Duties of OR nurses

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Hello everyone,

I have an interview to work in the vascular OR. I have been a telemetry nurse for 2 years. My questions are related to responsibilities of OR nurses. What exactly do they do before, during, and after the surgery? What are all the main roles? Is there a lot of standing involved? Any and all information will be really helpful and appreciated! Thank You!!!

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Specializes in ICU, Surgery.

Read the thread entitled "OR nursing, real nursing?" It has lots of varied descriptions. LOTS of standing and "running" required! Bet no one disagrees with that!

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And to add to the above, "Protecting the patient."

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There is a list of threads linked in "Surgery Nurses"

https://allnurses.com/forums/f39/surgery-nurses-152663.html

As far as vascular- it's one of my favorites. If you cirulate you'll get more of a chance to sit during longer cases while you chart, etc. As a scrub you might get to sit for AV fistulas but take advantage of any break time you get, that's often it! Lots of Xray in these rooms, though, that's the only physical drawback to me... I get tired of wearing lead if it's a heavy day of angios and minimally invasivve AAAs. I'm sure you'll like it though coming from telemetry- the two combined could put you on a fast track to open heart if you think that's a goal!

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OR Nursing is very interesting inspite of the long standing involved. I got interested when I was posted to A&E OR. Try it, you'll like it.:cheers:

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Specializes in Med Surg, Case Management, OR.

OR nursing involves being the patient's advocate for safety and also the only connection the family feels they have while their loved one is in "the doctor's hand." I've had family members tell me that they trust the doctor, but are a little more relieved that there's another "eye" on their loved one.

It's the most different kind of nursing I've ever done and I love it! There are days I come home after a chaotic day, but I always remind myself that I love what I do, even if I don't really like where I do it.

There is substantial standing and running. Lots of eye contact and nonverbal cues you gotta learn between yourself and the scrub person. The anesthesiologist is on your team if you happen to need a third hand and vice versa.

When running for supplies, always bring one more than you need...you never know if you'll drop something while trying to open it in sterile fashion!

As far as duties, see above comments for links to similar topic...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg, Case Management, OR.

OR nursing involves being the patient's advocate for safety and also the only connection the family feels they have while their loved one is in "the doctor's hand." I've had family members tell me that they trust the doctor, but are a little more relieved that there's another "eye" on their loved one.

It's the most different kind of nursing I've ever done and I love it! There are days I come home after a chaotic day, but I always remind myself that I love what I do, even if I don't really like where I do it.

There is substantial standing and running. Lots of eye contact and nonverbal cues you gotta learn between yourself and the scrub person. The anesthesiologist is on your team if you happen to need a third hand and vice versa.

When running for supplies, always bring one more than you need...you never know if you'll drop something while trying to open it in sterile fashion!

As far as duties, see above comments for links to similar topic...

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