ORcircRN

Hello. In the last year I have gone from a level II with 20 ORs to a level IV rural hospital with one OR. It was 'culture shock' at first, but now that I've gotten the hang of it I find it very fulfilling. The OR circulators in our facility share the many tasks that are normally completed by many different people in a larger hospital. These include scheduling, assembling charts, making the pre-op calls to patients, ordering labs/xray, opening the cases, transporting patients, positioning, prepping, recovering patients, turning over the OR, possibly reprocessing instruments, terminally cleaning the OR, possibly pre-opping/discharging patients, ordering supplies, stocking, etc. All these things take time and our surgeons understand that there may be delays, but also that we work very efficiently as a team to minimize them. We wear many 'hats' so to speak. We also get to know each patient better and can offer a more personalized level of care. It gives me a greater understanding and appreciation for my profession.