forced to scrub

[guest974915]

I am a RN of 25 years and have spent the majority of my career in various operating rooms. I am experienced in General/Trauma/CVOR and while I can circulate all, I can also scrub many specialty services. At my current employer, I was hired with the understanding that I would only circulate CVOR, (CVOR is a distinctly different unit at my hospital and does not share personnel with General Surgery). However, whenever the department experiences a dip in the CVOR CST staffing numbers and have a need, they look to me to occasionally fill the void. I am adamant that I really, really dislike scrubbing hearts and when not done consistently, one really loses their 'edge' and is ill-prepared in the event of a true emergency. I feel that this is a 'bait and switch' ploy and while I'm a team player and happy to help out in other areas, I feel that this practice is not in the best interest of patients and certainly doesn't contribute to my job satisfaction. I have voiced my argument numerous times to management and it is forgotten for a while, but somehow always manages to resurface. What to do?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Either meet the expectations or find another job. If you're worried about loss of skills, request to scrub every so often to maintain them. They'll get you with the line that's in every job description "and all other duties as assigned"