RN, OR First Assist

Job Summary

Provides assistance to the surgical team during the intra‑operative phase of surgical care for the Northwest Surgical Services region. Works in collaboration with the surgeon and health care team in the performance of surgical procedures, including assessment, planning, directing, providing and evaluating advanced nursing care. All RNFAs will participate in a regional on‑call rotation to provide surgical assistance for elective, emergent and urgent surgical cases.

Responsibilities

• Pre‑operative: Performs pre‑operative assessment and evaluation; collaborates with the surgical team on the plan of care.
• Intra‑operative: Provides knowledge‑based technical assistance to the surgeon according to AORN standards, licensure, state regulation and facility/practice protocols, including using instruments and medical devices, providing surgical exposure, handling and/or cutting tissue, providing hemostasis, clamping, cutting, and ligating tissue as directed, suturing as directed, assisting with room preparation, patient transport, anesthesia induction assistance, pre‑op briefing, patient positioning, preparation, draping, setting up ESU, lights, suction, monitoring sterile field, observing sterile technique, instrumentation assistance, applying dressings and securing drainage tubes, and post‑operative patient transfer and positioning.
• Post‑operative: Evaluates the patient post‑operatively according to facility protocols; assists with room tear‑down and turnover; may perform pre‑ and post‑operative patient education as designated.
• Communicates information to maintain continuity of care; interacts professionally with patients, families, and staff; provides culturally sensitive care; continuously reassesses throughout the intra‑operative period; plans appropriate set‑up based on procedure type; reviews and updates skills checklist per Kaiser Permanente policies; adheres to RNFA practice standards and the Nurse Practice Act of Oregon; maintains CNOR and RN licensure with required continuing education.
• Assists with patient transport to and from the operating room, brings patient X‑rays into the room (notifies Charge Nurse if unavailable), and collaborates with the circulating nurse and scrub person for room preparation and turnover.

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum two (2) years of peri‑operative scrubbing and circulating experience in a Kaiser Permanente OR, or one (1) year experience as an RNFA in or outside of KP.
• Certification of completion from an AORN‑recognized RNFA course; successful completion of an RNFA program meeting AORN Recommended Education Standards and criteria for the CB.PMN acceptance program.
• Registered Nurse license (Oregon).
• Nurse Operating Room certificate.
• Basic Life Support certification.
• Must maintain CNOR and RN licensure with required continuing education.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum two (2) years of practice as an RNFA.
• CRNFA certification.
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification (required upon hire/transfer preferred).