Operating Room nursing in Ontario

[tobey]

Hi Everyone,

I am an RN thinking about doing the OR course and am trying to figure out what the RN does in the OR. (in Ontario) I have read that they "circulate" most of the time but could someone tell me what that entails? Does it vary from hospital to hospital? Thanks for your help!

[JaneSmithRevisited]

All RNs in Ontario scrub AND circulate. Some facilities only have RNs and no OR techs/RPNs; therefore, they have to do both. So if there is two RNs in a case, both parties have to decide who's going to circulate and scrub. If you're partnered up with an OR tech/RPN, as an RN, you have to circulate the whole time while you're partner scrubs.

It's hard to describe the circulating role because you do sooooooo many things. In general, you're the first person to see the patient, make sure that all lab test are done, consent has been done, pre-op sheet done, check meds, health history, allergies, NPO status, call blood bank for blood transfusion (if needed), insert IV, take the patient to the OR, hooking the patient to VS monitors, open packages for the scrub person, count intruments with the scrub, make sure that surgeon/scrub person has everything they need for the surgery, help with intubation when needed, help out during emergencies, prepare meds during surgery (with the scrub), make sure everyone is complying with asepsis technique, take the patient to PACU/ICU after surgery with the anaesthetist, DOCUMENTATION!!!!!! etc.

There's a lot more, I'm sure. I just covered the main points, I think.