Welcome to perioperative nursing! A perioperative nurse is a registered nursing professional who specializes in the operating room (OR). A perioperative nurse provides care to patients on a one to one basis before, during and after surgery. They not only work closely with the surgical patient but also the family members and other healthcare professional to help plan, implement and evaluate treatment. As a registered nursing professional in the operating room you have to have a degree in nursing. It is also important to have quality such as assertiveness, the ability stay calm under pressure, be strong minded, and maintain a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach while working alongside the surgical team. The …show more content…
As the nurse you must be able to translate a thought clearly and accurately, quickly and logically, that way the members of the surgical team can understand what you are saying or writing without any confusion. This is a skill that is not easy for everyone to develop but it is important for the safety of the surgical patient. Critical thinking skills means you have to ability to make strong professional judgments. You need to be able to assess, analyze and act using critical thinking skills (Cohen RN, BSN,CEN, 2008). The importance of skills like this can be a matter of a patient’s life or …show more content…
As the nurse it is important to stay calm while under pressure. When the moment in operating room become intense as the nurse, you need to be able to quickly assess the situation, make quick clear decision while staying calm and making sure your patient is safe. Maintaining a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach in the operating room is also important. As a nurse, it is crucial to be aware of all the elements in your surroundings. In the OR this can be as simple as the temperature in the room to the complexity of a difficult surgical case. All of these component can affect the outcome of a case. Multidisciplinary approach is important because as frontline providers, perioperative nurses are key partners in all plans that aim to improve the quality of care that is delivered to surgical patient.