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What is an Operating Room Nurse?
An operating room nurse is a licensed registered nurse (RN) who assists in the operating room (OR) and provides pre- and post-operative care to surgery patients. This is a specialty area of nursing that can require advanced experience and credentialing beyond the RN license. Operating room nurses work for hospitals, for ambulatory surgical centers, in clinics and for other medical facilities where surgery is performed. Another title for an operating room nurse, or OR nurse, is a perioperative nurse.
There are several focus areas within the operating room nurse profession. They include RN first assistant, scrub nurse and circulating nurse. RN first assistants and scrub nurses work directly with surgeons during surgical procedures. The first assistant's tasks include positioning and draping patients, helping control blood loss, suturing tissue and more. Scrub nurses handle the instruments used during surgery, anticipating what tools surgeons will need and handing them to physicians.
Circulating nurses are non-sterile surgical team members who manage all nursing areas in the operating room. They are the patient advocates in the room and keep close tabs on the patients’ overall health during surgery. Circulating nurses observe surgeries and provide assistance to the sterile teams as needed.
The operating room nurse also has many responsibilities outside of the operating room. Prior to surgery, operating room nurses answer patient questions about the upcoming procedures. They prep patients for surgery and ensure a sterile operating room environment. Following surgery, they restock operating rooms with supplies. They coordinate patient healthcare plans following surgery and oversee them. Higher-level operating room nurses might act as overall directors of operating rooms, supervising all aspects of the rooms such as staffing, budgeting, ordering supplies and more.
People who are interested in careers as operating room nurses should have calm, emotionally stable personalities. Emergencies and other distressing situations often occur in operating rooms, and reacting calmly and professionally is critical. Having empathy to connect with patients, be their advocate and understand what they are experiencing is important. Being able to separate emotional aspects of the job in order to do what is best for patients is a necessary skill.
Being a strong communicator who is able to deal with patients and their family members and work with physicians and other medical personnel is needed. Besides the mental strength needed for the job, operating room nurses should also have physical strength to lift patients and move equipment around. Stamina to handle long days on their feet in operating rooms also is typical of operating room nurses.
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![An operating room nurse is a registered nurse who assists in the operating room of a hospital.]()
By: Gennadiy PoznyakovAn operating room nurse is a registered nurse who assists in the operating room of a hospital. -
![Prior to surgery, operating room nurses answer patients' questions about the upcoming procedures.]()
By: jamstockfotoPrior to surgery, operating room nurses answer patients' questions about the upcoming procedures. -
![Operating room nurses ensure a sterile operating environment.]()
By: Sherry YoungOperating room nurses ensure a sterile operating environment. -
![An operating room nurse must follow all hygiene and sterilization protocols before assisting with surgery.]()
By: Tyler OlsonAn operating room nurse must follow all hygiene and sterilization protocols before assisting with surgery. -
![Empathy is a key trait in operating room nurses.]()
By: WavebreakmediaMicroEmpathy is a key trait in operating room nurses. -
![An operating room nurse is tasked with restocking supplies used during surgery.]()
By: Carolina K Smith MDAn operating room nurse is tasked with restocking supplies used during surgery. -
![Scrub nurses and RN first assistants work directly with surgeons during procedures.]()
By: Photographee.euScrub nurses and RN first assistants work directly with surgeons during procedures.
Discussion Comments
@Laotionne - I agree that operating room nurses are sometimes put in very stressful situations, but so are many other nurses who don't work in the operating room. Can you imagine the stress of having to care for patients who are dying and in some cases these patients are in a great deal of pain and discomfort.
Any nurse who cares about what she does and cares about her patients is going to experience emotional stress. This is just a part of the job that cannot be avoided. However, at the end of the day, the rewards should outweigh the stress and pressure. If they don't then it is time to start thinking about finding a new career.
Also, not all operations are performed on people who are in danger of dying on the table. There are plenty of routine surgeries that have very little risk involved. The important part of being a nurse is finding the right job. Nursing covers many areas and duties.
I bet the stress of working in an operating room is greater than the stress other nurses experience. I wouldn't want the pressure of being an operating room nurse and knowing that my actions might directly be responsible for a person dying on the operating table. I would rather work with patients outside of the operating room where everything is not so hectic and life and death.
One of my girlfriend's friends was a dancer and she went back to school and became a nurse. She works in the operating room now. She says when she initially began her training she was surprised at some of the tools used in the operating room. She says that the screws and bolt they sometimes use to repair broken bones look a lot like the ones you can purchase from the local hardware store.
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