RN Circulator

About the Position

The RN Circulator is dedicated to each patient for the duration of each surgery. The circulating nurse is responsible for managing all nursing care within the operating room, observing the surgical team from a broad perspective, and assisting the team to create and maintain a safe, comfortable environment for the patient’s surgery.

Responsibilities

• Promote the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
• Assess patients at intervals as stated in policies and procedures.
• Develop an individualized perioperative patient plan of care.
• Implement the plan of care by protecting the patient from injury caused by extraneous objects and chemical, electrical, laser, mechanical, and thermal sources.
• Perform accounting procedures to protect the patient from unintended retained surgical items.
• Perform interventions necessary to ensure that the patient’s procedure is performed on the correct site, side, and level.
• Manage the patient’s specimens according to organizational policy and procedures.
• Communicate the patient’s current status to relevant parties throughout the continuum of care.
• Administer medications safely and correctly.
• Perform interventions to maintain the patient’s wound and tissue perfusion at or above baseline levels.
• Perform interventions to maintain the status of the patient’s genitourinary, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, endocrine, respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological systems and fluid, electrolyte, and acid‑base balances at or above baseline levels.
• Perform interventions to ensure the patient is at or returned to normothermia at the conclusion of the immediate postoperative period.
• Perform interventions to protect the patient from surgical site infection.
• Assess the knowledge level of the patient or designated support person.
• Provide education regarding the expected psychosocial response, nutritional management, medication management, pain management, wound management, and expected responses to the operative or invasive procedure.
• Involve the patient or