Surgical and Peri- Operative Nurses
Peri-operative Nurses care for patients undergoing minor or major surgery and are regarded as an integral part of the surgical team. Peri-operative nursing encompasses a range of specialized roles in the lead up to, during and after surgery. This can include prepping patients for surgery, providing support and comfort to the patient's family, assisting the surgical team in the operating theatre and providing post-operative care.
Some of the roles of a Peri-operative Nurse include:
The Circulating Nurse is responsible for delivering all supplies to the surgical area, planning and preparation of equipment, ensuring the correct count of instruments as well as patient positioning, checking of consent and collecting specimens.
During surgery, the Instrument Nurse has primary responsibility for all items used in the operating theatre and needs to be able to anticipate the needs of the surgical team. The Instrument Nurse has to ensure that all instruments, sterile supplies and
equipment required for the operation are at hand during surgery.
The Post Anesthetic Recovery Nurse and Surgical Nurse provides care for patients immediately following an anesthetic and surgery and are responsible for airway assessment and management, observation of the patient as well as management of the patient's post-operative pain and nausea.