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Hello nurses! I am a newly grad nurse and currently taking a perioperative nursing course. I found one difficult question from my module that I think an experienced OR nurse can answer. Please help, I am curious with what your gonna do with this scenarios. THANK YOU.

  1. A patient is under general anaesthesia and the anaesthetist asks you to monitor the patient while he/she steps out of the operating room. What are your responsibilities of the nurse scrub and circulating nurse?

this is a tricky question. i believe anesthetist are not allowed to leave the OR, or even if they are to leave, they should have an assistant or something like that? i dont know i dont have an OR experience.

2. The patient begins to move on the operating room bed and the surgeon is concerned, the anaesthetist has not responded to your pages over the intercom. What would you do?

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Specializes in Trauma Surgery, Nursing Management.

1. If a patient is under general anesthesia, it is NEVER appropriate for the anesthesia care provider to leave the room. EVER. Your responsibility is to say, "You CANNOT leave the patient for any reason. I will be happy to call the charge nurse to find a replacement for you if you need to step out." Do NOT EVER take responsibility for the monitoring of a patient under GA. This is out of your scope of practice, and would be akin to the surgeon asking you to make the incision while he "checks his pager real quick".

2. This question is irrelevant because the anesthesia care provider is never allowed to leave the room without a licensed anesthesia care provider to take over.

I hope this helps!

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Specializes in nothing.

thank you!!! that is exactly what I was thinking I just needed to hear it from someone like you. thank yoU!!

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