Question about nurse and Surgical tech

Specialties Operating Room

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What exactly do the RN and Surgical Techs each do in the OR? I'm trying to choose between them both and I can't find anything online that really describes either of them. and can LPNs work in the OR?

does nursing in ca really pay that high? my online friends that work in cali make 18 to 28 per hour (mainly sf, la and san diego). the ast national survey gives 18.68 as an average wage in ca. which would mean the average nurse making 85% more would earn about $124.50 per hour or $257,920 per year! if that is true....i know where i am going as soon as i graduate my nursing program!!!!!!!!!!!! the pay difference here is only 25%.

actually, your math is off. 85% of your figure of $18.68 is only $15.88, which when added to $18.68 becomes $34.56 an hour.

here in central california, rn's earn between $31 and $43 an hour.

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It is still a great pay!!!!!!! How's the cost of living where you are at?

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LPNs do work in some ORs. There's a very frequent member here by the username of Marie_LPN who is an LPN in the OR. Half of the scrub technicians were LPNs when I was doing my clinical rotations at Kaiser Hospital in the Los Angeles area.

In my experience, having worked on the east coast & western US, legally an RN has to be circulating in the OR. An LPN can function in a tech capacity, and although most I've known could probably circulate just as well as an RN, the law requires that an RN be there. Most OR techs I've worked with were from an AD program & certified, some were also first assists, as are some OR RNs. Certified Surgical Techs make about the same as an LPN. The best OR nurse, in my opinion, is one that can both circulate AND scrub.

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It is still a great pay!!!!!!! How's the cost of living where you are at?

Central California has a low cost of living, but I do not recommend living here because our air is the most unhealthy air in the nation. Also, crime rates and gang activity are increasing.

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yeah, i have mild allergy evoked asthma. cleaner air is a must for me.

i see where my math was bad. i figured for 85% higher than a tech instead of 85% more of a techs wage.:smackingf

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Is there any online certification I can get for competency in the OR? I'm not working there but need to go in while in a sales position. I am an LPN.

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Specializes in ER/ OR/ PACU and now Occupational Health.

I have been a scrub for a few years now and I am going to back to RN school now. Here the pay of an RN is NOT double what a scrub makes. I am making close to what a new RN grad makes. It just depends on where you work I guess and what state you are in. Oh and by the way....scrubs do more than just stand there in a gown and gloves and pass instruments. A lot of times people don't give us proper credit for the things that we actually do. I set up rooms, pull for cases, assist doc, make sure all equipment needed is running properly, gather meds, pull all necessary stuff that we could need in our room so the nurse does not have to run for it, help position, know most of the surgeries done in our hospital by heart, transport patients if PACU is busy, put in foleys and prep if the nurse is busy and I am already set up, put the fracture tables together, watch for allergies and med errors, and play peace keeper in the room many times. It just frustrates me when we are made out to be less vital than the circulators. Yes maybe some RN's could scrub but not many of the ones I have worked with over the last 7 years. You open all 7 to 10 of those total knee pans and have two tables full of instruments and supplies and most of them are running for the door! Sorry to go off on a rant just need a little respect every now and then. Don't need the future OR staffers thinking all we do is just stand there and give the doctor the pretty shiny instruments. :nono:

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I have been a scrub for a few years now and I am going to back to RN school now. Here the pay of an RN is NOT double what a scrub makes. I am making close to what a new RN grad makes. It just depends on where you work I guess and what state you are in. Oh and by the way....scrubs do more than just stand there in a gown and gloves and pass instruments. A lot of times people don't give us proper credit for the things that we actually do. I set up rooms, pull for cases, assist doc, make sure all equipment needed is running properly, gather meds, pull all necessary stuff that we could need in our room so the nurse does not have to run for it, help position, know most of the surgeries done in our hospital by heart, transport patients if PACU is busy, put in foleys and prep if the nurse is busy and I am already set up, put the fracture tables together, watch for allergies and med errors, and play peace keeper in the room many times. It just frustrates me when we are made out to be less vital than the circulators. Yes maybe some RN's could scrub but not many of the ones I have worked with over the last 7 years. You open all 7 to 10 of those total knee pans and have two tables full of instruments and supplies and most of them are running for the door! Sorry to go off on a rant just need a little respect every now and then. Don't need the future OR staffers thinking all we do is just stand there and give the doctor the pretty shiny instruments. :nono:

Oh brother. Take it easy. I never said scrub techs don't work hard. I will say however that circulating is harder than scrubbing. I used to scrub a lot and I looked forward to scrubbing because it was an easy assignment compared to circulating. And yes, I scrubbed big ortho cases too.

Also, you shouldn't compare your pay to that of new nurses. You should compare you pay to the pay of nurses with the same number of years experience as you.

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Please do not be offended by my question...I KNOW how important your dutie nare. I am NOT looking for a quick and easy way to get an OR position. That would be an insult to the hard working staff. I work in sales and wanted more knowledge of the OR situation.

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ScrubNurse8129, are you a LVN or LPN?

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

Yes maybe some RN's could scrub but not many of the ones I have worked with over the last 7 years. You open all 7 to 10 of those total knee pans and have two tables full of instruments and supplies and most of them are running for the door! Sorry to go off on a rant just need a little respect every now and then.

It's statements like this that fuel an unnecessary fire!

I've also noticed in the time i've been in the OR that those who feel and say they aren't getting the respect that they think they deserve, are sometimes the same people that are quick to inflame others.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

In addition, a person is only able to be called a scrub nurse if they are a licensed nurse (RN, RGN, LPN, LVN).

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