Registered Nurse - Operating Room

Job Specific Position Duties

• Provides professional nursing care to patients undergoing surgery. Prepares and maintains operating room for all surgical procedures. Establishes and utilizes a checklist to monitor the physical plan of the operating room and equipment for conformity to all national standards for ensuring safety for the patient and all personnel. Assembles the type and quantity of material and special equipment needed for daily procedures and possible emergencies.
  
  Circulates for surgical procedures. Responds to surgical emergency requirements such as cardiac, pulmonary, or respiratory failure and hemorrhage.
• Maintains open communication lines, both interdepartmentally and interdepartmentally, to provide for total needs of the patient. Conducts preoperative and postoperative visits. Discusses operative procedures with patients and informs them of what to expect during surgery. Consults with the operating surgeon and establishes priorities of care for each patient entering the operating suite. Coordinates with other hospital units, which include recovery room, intensive care, obstetrics, and nursing units, on patients, progress and any special equipment or supplies that will be needed for the patient returning from surgery.
• Directs and instructs personnel in preparing, sterilizing, and caring for operating room equipment and supplies. Maintains concise and complete records and reports. Coordinates an ongoing, in-service education program to continually update knowledge and skills of all assigned operating room nursing personnel.
• Initiate, perform and complete assigned duties in providing care to variable patient populations based upon the assessed needs of the patient and in relation to the proposed procedure.
• Complete assigned patient care based on the patients’ conditions, use judgment in selecting the appropriate order and sequence of procedures and treatments, and accurately recognize, report and record relevant patient information.
• Observe, identify and respond to the patient’s needs for care, including medication, equipment-assisted care and patient/family education.
• Provides perioperative nursing care, for all types of patients admitted to the surgical suite for surgical intervention. Includes elective, urgent and emergency procedures on patients of all ages.
• Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates nursing care for all patients including newborns, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly; disabled to include visually and hearing impaired; and individuals of varying ethnic, and religious backgrounds to include those who do not speak or understand English.
• Participates and complies with quality and process improvement activities, meetings, and events to ensure compliance with national standards and guidelines.
• Knowledge of a variety of pharmacological agents used in patient treatment, the desired effects, side effects, and complications of their use as well as the accurate administration of the pharmacologic agent, including dosage calculations as required. Knowledge of the administrative requirements for proper documentation of patient’s condition including disease progress, acknowledgement of teaching, and follow up care.
• Knowledgeable of laboratory test values.
• Prepare and administer prescribed medications (oral, topical, subcutaneous, intramuscular and/or intravenous) to include blood and blood products and perform treatments according to established policies/procedures.
• Adheres to perioperative, infection control and safety policies and procedures.
• Safely operates and monitors specialized therapeutic and resuscitative equipment.
• Skilled in setting up, operating and monitoring specialized medical equipment such as IV infusion pumps, cardiac monitoring devices, EKG units, oxygen analyzers, nebulizers, and other unit specific equipment.
• Effectively communicates and collaborates with a diverse group of people for the purpose of informing the healthcare team of plans/actions, for teaching/education to benefit the patient/family and organization. Effectively uses appropriate communication format in addressing professional issues.
• Excellent written communication skills to perform…