emcrn

Our hospital does not require ACLS/PALS for OR nurses. However, if you want to be able to administer conscious sedation then you must have ACLS. Personally I consider it a professional responsibility to keep up my certifications, even if the chances of my having to use any of my knowledge are (thank God) slim to none, because of the presence of MDAs and CRNAs in the rooms. Just because you "don't have to" do something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it anyway. Ellen

I work in a large metropolitan hospital with 28 OR's. Surgeons do not specifically request to work with certain RNs but the charge nurses who make out the assignments work hard to assign RNs to those cases where they function best. This is especially true with complicated ortho cases (like joint replacements) and neuro cases (ones that use MetRx instrumentation, for example). The ophthalmologists who do 20 cataract replacements a day also generally work with the same team all the time, just to keep turnovers short and schedules runnning. The surgeons and the staff that always help them are able to function smoothly as a team, and everyone benefits. Personally I have no desire to spend hours in a space suit so I am just as happy that the same crew of a dozen or so people routinely staff the total joint rooms. This is, naturally, very different from a surgeon saying, "I only want to work with so-and-so," especially if it's a fairly straightforward general surgery case. The management here would never put up with shenanigans like that. Ellen