Operating Room

During my OR rotation I met quite a few different people. Every single one had insecurities regarding their pending procedures. While one was afraid of having the wrong toe amputated, another was worried about what their head would look like after having such a large spot removed and subsequently everyone was worried about pain both during and after the operation. I watched as the doctor and nurse came in to assure the client about what to expect during surgery, and the type of pain management was discussed. The preoperative nurse looked through the records again to ensure they didn’t miss any allergies or anything that would cause harm to the person. Case in point, one surgery was cancelled due to a cold that wasn’t mentioned …show more content…
Another patient had to be positioned a certain way to gain access to the surgical site. One of the consistencies between all the surgeries I witnessed was that every client had their arms and legs, padded to prevent pressure sores on their bony prominences. Once they were positioned properly the scrub nurse prepped the area with an iodine type scrub. She took her time and went from the inside out while using a liberal amount and the area was allowed to dry before the drapes were placed for surgery. This is done to decrease the risk of infection by killing the natural and transient flora that might be present on the skin. Before the doctor came into the room the circulating nurse counted the pads, towels, blades, stitch hooks, and instruments with the scrub nurse. All the information was written on the board. The scrub nurse also opened the patient’s electronic record and began to keep a running log of everything going on. She also took the first and last names of all the personnel present in the room to keep in the surgical log. Once the doctor arrived, he looked over the prepped sites to see if everything was set to his standard. Once that was complete they began the time …show more content…
All the procedures I witnessed were done under a local anesthetic; therefore the clients were awake, alert and sitting up on the gurney before leaving the OR. However, I did accompany the circulating nurse with a gentleman who only had a local anesthetic to the area being operated on. When he was sent back to his pre-operative waiting room the circulating nurse hooked him up to get a set of vitals, got him something to drink and then promptly began the discharge teachings regarding the site and dressing care. At the end of the teaching she asked if he had any questions or concerns, another set of vitals was taken at which point he was free to get dressed and head home. During my day in surgery waiting I did get a chance to see a hand off between the circulating nurse and the PACU nurse. The surgery personnel introduced the patient and went over a detailed list of the surgery that had taken place. She read from a sheet of paper that was attached to the front of the chart and the PACU nurse had the chance to ask questions. Afterward the patient was hooked up to a monitor and vitals were obtained. The area was kept quiet and the lights were low. Every so often the PACU nurse would talk to the person and offer a beverage of choice. Their sole responsibility was that one person. Maintaining a good airway, swift nausea relief, making sure patients tolerate liquids and that they are able to urinate is priority for