What is "scrubbing" what is "circulating"

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 27, 2006

Our anesthesia team must be very spoiled. It is usually me that hangs the IV antibiotic. I read and absorb almost the whole chart and supplement that by interviewing the patient. (If that patient goes south on induction the RN best know what the medical history is) I ALWAYS stand right next to patients head to assist anesthesia with pressure, handing over ET tube in correct manner, making sure he/she doesn't have to look away from trachea, to retrieve it, Keeping an eye on pulse ox monitor if a difficult intubation. If precepting, I remind the new RN that on induction AND extubation, her eyes and attention are focused on that patient, to ignore surgeon, tech, rep, and whoever else is trying to get her attention!

This is the kind of circulators i work with.

MissJoRN, RN · May 30, 2006

Our anesthesia team must be very spoiled. It is usually me that hangs the IV antibiotic. I read and absorb almost the whole chart and supplement that by interviewing the patient. (If that patient goes south on induction the RN best know what the medical history is) I ALWAYS stand right next to patients head to assist anesthesia with pressure, handing over ET tube in correct manner, making sure he/she doesn't have to look away from trachea, to retrieve it, Keeping an eye on pulse ox monitor if a difficult intubation. If precepting, I remind the new RN that on induction AND extubation, her eyes and attention are focused on that patient, to ignore surgeon, tech, rep, and whoever else is trying to get her attention!

It like SOME of the circulators I work with. As far as the others... you can see the relief behind the "hellos and how are yous" by the Drs and CRNAs when they're relieved from an iffy room!

I guess it depends on routine and protocols though. If RNs are working where assisting the CRNA is expected they will naturally have the automatic skills, med knowlege, and understanding of pt history to do it. If it's not common to have the circ hanging antibiotics and helping with intubations then they should probably not be doing it "occasionally" since their probably out of touch with their abx classes, effects, etc. Like anything else in nursing :)

jcarew · May 30, 2006

HI,

Here is a simple answer. The scrub nurse is sterile and assists the surgeon with all items and duties that require sterile hands. The circulating nurse is not sterile. So all duties once the surgery has started that require non-sterilie hands she completes (paperwork, documentation, running getting supplies, etc.) The circulating nurse does usually prep the patient which includes sterile technique, but other than that it is just simply sterile vs non-sterile during surgery.

Darth Nightingale · May 30, 2006

Thanks for the replies. They sound like a REALLY cool job... both scrubbing and circulating. I'll have to keep an eye on this avenue for career growth. I think I would like to spend some time in the OR at some point. Doesn't sound like my calling... but dang cool none the less.

steelydanfan · May 31, 2006

The AORN site is the most obtuse, poorly designed web site I have ever seen. I worked for 3 years in a stand-alone surgery center, and after being familiar with AACN, it was a shock to not to be able to navigate to the most basic information, I gave up.

Cate

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · May 31, 2006

It's the closest thing i could come up with at the time.

steelydanfan · May 31, 2006

ORTESS hit it out of the ball park! As I posted, I had only 3 years in a surgery center, doing eye and podiatry cases as a circulator, but believe me, what I did was in no way unimportant. Imagine an anesthesiologist just suddenly leaving the room in the middle of a case, for 5 or sometimes 15 minutes. Who do you think is watching the monitor? The patient? The surgeon?

The circulator prepares the room and the patient for surgery,watches for breaks in sterile technique, anticipates what might happen, what does happen, and responds and is prepared for all of it.

Ppretty darned important, IMHO.

Cate