MedMayhem

I didn't say just the questions at the end of the module. There are questions throughout the modules which is what we studied from. I took the test just a year and a half ago and that's what the nurses who went through before me told me (everyone in my cohort passed on the first try) and that's what we've passed on. I'm not saying it's a mindless exercise but it definitely helps you narrow and focus among so much information.

Like the others said, it should air dry without fanning because it could spread non-sterile particles all over the sterile field, negating the whole point of the prep. Plus, it should be pretty dry at the manufacturer-recommended 3 minutes (one hour for prep over hair, not that anyone I've ever seen follows that guideline). If she really wants it dry, she should just dab with a sterile towel. The immediate bacteriocidal effect comes from the actual drying of the alcohol.

This is from what I've seen as an OR nurse. RNFAs aren't super common where I work except in the CVOR. (I work in the main OR doing trauma, general, etc). Where there aren't residents assisting, we have surgical assistants through a third-party company, including assists, physician assistants and one RNFA. THey're right in there doing what a resident would do without doing rounds on the floor, from positioning and prepping to assisting in the surgery to closing. If you want to do actual surgery, go the RNFA/NP route absolutely. (We recently got a lot of NPs for our neurosurgeons who I believe will have to get their RNFA eventually to continue assisting in surgery.) RNFAs also need at least two years of perioperative experience and in particular scrubbing experience. CRNAs are completely different. They're absolutely hands-on but in a different realm where they're monitoring the patients vitals, giving meds, basically in the Venn diagram of anesthesiologists and nursing, they're that overlapping purple part. Depending on the case, they may have lots of moments sitting and watching the EKG or they might be spending the whole case trying to keep a patient alive long enough to make it to the end of the surgery alive and with minimal injury. That's why they require you to have critical care experience to go CRNA school. If you love working in the ICU, it's the thing for you. Really, they're just two completely different types of nursing. I love working in the OR, and you can join in in so many different ways. Maybe try shadowing some people in these roles to see what you actually enjoy. I've had friends who loved the idea of the OR but once we spent a day or two there for school, they never wanted to do it again. I wanted to do critical care and become a CRNA and absolutely love scrubbing in.

I mainly scrubbed when I started in the OR and am orienting to circulating soon. A lot of techs have told me that it'll be easier since I have so much scrubbing experience and some have even said their best nurses are the ones who scrub. So there you go! From what I've seen with newer nurses and from my own experience, it's easier to anticipate and understand the needs of the doctor/case when you know what's happening up there and how things are used.

I promise you a majority if not all the questions you will get will be lifted directly from the questions in the modules near verbatim. It's easier if you type them up as you go rather than backtracking, but that's what they told my group. We all passed the first time after studying mainly the questions. Good luck!