RN Monitoring Vitals and Circulating at the same time?

[inspir8tion]

I am wondering what you do in your hospital. If we do eye cases in my hospital; cataracts, etc. the circulator is supposed to circulate and monitor the patient's vitals throughout the procedure (there are no anesthesia personnel present).

I remember somewhere in my studies that if an RN has to monitor a patients' vitals, they have to be dedicated to that function and another RN has to circulate.

Any input would be helpful.

Thanks.

[core0]

I am wondering what you do in your hospital. If we do eye cases in my hospital; cataracts, etc. the circulator is supposed to circulate and monitor the patient's vitals throughout the procedure (there are no anesthesia personnel present).

I remember somewhere in my studies that if an RN has to monitor a patients' vitals, they have to be dedicated to that function and another RN has to circulate.

Any input would be helpful.

Thanks.

This doesn't speak specifically to eyes, this is the position statement from SGNA:

http://www.sgna.org/Resources/sedationrevised.pdf

"During moderate sedation, the registered nurse monitoring the patient may assist with minor, interruptible tasks once the patient's level of sedation/analgesia and vital signs have stabilized (ASGE/SGNA,2004). Adequate monitoring of the patient's level of sedation must be maintained (ASA, 2001; ASGE, 2002)."

"During deep sedation, the registered nurse should have no other responsibilities (ASA, 2001). Because of the importance assigned to managing the patient who is receiving sedation and analgesia, a second nurse or assistant is required to assist the physician (SGNA, 2005)."

David Carpenter, PA-C

[OR male nurse]

Where I work now, we have a dedicated sedation RN in addition to the circulator. There is no requirement for the RN's to have ACLS. I'm the only one that has it.

At the last hospital OR, it was the same way, you had a dedicated RN to give the sedation and another RN to circulate. All the RN's in our department had to get ACLS in order to give sedation.

[brewerpaul]

In our hospital, the circulator monitors vitals too on local-only cases eg lipoma excisions. If there's any conscious sedation, we have a separate nurse who does the sedation and vitals while another circulates.