Surgical Technologists Taking Over Nursing Roles?

inspir8tion · Jan 16, 2009

Surgical techs are used instead of scrub nurses because they are cheaper to pay. So, in that respect they took over an aspect that used to be nursing. STs now work under nursing and as part of nursing. Your question is very broad. Do you have any specific questions?

techraider77, ADN, BSN · Jan 16, 2009

what roles do nurses play in the OR these days?

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Jan 16, 2009

Rns circulate . In the majority of states, the circulator must be an RN. In my hospital, RNs still scrub( I'm on scrub call tomorrow) and some places actually feel that it's more effective to have an all RN staff, because an RN can both scrub and circulate.

Scrub techs are widely used but they do not perform nursing functions.

shodobe · Jan 17, 2009

An all RN staff is the way to go but unfortunately we have a management mentality of wanting to save money. That was the only reason that STs were brought in from the military to be used. Without the RN there would be no cases being done in a majority of states. Thank goodness I work in a state where ONLY RNs can circ. That type of thinking has always made me shutter with fear that anyone other than an RN could circ a room! STs have their use in larger hospitals where money is an issue. Also, a lot of RNs have this fear of the OR so they usually skip even applying in the OR. My department has two techs and only because we needed people and no RN would apply. We had an ALL RN staff up to just 3 years ago and I have worked here 32 years. Nice to be able to do both, it makes me much more marketable.

karebear74 · Jan 17, 2009

In my area ST's are not utilized in the OR anymore. Only small towns it appears use them. We have one St left and when she retires we will hire no more. The legality of it all is really getting strong. Even though ST's are good at what they do some are not always that efficient and it is the RN's license on the line. We hire all the time and some love it some don't but again they are all nurses. New and long time workers.

GOMER42 · Jan 18, 2009

Many ORs utilize an all RN staff because room turnover is faster because the RNs do not require oversight with counts and other tasks required to set the room up for the next surgery.

shodobe · Jan 18, 2009

Many ORs utilize an all RN staff because room turnover is faster because the RNs do not require oversight with counts and other tasks required to set the room up for the next surgery.

Has nothing to do with faster turnovers because of count issues. You still have to do proper counts with an RN or a ST. Maybe I am reading your post wrong. The reason, IMHO, is because all patients deserve an RN in all aspects of their care. Not to demean STs but when you have RNs that are trained to do both roles it allows staffing to go much smoother. The circ can leave the room when necessary and know another RN is there to assist the surgeon or anesthesia if there is a problem. A good, well trained ST needs no supervision in setting up a room for the next case, unless it has to do with IVs, A-lines, drips, etc.....An RN in the OR who has never been trained to scrub will never know the excitement that comes with scrubbing a total hip, AAA or ?

NabiRN, BSN, RN · Jan 18, 2009

I scrubbed for 4 years as a CST before becoming a nurse. In many ways, the surgical technologist focuses on the technology. Even though everyone advocates for the patient, the circulating nurse's primary role is to be the patient advocate. I do appreciate having someone whose primary role is to ensure we have the equipment and instrument for the case and knowing how to use them, put them together, and take them apart. If I can help the scrub out, I would. However, I don't expect the scrub to do nursing functions unless the scrub is also a nurse.

shell07 · Jan 23, 2009

WOW!! what state is this that has all rns, I have been a ST for 9years and just finished nursing school. I do see some of what your talking about I wonder if this is the trend?

shodobe · Jan 23, 2009

WOW!! what state is this that has all rns, I have been a ST for 9years and just finished nursing school. I do see some of what your talking about I wonder if this is the trend?

Which states is not an issue, it really depends on hospitals in general. I have worked for over 32 years at my hospital and we have had maybe 3 STs in all of those years. We have gone for long periods inn not hiring anyone because we didn't want to hire an ST. The reason? It was because all of the RNs did not want to give up their scrubbing roles, that simple. When an ST is scheduled they can't scrub, we are very territorial.

Scrubby · Jan 28, 2009

Shodobe-My hospital is very similar to yours. Techs aren't as widely used here down under like they are in the US. If a surgical tech tries to apply for a job at my hospital they are always told there are no positions available even if we are desperately short staffed.

I personally don't want to give up doing both roles. I think it's important for RN's to always be in the OR because we're not there to simply hand instruments and do whatever we are told by the surgeon. Surgeons often don't see the 'bigger picture' because their primary focus is on the operation they are about to do. As nurses we are trained to focus on the patient as a whole, to be able to advocate for them.

I'm not 100% against working with surgical technicians provided I still have the option to scrub, they are supervised by RN and NOT the medical staff.