RN Second scrubbing Open Heart...any advice?

[MereSanity]

OK...first I DON'T SCRUB. Now, I am on the Open Heart team and will be starting to scrub soon. Any advice on how to be useful? Techniques? Websites that may be helpful to me? Thanks!

[Future O.R. Nurse]

WOW! is all I can say. I am a surgical tech and was never assigned the heart room. I observed one day and knew that it would take atleast a year to be proficient in any heart procedure.

Just try not to be overwhelmed! I would really like to come back to this post and read what your experience was like.

[Future O.R. Nurse]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/surgeryvideos.html

This may help. I go to this website all the time just to refresh.

[Argo]

I would first go through your instrument sets and memorize the instruments. Go through the supply list on the front of the open heart pack that is used and try to familiarize yourself with the items in it. Any respectable heart room will have all those supplies on the shelf seperate also. While doing this go through the preference card of the surgeon you will be working with them most and learn the supplies and instruments that he prefers. Learn other small preferences like if he wants the first stitch forehand and the next one back hand..... these little things will get you in trouble if you dont learn it by the second case. Also, tell the surgeon that this is your first day on open hearts, you will enjoy learning with him and you appologize in advance for not knowing everything but will learn it.... They like honesty usually.

Also, the majority of CT surgeons talk VERY light to where you have to be paying attention to hear him. Typically only the first scrub, surgeon assistant and anesthesia can hear him.

[OR RN Brisbane]

When I was learning to scrub cardiac I had a great book to help me understand the surgery, it was Mosby's "Cardiac Surgery" by Patricia Seifert. It was a great resource with tips for circulating, scrub nurse and first assistant roles, see if you can find a copy. Cardiac surgery is not for everyone, the scrubs can be long, the surgeons demanding and time demands because of the cross clamp on the aorta. But it does give you an opportunity to excel and master something pretty special, an experienced cardiac scrub can be amazing to watch and gets respect.

[Future O.R. Nurse]

When I was learning to scrub cardiac I had a great book to help me understand the surgery, it was Mosby's "Cardiac Surgery" by Patricia Seifert. It was a great resource with tips for circulating, scrub nurse and first assistant roles, see if you can find a copy. Cardiac surgery is not for everyone, the scrubs can be long, the surgeons demanding and time demands because of the cross clamp on the aorta. But it does give you an opportunity to excel and master something pretty special, an experienced cardiac scrub can be amazing to watch and gets respect.

I totally agree. If they decided to put you in the heart room then you have definitely proven yourself worthy. That is a very respectable position in the O.R. It's hard work and very laborious but if given the opportunity I would love to be able to say my specialty in the O.R. is cardiac surgery! so yes, congratulations, learn all you can and don't give up.:yeah: