Surgery centers vs. hospital O.R.'s

[mikethern]

Has anyone here worked at both ambulatory surgery centers and hospital operating rooms? If so, here are some questions?

Is circulating harder at surgery centers because the cases are shorter which means more turnovers?

Do surgery center patients ever need blood during the case? If so, is blood stored in the surgery center?

Is there less paperwork for a circulator in a surgery center?

Surgery center patients are much healthier than hospital patients, right?

Where are specimens from surgery centers sent?

Overall, which is an easier job? Circulating in a surgery center or circulating in a hospital's operating rooms?

Thank you!

[suzanne4, RN]

The patients should be healthier, but does not always work that way.

Specimens are usually sent to pathology at the hospital that the physicians there have privileges at.

Same paperwork, or very similar, the agency that certifies free standing surgical centers has almost the same requirements that you see with JCAHO, you may even see more paperwork at some facilities.

Depends on the type of cases that are being done.........you also can be doing huge plastic surgery cases that last all day and may even have a second crew come in and this in a surgery center.......

You also need to be a very quick thinker, remember if there is a problem, you do not have all of the resources that you have available to you in an actual full hospital.

You can be doing tons of hernia repairs, or one or two much larger cases. Every day is always going to be different, just like in the hospital.

Hope that this helps.

p.s. No blood is usually available as there is no lab in the sugery center, remember? If blood is going to be needed, or possibly, then the case is never scheduled at a free-standing center.