery to fix or remove something. Those true life saving events are few and far between, even in some trauma centers.