Perioperative nursing is a nursing specialty that works with patients who are having operative or other invasive procedures. Perioperative nurses work closely with surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurse anaesthetists, surgical technologists, and nurse practitioners.
This higher diploma program in perioperative nursing offered at the Catherine McAuley Nursing School, aims at imparting the skills required to operate as a perioperative nurse in Kenya.
Perioperative nurses help plan, carry out, and assess treatment for patients undergoing surgery. Working in hospital surgical departments, ambulatory surgery units, clinics, or physicians’ offices, these RNs are involved in the care of patients before, during, and after surgery.
Types of perioperative nurses include the following:
- A scrub nurse is sterile and is responsible for choosing and handling instruments and supplies used during surgery. Duties include setting up a sterile area in preperation for surgery, helping the surgical team with gowns and gloves, and handing instruments to the surgeon.
- The duties of a circulating nurse include developing a patient plan of care, reviewing preoperative assessments with patients, and managing activities in the operating room. The circulating nurse is not sterile, but is there to serve everyone involved in a surgical procidure, not just the surgeon.
- The RN first assistant (RNFA) assists during the operation by helping with surgical activities such as keeping bleeding under control, exposing wounds, and suturing, all under direction of the surgeon. Becoming an RNFA requires additional training beyond basic perioperative training.
- A PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit) RN cares for patients immediately after surgical procedures and anesthesia.
Perioperative nurses may take on other roles, such as operating room business director, clinical educator, or researcher. Advanced practice registered nurses who have completed the appropriate graduate degree can work as certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) or surgical nurse practitioners.
