What's the easiest job in the operating room?

Jeff RN · Aug 30, 2009

Man, I don't want to work where you work. I hope that's not par for the course

well, might me a little exaggeration. But that is just in one of the surgeon's rooms. Each orthopod generally runs two rooms, sometimes 3. 45 minutes skin to skin, you know the deal.

CandyGyrl1985 · Aug 30, 2009

Would anyone mind giving a brief description of these jobs and the education behind them for me. I am a nursing student and dont know the dynamics of the OR. I would post elsewhere - but you guys all seem pretty knowledgeable so I hope the OP doesnt mind if a couple of you describe what each of these positions actually does, etc.

THANKS!

core0 · Aug 30, 2009

David, would you circulate for a living if it paid as much as your current salary?

I missed this when you posted. I think that my answer would be no. The issues would be much the same as when I was a tech. I enjoyed the OR. I was lucky to have a good bunch of surgeons, techs and RNs to work with. However the job was the same as when I was a paramedic. All you see is the snapshot in time of the patient. For the most part you have no idea how the patient did after the surgery or what they were like before the surgery. Part of what makes the job interesting is the intellectual curiosity of what happens to the patient.

In my current job I see them before surgery, during surgery and follow them afterward. Originally where I am now I assisted a fair amount. Now we have fellows and the service is busy so the surgeons get nervous we aren't on floor. In one way its good that we are appreciated but I miss assisting. Now we mostly assist when we have two cases at the same time or the fellow is out of town.

When I was in the Army we had techs that circulated and there were some that preferred that over scrubbing and some that preferred scrubbing over circulating. The skillset is different for circulating and scrubbing so whether its easier or not is going to depend on your skills and personality type.

David Carpenter, PA-C

BethCNOR, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2009

There's nothing easy in the OR. I just have to laugh at how defensive people get when the think they have to defend their position. :twocents:

I have been the scrub, the first assistant, and the circulator in the OR. All I can say is they are all HARD if you do the job RIGHT. One is not harder than the other, they just focus on different priorities. They all have one priority in common: to provide the best care possible for each patient.

linda2097 · Sep 27, 2009

One is not harder than the other, they just focus on different priorities.

Ask a physician if his job is harder than a scrub tech's job and see what he says.

Also, do you believe that ALL jobs in the world are equal in difficulty?

BethCNOR, BSN, RN · Sep 28, 2009

Ask a physician if his job is harder than a scrub tech's job and see what he says.
Also, do you believe that ALL jobs in the world are equal in difficulty?

I've worked with enough physicians that I don't have to ask them. Ask them if they could do the scrub tech's job. No, I don't think all jobs are equal in difficulty. I just don't think there's any easy job in the OR, especially if they are done right.

Everyone has their expertise, but not one job could be done without the other.

linda2097 · Sep 28, 2009

No, I don't think all jobs are equal in difficulty.

Then we agree after all.

I love the OR · Oct 1, 2009

What was the reason for this post?

MrNurseOR · Oct 15, 2009

Wow, I just stumbled upon this post and all I can say is that I am completely astonished and amazed. Everyone in the OR works hard, from the PST's up to the Surgeons. We ALL have a job do, and no body should have to feel as if they need to defend their job. Most everyone takes pride in what they do, and how they do it. I was very offended being an OR nurse myself to see one of my own belittling so many people and forcing them to defend their jobs and positions. The OR is all about team work, how can anything get done in an environment such as the one that has been brought up by Linda2097? A circulator has their own scope of practice, same as a CST, and a First Assist. We all have different jobs but they are ultimately dependent on one another.

Editorial Team / Admin · Oct 15, 2009

Thread closed for now.