Anyone work for a costmetic surgeon?

[jvdb]

I recently started the OR course but don't really love OR nursing. When browsing for other jobs I came across a posting for a Cosmetic Surgeon's office and applied. I was just called for an interview which would include OR nursing as well as "other cosmetic nursing assignments" and was just curious if anyone has worked for a cosmetic surgeon before and what your experience was. Did you like it?

I am really excited about the idea of this job...it is a little far and still OR nursing but sounds fun. Is it worth it or will the novelty wear off?

[RxOnly]

I worked for a large medical group 2 years ago and spent a few weeks covering for the Plastic Surgeon's nurse who was on an extended leave. I only assisted him in the office (he did small procedures in the office as well as pre/post op checks), but here is what I remember doing:

-Cleaned/autoclaved his instruments

-Set up trays for procedures

-Removed stitches

-Sent tissue samples to the lab for biopsy

-Remained by his side during office procedures and kept everything sterile whilst handing him the instruments he needed.

-Cleaning up after procedures.

-Usual Doc's office vital signs/med rec/patient flow management

Honestly, I loved it. Wish I could have worked with him full time- but his regular nurse loved her job too and wasn't about to give it away!! BTW, the office procedures we did were things like mole removal/skin tag removal/keloid removal/sebaceous cyst removal/shave biopsies. In my area there isn't a lot of demand for breast augmentation or tummy tucks or things like that, but he would do them on occasion and that would be done in the OR (obv at the hosp with their reg OR nurses). Most of his OR cases were breast reductions, more intricate biopsies, and hand surgeries. Good luck and I think you should take the job if it seems like something you're interested in!!

[sethmctenn]

I work ICU but every other weekend pull a 12 hr OR shift for cosmetics...It is so fun. Patients are happy to see you. We do a large variety of procedures. In addition to the tasks above, we do a lot of procedures under moderate sedation. We have scrubs that assist and I monitor the patient. Because my sole job is patient monitoring, I am able to focus all of my time on their comfort and safety. For big procedures, we have a CRNA and I circulate. You might ask to sit in a day or two to be sure that it's a job you want. I've certainly heard some horror stories from colleagues about standards for in-office procedures at some locations...poor presurgical assessment, lack of sterile technique, no clear discharge criteria. For in office procedures, we only do moderate sedation for ASA 1s and 2s and Mallampati 1s and 2s. You want to be sure that the facility, surgeon, rescue equipment and staff meet high standards before accepting a position.

[Lucky724]

I worked for one briefly..I found it boring to be honest. Am not sure why they hired an RN for the office - a MA could've done everything they wanted. As for the OR, they had someone plus a few PRN fill ins. And, again, I found it boring to sit for hours while the procdures were done.