Do most OR's use scrub tech's?

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if your OR uses scrub tech's, or RN'S scrub and circulate? I just had a phone interview with a large hospital in Chicago, and they said their OR RN's scrub 50% and circulate the other 50%. They say you do one half the day, and switch for the other half of the day so their nurses are always scrubbing and circulating. Are there any nurses out there working this kind of schedule in the OR? Do you also have scrub tech's or only RN's?

Thanks

Jen

Specializes in OR, ER, TRAVEL, SURGICARE, WOMENS HOSP.

I will have you all know that I also formally trained for my role as a Surgical Technologist back in 1970, and did clincals also. Since all I did was scrub I got very, very good at it!! Am now an RN and have more opportunities in differant areas. They are just two forms of nursing and it is an argument that has gone on for years!! Respect the role and know that as the shortage becomes greater more TRAINED CST'S will be needed. If you are an RN you would strongly benefit from going to CST training for you can never learn the depth or the role until you study it and become a student. Longer than anyone here CST;RN

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

Hospitals took on the role of the ST as a financial savior when less RNs were wanting to go to the OR. The OR has always been an intimidating area for RNs and they pretty much avoid this area. I work with an RN crew that scrubs and circs. We have a token tech that was hired a number of years ago to fill a need. I work another facility that uses quite a number of techs and many of them are quite good. It is funny though that the past few RNs they have hired are now required to train to scrub. Makes you wonder what direction they are going. Large facility, does hearts, neuro, etc......... They maybe looking at phasing out any future tech hires. I personally have no problem with the techs I work with, but I would rather have an ALL RN staff. This allows for better staffing. I am old school and when I started that was all we had, just RNs. I do wish for the old days!

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Where I work, each room is staffed with 1 RN circulator and 2 STs. We have a small handful of nurses who can scrub and will do so when we don't have enough STs. However, we are so short on nurses that we consistently have 3-4 traveling RNs just to have a circulator in each room, so those nurses who can scrub very rarely do so. New hires with no OR experience aren't taught to scrub. They get one week of scrubbing in just to observe it, but it's nowhere near enough time to learn, and not much effort is made to teach those who want to learn.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
Hospitals took on the role of the ST as a financial savior when less RNs were wanting to go to the OR. The OR has always been an intimidating area for RNs and they pretty much avoid this area. I work with an RN crew that scrubs and circs. We have a token tech that was hired a number of years ago to fill a need. I work another facility that uses quite a number of techs and many of them are quite good. It is funny though that the past few RNs they have hired are now required to train to scrub. Makes you wonder what direction they are going. Large facility, does hearts, neuro, etc......... They maybe looking at phasing out any future tech hires. I personally have no problem with the techs I work with, but I would rather have an ALL RN staff. This allows for better staffing. I am old school and when I started that was all we had, just RNs. I do wish for the old days!

Really, you think the hospitals would realize that while they save money in some respects, they sacrifice efficiency by not having nurses that can scrub and circulate. Yes, having scrub experience makes you a better circulator but I found that I was a better scrub too after my RN training...you have the big picture then. I realized why the circulator couldn't always drop everything and grab me what I needed. It's like the lightbulb went on once I started circulating as far as the whole patient..not just instruments and the incision.

I don't look down on techs, I used to be one. I just ask for the same courtesy from the techs I work with...one of them that I work with closely is always putting the circulator's role down...it's "easy" according to her. I try not to let it get to me because I believe that the only way you can get how stressful circulating can be is to do it.

I love scrubbing...I look at it as a break!

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

I don't look down on techs, I used to be one. I just ask for the same courtesy from the techs I work with...one of them that I work with closely is always putting the circulator's role down...it's "easy" according to her. I try not to let it get to me because I believe that the only way you can get how stressful circulating can be is to do it.

I love scrubbing...I look at it as a break!

I think the only way you can appreciate the role of the circulating nurse is when you get someone who is lazy/incompetent as your circulator. You can be the best scrub nurse in the world but if your scout nurse isn't up to scratch, then everything just goes to pieces.

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Specializes in OR, community nursing.

Originally Posted by WitchyRN viewpost.gif

I don't look down on techs, I used to be one. I just ask for the same courtesy from the techs I work with...one of them that I work with closely is always putting the circulator's role down...it's "easy" according to her. I try not to let it get to me because I believe that the only way you can get how stressful circulating can be is to do it.

I love scrubbing...I look at it as a break!

Well said. When I was a CST, I used to think circulating is easy. Now as a circulator, I have to do 6 things at the same time and answer to 6 people including nurses from the floor. When I am scrubbing, I just pay attention to the sterile field, the scrub team and circulator. Now I am responsible for documenting everything going on in the room in addition to charging for everything being used in the procedure. Yes, scrubbing is a break.

Many techs in the OR are very bossy. I do wonder if I was like them when I was a CST.

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

I just don't think techs realize all the responsibilities that the circ has to have. Scrubing certain cases can be very intense and I accept that, but most are mind numbing, boring , routine cases you could do with your eyes closed. Even the more complicated ones get so routine you seem to be just going through the motions. Circulating these cases are not always the same. The patients are always different with different medical issues that need to be dealt with. All nurses that work in the OR need to see both sides of the coin to see all that is needed in each job. This is why I have always advocated an ALL RN staff in the OR. Knowing both sides just leads the RN to be a better OR nurse.

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I am thankful I was a ORT before going back to nursing school...what I am not thankful for is that our hospital in time of need "trained" uneducated people from other areas of the hospital to "scrub". Now they are stuck in a position that they are unable to certify in because of no diploma and think they know it all even though it's the only hospital they have ever scrubbed at. It's an angry bunch! In the past year, our staff development has required every new circulator that has been hired to learn to scrub for at least a few weeks before taking on their circulator training role. I am glad for that and hope they retain that knowledge when they take on their new role. It's been very interesting to see new people come in who have worked at a University hospital setting and claim to have "scrubbing" experience but really don't know much. I keep trying to tell them, that is really a much slower and not really adequate experience of real life scrubbing where u have to act much more quickly with experienced surgeons. Well, we've seen lots of changes, some good and some not, but I do think surgical techs are the economical way to go in this day and age.

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Specializes in Perioperative paediatric nursing.

We have EN's and RN's, both circulate and scrub, we look at the list and decide who wants to do what for each case :nurse:

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In my hospital we use mainly all CSTs. Back in September of 2009, Texas passed a law that all scrub techs fresh out of school and the military must be certified if they wanted to work in any hospital or surgery center. The ones working who wern't were given a 1 year notice to get certified or face a large reduction in pay which would then lead to a termination after a certain period of time.

HB 643 by both the Texas House and Senate. Governor Perry signed this bill into law on June 19, 2009. check it out http://www.texasstateassembly.org/files/index.php?id=10

. We have very good nurses that will scrub if we need them to hold a retractor or a camera. I have talked to many new nurses and they all have told me that they spend 1 day in there OR. Pretty much in next to the circulator giving them a low down of how the OR works, etc.

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Specializes in ICU, Trauma, CCT,Emergency, Flight, OR Nursing.

I trained as an RN in South Africa and nursed there for many years before immigrating to the USA.

As as student nurse in our 4th year (senior) , we spent 2 months in the Operating Theatre (OR as we call it here in the US) learning the roles of both Scrub nurse as well as circulating nurse or "floor nurse" as we called it.

It was a very comprehensive introduction to the world of the OR or "theatre" and included time in Recovery Room (PACU) and admitting holding area, anaesthesia, Central Sterile Supply Dept (CSSD).

I worked in Cardio Thoracic theatre (3 rooms) of a 30 room suite at Groote Schuur hospital (where the 1st Heart transplant was pioneered) and had to scrub for a minimum of 5 cases. We had a veteran OR RN preceptor standing right next to us for guidance and moral support. Because it was a large academic hospital, the surgeons were used to students and were very encouraging of us being at the 'table' as they knew that that encouragement would foster a new generation of RN's wanting to work in the OR's.

Hospitals in South Africa do not employ any non-nursing personnel in any area. The Theatres/OR's are staffed by RN's , Enrolled nurses (equivalent to LVNs) and Enrolled nursing auxilliaries who were also enrolled with the SA Nursing Council.

RN's in the OR's in South Africa get to serve as 1st assistants on occasion when there is not one available and the surgeon's usually pay the RN the 1st assistant fee.

I think US nursing students should get greater exposure to the OR and to the roles of RN's in the OR during their training and be encouraged to scrub under direct supervision as part of their clinical requirements. This experience will create greater interest in pursuing a career path in the OR environment. As student nurses wayy back in South Africa, our great experiences in the OR resulted in no fewer than 20 of the 100 students getting into OR nursing after graduation.Most still practice in this speciality.

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Brian Lee!! That was absolutely priceless!!!!:yeah::yeah::yeah::up::up::clown::p:D:hug::balloons::cheers::redlight::clpty:

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