Perioperative Nursing - Essay Example

Perioperative Nursing Number Introduction Perioperative nursing can be defined as the giving of care to the patients before and right after the patient has undergone surgery or intervention procedures by nurses. Perioperative nurses offers nursing care to surgical patients intraoperatively, preoperatively and also postoperatively, as is stipulated in the role of mobile or circulating nurses. This category of nursing includes different roles of speciality such as managing holding bay, anaesthetics, circulating instruments and recovery room. Other duties of this nurse are education and evaluation and playing the roles of a surgeon assistant (Nagle, 2006). This is a specialized area in the practice of nursing. Perioperative registered nurses work together with other health workers professionals who may comprise the surgeon, surgeon assistant, anaesthesia provider and other personnel who assist (Nagle, 2006). Requirements Perioperative nursing needs exceptional and high skills that can be gained from dedicated education and training. These nurses have the responsibility of planning and directing all the nursing care for patients who are about to go through persistent surgical procedures. They also serve as the advocate for the undecided patients. By using their critical thinking, evaluation, diagnosing, results identification, planning and assessment skills, the RN circulator directs the activities and nursing care of the operating group for the profit of the patient (Spry, 2005). In most instances, the people who aspire to work as perioperative nurses have to be registered nurses. For one to be a registered nurse, it is necessary for him to finish a three-year Bachelor of Nursing course. This can be pursued either as a first degree or as a professional entry. Professional entry or post-registration entry is taken on a full time basis in a period of 18 months. In addition to being admitted in a post registration program, one has to be a registered midwife and have an updated practicing certificate. The standards that are set for perioperative nursing regulate the procedure of giving nursing care and performing professional role activities. These standards are applicable to every nurse in the perioperative environment. The standards were developed by AORN through American Nurses Association Standards and Scope of Practice for Nursing (Spry, 2005). For one to be a perioperative nurse, there are some personality traits that would be needed. One has to like people, mostly he has to be a strong-willed person and have a strong personality. Since surgical intervention is a serious matter, one has to be comfortable in their interaction with individuals. As a perioperative nurse, one should like surgeons and get along with them. One ought also to understand surgeons, as they should have the same or almost similar personalities. Perioperative nursing is appealing to those people who are highly organized, think quickly and like the challenges of being in a rewarding and dynamic practice setting. Salaries The salaries of perioperative nurses are comparable to the salaries of other nurses. However, given the rising amount of surgery done, chances for working overtime and on-call pay are regular. On the higher level, OP managers can earn a salary ranging from $ 66,000 to over $ 73,000, based on a recent research. Issues That Can Affect Perioperative Nurses There is a bill that calls for reimbursement for certified RNFAs. There is hope that it will pass to give RNFAs the power to get repayment from Medicare. There is also a key challenge with the latest Health Care Financing Administration draft rules that may negatively affect perioperative nurses. Previously, the regulations comprised of language for the existence of RNs in the OR. In the current draft rules, HCFA has not motioned the requirement of having an RN in the OR. Missing this language, some of the institutions may overlook the importance of perioperative nurses (Perioperative nursing at childrens hospitals, 2012). Future Trends That Impact the Manner in Which Perioperative Nurses Practice Many trends are coming up to turn perioperative nursing into a challenging and fulfilling task also and also put the practitioner’s skills in demand. One of them is the changing of surgical areas. There is a definite trend for increasing chances in outpatient surgery. Much of the ambulatory surgery is increasingly being done in physicians’ offices and thereby rapidly increasing part of outpatient surgery procedures. There are growing demands for the perioperative nursing skills and experience. The knowledge of perioperative nursing has become increasingly attractive to insurance companies, risk management, departments of utilization review and departments of database management. Their knowledge of OR is useful for individuals who do bottom-line considerations. Thus, appealing business deals will happen when perioperative nurses are the main players in making of decisions (Stobinski, 2008). There is a looming shortage of nurses. The Boomers are about 70 million, the Millennial 70 million and the Busters about 40 million. Following the retirement of the Boomers, there will be no enough Busters to substitute them. This together with the fact that there has been a 4.6 percent decrease in bachelor’s programs for nurses means that there will be an increase in demand for perioperative nurses. Pros and Cons of Being a Perioperative Nurse One of the advantages is that perioperative nurses work with their colleagues to make an impact in the lives of patients. Surgery puts patients in venerable situations and the trust that is placed on perioperative nurses by family is very rewarding. As for cons, there is the fast-paced type of surgery which may not be attractive to nurses who prefer long-term activities. Nurses are needed to have stamina and bodily strength for handling patients and for moving heavy equipment. Another con is that nurses face human suffering and discomfort that demand for their immediate and effective action. In addition, many activities happen simultaneously and therefore require one to immediately and constantly evaluate and re-evaluate priorities (Nagle, 2006). Conclusion Perioperative nursing is a career that requires somebody with a very strong personality. In order for one to be a registered perioperative nurse, he should have a degree in nursing. The career is undergoing many reforms because of issues and trends in the country. As a career, perioperative nursing is undergoing positive transformation and also facing some pitfalls. All the above considerations persuade most nurses to go into perioperative nursing. References Nagle, G. M. (2006). Perioperative Nursing. Nursing Clinics of North America, 41 (2), 135-328. Perioperative Nursing at Childrens Hospitals. (January 01, 2012). AORN Journal, 96, 2. Spry, C. (2005). Essentials of Perioperative Nursing. Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett. Stobinski, J. X. (2008). Perioperative Nursing Competency. AORN Journal, 88 (3), 417-8. Read More