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Travel Nursing: Operating Room (OR)

OR nurseIf you crave being on the front lines of patient care, consider becoming an operating room nurse. OR nursing (also known as perioperative nursing) involves caring for patients before, during and after surgery. In the operating room, the OR nurse plays a vital role by ensuring a clean surgical environment and acting as the patient advocate.

Requirements

OR nurses have different duties depending on their role in the OR, which is comprised of two areas: the sterile operating field and the non-sterile area. OR nurses acting as circulating nurses monitor and maintain a sterile operating field, connecting the non-sterile area with the sterile field by directing traffic and overseeing the handling of all sterile surgical instruments. (It’s been said that the circulating nurse is the only non-scrubbed member of the surgical team.)

In some facilities, circulating nurses serve in an expanded role as the coordinating link between the scrub team and all other departments/personnel associated with the patient and surgical procedure.

OR nurses are also trained to assist in surgery. In this role, they are referred to as scrub nurses, working as the surgeon’s primary assistants in the sterile operative field. Scrub nurse duties include preparing the skin for surgery, handing instruments to the surgeon, monitoring the patient’s condition and keeping accurate notes and records of counts during the procedure.

Working together, the circulating nurse and scrub nurse protect the sterility of the operative field by maintaining constant surveillance. Any breaks in the sterile technique, such as a tear in the surgeon’s glove, are remedied immediately.

OR nurses (like other high-acuity nurse specialties), are in high demand across the country, and experienced OR nurses can choose from many travel opportunities and expect excellent pay rates. The work requires physical and mental stamina, quick thinking in high-stress situations, attention to detail, and strong interpersonal skills for interacting directly with patients and members of the surgical team.

Check out “Three Roles of OR Nurses” for more information on this specialty.

Education

OR nurses must have an accredited nursing degree (preferably a bachelor’s degree in nursing), pass the NCLEX and complete six to 12 months of training. To become certified as an OR nurse, you’ll need an additional two years and 2,400 hours of experience.

Note: Basic life support (BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification, as well as one year of clinical experience, are required for all nurses RNnetwork places.

Are you interesting in traveling with RNnetwork? Check out our open OR travel nursing jobs.

About the author

Greg Merrill

Greg is a marketing brand manager for RNnetwork. He began his career as a writer and managed to parlay that into a 20-year marketing career. He loves the chase — building brands and solving business challenges with great advertising. A prog rock fan and golf junkie, he spends an inordinate amount of his free time wearing earphones, trying to fix his chipping yips.

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