grandmab

You are not alone. Where I am, call is 24 hours and begins after the last scheduled case of the day. We have 1 crew (Scrub, Circ., Anesthesia). I have the same fears about being alone. I have been in this OR for almost 7 years but have only been circulating about 2 1/2 years of that. We don't have a "back up call crew". As the circulator, I am also responsible for the recovery of that patient. Fortunately for me I know that I can call the house supervisor if I get into a pinch. Plus the anesthesia providers I work with are fantastic. They would never leave me if I felt uncomfortable with the situation. Find out all of your resources for after hours and use them as you need them. It is suprising how your nursing mind kicks in if the situation becomes hairy. You'll find out just how much you really know and amaze yourself at your confidence. Hang in there. You'll do great.

The original Steris 1 is still acceptable however, this is completely outdated and most facilities have upgraded to the most recent version of that unit which is the one on recall by the FDA. Our particular facility uses the Steris 4-5 times a day every day because we have no other allternative. Our corporate office is allowing us to continue to use them until they can be replaced. Being from a rural hospital though, our budget is not allowing for us to purchase the Sterad unit just yet and it appears that we will have to go back to the Cidex or OPA process. We have a limited number of cameras none of which can be autoclaved. Needless to say this will make for some pretty stressful times and turnover times will be unreal.