Theatre nurse role

what do you mean by kit?

theatre nurse tend to have 2 roles one as scrub nurse other as circulation nurse... however its very much a team effort with ODPs, anaethatist, surgeons and students.

you all must basically have high standards of infection control and be aware of risk assessment in positioning the patient.... also not all patient will have general anaethetics so communication is still vital.

if you scrubbing you need to have excellent surgical handwashing skills.... and these nurses will be in close contact with the draped patient and the surgeon so require to wear full sterile gown, gloves, etc... they have to pass equiptment to the surgeons and request equipment that may be needed they also are responsible for ensuring taht all the equipment is accounted for and that swabs etc arent mislaid.

the circulating nurse role is taht of fetching and opening... packs need to be opened in such away taht the contents remain sterile and that there is no risk to contaminating the sterile field.

you can also get anaesthetic nurses and recovery nurses who work in the perioperative area... anaesthetic nurses assist the anaesatist with getting the patient prepared prior to surgery commencing and assisti g keeping the patient comfortable during surgery.... recovery nurses are resposible for maintaining airways and rousing patients following GA checking obs, doing iv, analgesia etc.

what exactly are you meaning interatcions with surgical equipment? do you mean the nurse using surgical equipment? and by surgical equpment do you mean things like retractors and suction or do you mean things like endoscopes and scalpels?

scrub nurses hand all the equipment to the surgeon so basically everything the surgeon uses has been in contact with the scrub nurse fisrt... she may use suction or retractors if requested by the surgeons... however its very unlikely she would be able to use scalpels, endoscopes or do things like suturing.

very often there are junior doctor, medical students who are sometimes give the opportunity to do such things.

if you let us know what you mean by kit... ie is it something you use in theatres? or do you mean would there be anything specific you would need for your nursing course in general? or maybe something else completely different?

hope taht helps

Many of the surgical instruments used during an operative procedure
have been designed by surgeons to make it easier for them to conduct
the operation. Nurses, or rather the Scrub Nurse (or Operating
Department Practitioner) hands the instrument to the surgeon when they
request it.

You will find that the instruments I am referring to will have the name of
the surgeon who designed it attached to the instrument. Example:-
McIndoe Scissors. There are of course thousands more with surgeon's
names.

Experienced Scrub Nurses or Operating Department Practitioners will
anticipate what the surgeon is about to ask for and will already have it
ready for them.

Instruments are indeed well designed for the role they perform but some
can be difficult to reprocess. Examples would include instruments used
for Minimal Invasive Surgery that come in 3 or 4 pieces and need to be
disassembeled to facilitate cleaning and disinfection and reassembeled
before being packed for sterilisation.

The make up of the surgical instrument pack for a given procedure has
evolved over many years. There are different instrument packs for
different procedures. Technological advances also result in changes in the
instruments and the make up of the packs.

now for the kits..........most operating departments are suppleid with sterile trays and supplementary instruments from a central sterilization unit. These are named accordingly to their intended use and surgical speciality. A pre set system is normally used as this has instruments one tray therefore it is quicker to set up as everything is on hand from one tray. The drapes are now disposable and are supplied directly from a specific company as are the swabs and sharps eg, needles and blades. A lot of equipment is now disposable eg Lapascopic instruments, tonsillectomy instruments. You will find that different hospitals have different types of trays used but the instruments are basically the same and are sterilized the same way....i hope this helps a little, if you need references or articles just let me know cos i have loads of them ..

congratulations cj....join the AFPP, its a monthly peri-operative journal, its £40 or so to join for a year but well worth it cos it keeps u well updated and u can access previous journals online. It has quite a bit on the role of the scrub nurse, checking instruments etc... its totally specific to theatres....good luck in your new role

hi, i am a nursing student and i am doing a project on intraoperative nusing care for a patient with diabetic mellitus undergoing total knee replacement

i have come out with some ideas like the scrub nurse should take note of infection control, make sure the instruments that she passed to the surgeon all return back to her,
inform the circulating nurse to chart down if any instruments had been put into the patient's body.
swab counts and instrument counts

the problem i had is that i can not find the detailed informations, would you pls help me to make my information more detailed, or should i add in any other scrub nurse's roles? would you suggest me any online resourses for this topic?

any information that you gave me will help me a lot! thanks.

sorry, my adress is zxrefresh@yahoo.com.sg

thanks for your help.

intraoperative nusing care for a patient with diabetic mellitus undergoing total knee replacement ..........i cant seem to send any relevent info lily.............
but if is this is a case study you should be focusing on the patient more than the role of the scrub nurse.....here's some helpful tips (i hope)

*consent, informed consent is a bit issue nowadays..
is the leg marked by the surgeon?? it should be...
*position of the patient is very important, ensuring usage of specific pressure relieving devices..
*is the diabetes controlled in theatre, do they require an insulin regime...
*is the anaesthetic general or regional (spinal)...
*infection is an issue as well,you could bring in the importance of instruments being sterile
*pre-operative visit to relieve anxiety etc
*what type of pain regime will they require....


use all of this with roper logan and tierney model of nursing, if you keep to those 4 headings (assessing, planning, implementation, evaluating),your essay will flow.......i hope this helps lily...good luck       

happy writing liliy x

Another question that I am supposed to critcally reflect on is "Do we need nurses in the Operating Theatre?

How do nurses carry out assessments for this setting?

Originally posted by rups2264 How can a nurse make a difference to the patient in this setting? I think reassurance is one. What do nurses do in this setting that only a nurse can do?

Reassurance is definately a part of our role as a theatre nurse. As well as advocating for our patients. Theatre nurses have a reposnibility to make sure that patients are looked after in a safe way, as well as ensuring that the patients dignity is maintained as much as possible.

I love my job for many reasons. But the main reason is the team work. We as theatre nurses work closely with anaesthetists, anaesthetic technicians, surgeons, registrars, house surgeons, recovery nurses and many others. Communication is a vital role at all times.

Could you clarify what exactly you mean

hi , i have an interview for a theatre nurse , just wondering what sort of questions they may ask??? xxx