what to expect as a day surgery nurse?

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Hi...

I am a graduate RN and have a 6 month rotation in a day surgery unit of a large metropolitan hospital, I have not worked in one before and therefore am not sure what to expect. Can anyone offer me any insight into the things I might be doing/seeing/experiencing on a daily basis?

Thanks for any replies :)

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The patient is not sick. They are healthy, assessed by 3 MD's prior to surgery.

Saying that In pre op the paper work need a more thorough assessment than the patient. Don't skimp on the pre op check list.

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I meant to write a little more, my computer is acting up!

The pace is very fast (I repeat because the patient is not "sick"). You may start IV's, some places the anesthesiologists does it.

Anesthesia has become so safe that even in recovery with anesthetized patients the pace is fast. They come out of OR awake, are given juice and crackers, discharge instructions to their ride home, and wheel chaired out the door.

I am intentionally minimizing nursing assessments. Of course they need to be done but at a very quick level. They are sitting up, talking, their O2 sat is above 92%, you don't need to listen to lung sounds, do a head to toe assessment, etc.

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Thanks for the reply brownbook....

So do you think it is a place I will learn anything other than time management? I have previously worked in ED so this seems a bit like a step down for me?

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Well.........I think it is a step down. Compared to ER critical care even med surg nursing. I don't want to scare you away, I really enjoy it. No nights, no weekends, no holidays. Work closely with anesthesia and surgeons. More time for one on one patient and family teaching. But not much in the way of using a lot of nursing knowledge re: telemetry, lab values, organ function, drug administration etc. You could work your way into working OR or PACU for in patient surgery where a lot more acute nursing skills are needed.

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Thanks for the reply. I will take it as a positive experience, ED was great but exhausting so maybe day surg will be a breath of fresh air for me xx

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Hi Marsy82! how was your experience working in day surgery? I will be working for a day surgery unit soon and have similar questions to yours.

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