OPERATING ROOM NURSE CIRCULATOR - FT

Job Classification: Non-Exempt

Reporting Relationship: Reports to OR Supervisor

Primary Accountability:

The OR Nurse is responsible for the provision of care to patients who present for surgical services in the perioperative area, including preoperative care, intraoperative care, and postoperative care. 

Major Duties:

• Prepares patients for and assists the provider with procedures or surgical care.
• Provides patient education by explaining procedures, medications, giving instructions at a level the patient can understand as well as addressing the patient’s questions and concerns.
• Provides surgical patients with perioperative care in recovery, procedure, and operating rooms.
• Stocks operating rooms with sterile surgical equipment, linens, and supplies.
• Functions as circulator, scrub or instrument tech/nurse, and recovery nurse as directed. 
• Ensures all appropriate consents and pre-authorizations are complete.
• Develops and implements nursing care plans for surgical patients.
• Demonstrates effective communication, consultation, negotiation, and collaboration skills with members of the perioperative team and other stakeholders. 
• Acts as a patient advocate and maintains privacy and confidentiality of all appropriate information. 
• Prepares patients for surgery by cleaning and disinfecting areas to be operated on.
• Prepares patient care area and ensures sterile instruments, equipment, or supplies are available and inventory levels are maintained.
• Monitors patients’ physical and emotional well-being throughout the care continuum.
• Demonstrates sensitivity to patient’s comfort and privacy and expresses interest in their progress.  
• Maintains a safe, comfortable, and therapeutic environment for patients/families in accordance with hospital standards. 
• Applies sterile techniques in handling medical instruments and equipment pre-, during, and post-surgery.
• Collaborates with surgical teams and other medical professionals on patient medication and post-surgery care.
• Assists circulating nurse and anesthesia personnel as needed before, during, and after procedures.
• Completes required intraoperative charting and patient documentation.
• Updates patient files and medical records.
• Assists with the ordering, maintenance, and safe storage of surgical equipment and supplies.
• Provides patients with post-surgery care instructions and answering questions.
• Prepares and wraps packs of sterile supplies and instruments, dressings, and treatment trays, etc., according to established procedures.
• Ensures that all items sterilized are marked with date sterilized, sterilization load number, ID number of person responsible for sterilization, and other required information. 
• Follows isolation precautions and procedures on designated patients and follows standard precautions on all patients in all areas.  
• Ensures a clean and safe environment for personnel in the decontamination room. 
• Ensures the sterilizer is working correctly and checks each load for proper sterilization. 
• Must take call and be able to respond and arrive at the hospital within a 30-minute timeframe.
• May assist in the Outpatient Department as need as directed by the OR supervisor.

Qualifications:

• Must be licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the state of Kansas.
• Must be BLS certified.
• Must have or complete ACLS, PALS and NRP certification within one (1) year of employment.

Physical Demands:

• Eye/Hand, Eye/Foot and Hand/Foot Coordination.
• Normal eyesight, with or without corrective lenses.
• Normal hearing, with or without hearing aids.
• Motor coordination and manual dexterity. 
• The ability to bend, stoop, crawl, and kneel.
• The ability to exert 50 to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or 25 to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or 10 to 20 pounds of force constantly.   

Work Environment:

• Well-lit work area.
• Working under stressful conditions – physically demanding, high stress environment.
• Working irregular hours including after hours and on call. 
• May be exposed to blood and bodily fluids, communicable diseases, chemicals, radiation, and repetitive motions. 
• Work with people under all conditions.  
• Requires judgement/action, which could prevent the death of a patient.

Additional Duties:

Additional duties and responsibilities may be added to this job description at any time. The job description does not state or imply that these are the only activities to be performed by the employee holding this position. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related responsibilities as requested by their Supervisor or assigned charge personnel.