I have been an operating room (OR) nurse throughout my entire nursing career. I believe I may have spent a total of two days in the operating room while in my clinical rotations. Regardless, I knew that I wanted to be an OR nurse. No other areas piqued my interest. I’m sure that the fact that I was a Certified Surgical Technologist played a part. I was already comfortable in the OR setting. Unfortunately, nursing schools provide very little exposure to the operating room. There is something rewarding about knowing I can help alleviate fear and ease the pain when patients are at their most vulnerable. I am the patient’s advocate; I can speak for them during a time that they are unable to speak for themselves. An operating room (OR) nurse, also called the perioperative nurse, is a part of the surgical team. That team also consists of the surgeon, the anesthesia provider, the surgical technologist, and often a surgical assistant. The actual title for the OR nurse is Circulator. The Circulator manages the care of patients that are scheduled for surgery. They monitor the overall environment of the OR and ensure that sterility is maintained. They go over the patients’ chart and make sure that everything is in order prior to going to the operating room. They ensure that all the supplies, instruments, and equipment needed for the procedure are on hand and in working order. The Circulator ensures that the patient questions are answered, and concerns are addressed. The Circulator will let the patient know what to expect. All of that happens before going to the operating room suite. Why are we called “Circulators,” you might ask? Within the OR there is a constant flow. Whatever the need of operating room team, the Circulator addresses it. Other than the anesthesia provider, you may be the only nonsterile person in the room and will be the one to circulate the room. In addition, the OR nurse is responsible for documenting everything that takes place during the surgical procedure. As we like to say in the medical field, “If it was not documented, it did not happen.” Lastly, one of the most important roles of the operating room nurse is patient safety. Above all else, patient safety is the top priority.
Although an operating room nurse is a specialty, OR nurses can choose to specialize even further by focusing on a specific type of surgery, such as orthopedics and transplants, and trauma. You can choose a specific demographic such as pediatrics. Regarding location, there are many options. Many, like myself, work in hospitals. However, OR nurses work in surgery centers, cancer centers, and specialty hospitals such as spine hospitals. If you are for constant change, there the OR travel nurse. To expand on hospitals, you can choose from large corporate facilities to small private facilities, from non-profit facilities to for-profit facilities, rural locations or urban locations. The options are many with regard the operating room nurses.
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