What Is the Job of a Scrub Nurse?
A scrub nurse is a specialized health-care employee who works directly alongside surgeons in the operating room. The scrub nurse is considered an integral part of the surgical team, handing sterilized instruments to the doctors and keeping an eye on the vital signs of the patient. The scrub nurse can also act as part of the support team for the patient before, during and after the surgery.
Other People Are Reading
-
Work Environment
-
Scrub nurses do much of their work in the operating room. The responsibilities include setting up the sterile and nonsterile equipment needed for surgery, determining whether all machines in the operating room are working properly prior to surgery and supplying the instruments needed by the surgeon during the operation. The work can be stressful and demanding, and the hours can be long and irregular, depending on when surgery is performed.
Education and Training
-
Scrub nurses must obtain the proper education and then become a registered nurse before specializing. There are three paths to becoming a registered nurse: a bachelor of science degree in nursing, an associate degree in nursing or a diploma program administered by a hospital. After completing this educational component, the candidate must pass a national test, known as the National Council Licensure Examination. Further continuing education is usually necessary to specialize, including for becoming a perioperative nurse or scrub nurse.
-
Advancement
-
Scrub nurses can be promoted to unit managers or head nurses or more senior-level positions such as assistant, associate director or director of nursing at a hospital or other medical facility. Most higher-level positions require a graduate degree in nursing or health service administration. Some scrub nurses who want to continue working in the operating room will take on a more collaborative position in a surgeon's practice, in essence becoming surgical partners with doctors, gaining more experience and advancing their careers.
Earnings
-
The latest statistics from the U.S. Labor Department (2008) claim the average salary for most nurses is nearly $65,000 annually. Scrub nurses, because they are considered specialized nurses, can be paid on the higher end of the scale, making closer to $70,000 a year, depending on the hospital. Nearly a quarter of all nurses are union members or covered by a union contract.
Job Outlook
-
Job opportunities for registered nurses through the year 2018 are expected to be excellent, according to 2008 statistics from the U.S. Labor Department. In addition, the outlook for employment of specialized nurses, such as scrub nurses, is expected to grow much faster than the average American occupation. Part of the reason is the aging population and the increasing need for health-care workers.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit operation nurse image by Andrey Rakhmatullin from Fotolia.com
