Surgical Nurse Job Description Example

Surgical Nurse Job Description Example

What Does a Surgical Nurse Do?

A surgical nurse is a registered nurse who is specialized in the surgical care field of the nursing profession. He/she is fully trained and educated to partake in surgical procedures along with other members of the surgical team in a hospital.

The job description of a surgical nurse entails providing patients admitted for surgical procedure with the care and attention that they need before the procedure begins, during the procedure, and post-surgical.

The skills and expertise of a surgical nurse are required in specific institutions and departments, like hospital surgical suites, emergency centers, hospital trauma centers, and private surgery clinics.

The surgical nurse can be involved in any of the areas of the profession as listed below:

• Perianesthesia nursing
• RN first assistants
• Circulating nurses
• Scrub nurses.

Apart from seeing to the preparation of patients before surgery, surgical nurses are also required to care for them to full recovery after surgical procedures have been performed.

They do not just provide physical healing to patients, but also give emotional healing all through the surgical procedure and long after.

The work description of surgical nurses primarily entails providing required assistance to surgeons during surgical procedures.

A number of preparations are needed before a surgical procedure can take place, and the nurse is responsible for carrying out such duties to ensure that the procedure goes on well.

His/her role also includes watching over patients while procedures are going on.

The surgical nurse makes instruments and supplies available as required by the physician during surgical procedures.

He/she oversees the procedure and ensures all equipment and items used are accounted for after the procedure; such items include gauze and surgical equipment. This way, no item or equipment will be forgotten inside the patient after surgical procedure is completed.

Specimens required for determining patients’ health status before, during, and after the surgical procedure are conveyed to the laboratory by the nurse.

He/she makes use of clamps in controlling bleeding during surgery. They can also be saddled with the responsibility of suturing the patient after the operation.

Other tasks in a surgical nurse work description include assessing the condition of patients and addressing any social problem associated with patients in any way.

There are times he/she can also be stationed consistently at the operating room.

He/she can be required to provide support for RNs in providing direct care and attention to surgical patients.

He/she can also function both in sterile and none sterile areas of a hospital.

Surgical Nurse Job Description Example

The work of a surgical nurse entails various duties, tasks, and responsibilities in support of surgeons, and in caring for patients needing surgical procedures.

Here is a job description example detailing the role surgical nurses play in hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities where their services are needed:

• Oversee pre-surgical procedures for the patient
• Meet with patient’s relatives regarding the procedures to be performed on the patient
• Explain the procedure to the patient before starting it
• Inform patients about estimated recovery time
• Sterilize surgical tools before and after the procedure
• Set up the tools required for the surgical procedure before it begins
• Make all necessary preparation in the operating room before the surgical procedure begins
• Assist other surgical team members in putting on their gears, like masks, gloves and sterile gowns
• Prepare and also properly clean the site where incision is to be made on the patient
• Stick up and bandage incisions and wounds
• Convey the patient to the recovery room after the surgical procedure
• Monitor the patient in the recovery room till he/she wakes up from anesthesia
• Care continuously for the patient till he/she gets discharged or transferred to other units in the hospital, like intensive care unit or appropriate ward in the hospital.

Surgical Nurse Resume Preparation

When preparing a resume for seeking the job of a surgical nurse, the work experience part of it can be made employing the sample job description shown above.

The duties and functions of the role that it expresses will show prospective employers that the resume owner has the needed experience to excel working as a surgical nurse.

Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, Abilities – for Surgical Nurse Job

Here are known skills, abilities, and knowledge that help surgical nurses to be effective on the job, which employers are also known to look for when hiring for the surgical nursing unit of a hospital:

• Education: Bachelor’s or Associate degree in nursing. Pass Registered Nurse National Examination. Degree in preoperative care, like emergency procedures, discharge planning, and sterilization
• Possess registered nurse license offered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing
• Ability to work under high pressure condition
• Ability to adapt to working in different environments, like private physician offices, surgery centers, clinics or hospitals
• Ability to remain calm in emergency situation
• Ability to think very fast in crisis situations
• Ability to stand for very long hours
• Possess tact and compassion to help during interaction with the patient and his/her family.

Surgical Nurse Skills for Resume

A resume with the skills section will be more effective than one without it, because the section shows employers that you have the required skills and other attributes to get the work done effectively and efficiently.

To prepare the skills section of a surgical nurse resume, the above skills, which employers have been known to look for when hiring, can conveniently be used in creating the section to achieve the desired effect on employers.