justine_ferren_cnor_crnfa RN

@crownsk - I completely appreciate the position you're in. I started as a staff nurse in the Operating Room, but strictly in the circulating role. I had experience prior as a CST. I think a lot of my luck in obtaining a scrub nurse role on our cardia...

In the 15 years since obtaining my BSN, I started as a CVICU Nurse and then transitioned into the Operating Room. Woven in between, I obtained my MSN (AGACNP-BC), CNOR / CRNFA Certifications, and then my DNP. Throughout my clinical and educational jo...

@lmib2 - Congrats! I can't wait to meet you. Please let me know if you have any questions on the interview process for the OR path at Parkland. I completed the residency and received a full-time offer after to scrub in the trauma O.R.

Setting the Stage - The Riskiest Cases As a perioperative nurse who serves in a First Assist role on our high-risk cardiovascular surgery team at a top-tier institution, we often get patients who have been refused surgical intervention at other f...

@Rose_Queen You definitely seem like you thrive in L1 Trauma more and probably got to scrub-in, especially during PEA operative resuscitation attempts!

Hi Rose - Did you scrub and circulate during your time in CVOR? Which did you prefer? Marathon cases?

@lmib2 - I believe it's for the Feb-2023 cohort - I am one of the Scrub FA preceptors - really look forward to meeting you. Feel free to msg me.

@lmib2 I heard the Operating Room Residency track acceptances went out and have been received.

@elizabeth11 - I completed the Parkland OR Residency and it was phenomenal. It offers a really good variety of cases and opportunities to both scrub and circulate. Having experience scrubbing L1 Traumas at Parkland is amazing experience that will tes...

@Hannah96 - I have been a perioperative nurse my whole career and am now a DNP CRNFA and Lead First Assist for our high-risk cardiac teams. I went from BSN to MSN (ACNP) to DNP. Feel free to message me!

@Jeffster I have been in the CVOR as a DNP RN First Assistant for the past 3 years. I scrub-in with our dedicated high-risk CV team that does our most challenging cases (re-do's, open aortic surgery, any cases requiring DHCA, or where STS risk profil...

Have any of the O.R. nurses out there been operated on by their colleagues (or perhaps the very team they work with)? As a Marfan's patient, I am scheduled for a complex Bentall redo for an aortic arch aneurysm - high-risk and will require a long per...

Thank you, Rose. You are exactly right. I've first assisted on CABGs for 3 of our O.R. nurses and while we tried to show that emotional barrier to preserve objectivity, there is no question that it was not just another case for the team. Unfortunatel...

Does anyone have experience dealing with surgeons who want to either operate or continue operating when everyone in the room knows that it is futile and starts to infringe on patient dignity? We have a CV surgeon who often operates on patients far o...

Have any of you ever been on the surgical team for a major procedure on a coworker? I will be scrubbing on a CABGx5 on one of our surgical techs next week. I am confident that we are the right team for her, but just need to remain objective...

@RNandMBA- I loved reading your post. The Operating Room is definitely 'a calling' and we need more nurses in our rooms who have a passion for this very specialized type of nursing! As a relatively new First Assist (who started in the OR after gettin...

Wow - it did not go well. 15+ hours and could not wean her off cpb.

I couldn't agree more here. My advice would be to do what I was lucky enough to do - find an institution that offers a formal perioperative nurse residency. We still have ours and it's interesting in that there are 4 tracks and perioperative is one...

I was lucky enough to be one of the first graduates of a perioperative nursing residency program at a tier-1 institution. It was the first year that perioperative had its own residency. That 12-month learning experience was invaluable as we got to ...

CCI still does CNOR credentialing, but the CRNFA certification process has transitioned to NASC.