This article is about the different roles of nurses during preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative stages of an operation. It is for the benefit of nursing students and members of the public who need to or want to know what nurses do.
It is written by a Lecturer in Health Sciences at a major university. It is acknowledged that there are minor variations in care and roles of nurses in this area which is very specialized.
The Objectives: Peri operative Nursing.
Define peri operative nursing.
Define the different roles of peri operative staff – nursing and non-nursing.
Identify the different functions performed in the peri operative environment – Patient identification, patient’s pre-operative care, patient’s care during the operation and after the operation.
Identify the roles which can be delegated and those which cannot be delegated. Students should be instructed to follow institutional policies. These vary from institution to institution and from state to state.
Students should be aware of the functions which require specialist training eg. Pain control nurse, scrub nurse and recovery nurse.
UAP(s) may be employed is certain situations.
Students should be aware that Circulation Nurse role cannot be delegated to a UAP.
Students should be able to understand the different roles nurses play in the peri operative environment.
Students should understand the hierarchical organizational and reporting structure of the peri operative environment.
Students should be aware that their scope of practice is dependent upon the skills which they have learned and/or are being supervised.
Students may not practice beyond their scope of practice.
Students must recognise that they may not be able to get practical experience in all the specialized areas of peri operative nursing.
