What Is the Duty of the Circulating Room RN?

Circulating nurses, who are either registered nurses or directly supervised by a registered nurse, are responsible for everything that happens in the operating room outside the sterile field, which includes the instrument table and everything covered by sterile drapes, plus the surgeons and the scrub nurse.

Pre Surgery Duties

The circulating nurse checks the operating room to ensure that it's clean and stocked. She sets up equipment such as suction and cautery, and does an initial instrument, suture and sponge count with the scrub nurse.

Duties When the Patient Enters the Room

The circulating nurse assists the anesthesiologist in positioning the patient, helps attach monitoring equipment, and assists the doctors with gowning and gloving. She helps with anesthesia induction by applying cricoid pressure, or positioning the patient for spinal anesthesia, according to the AORN Journal.

During the Surgery

The circulating nurse positions the light, assists with one or more counts during the surgery to be sure nothing is left in the patient, takes messages for doctors, answers pages, and monitors equipment.

Duties at the End of Surgery

The circulating nurse does one final count to be sure all instruments, sponges and suture are accounted for before the patient leaves the room, labels lab specimens, removes drapes, helps move the patient to the recovery room, and makes sure all paperwork is signed.

After the Surgery

The circulating nurse removes the instruments and tidies the room so it can be cleaned.

References

• AORN Journal: Roles of the Perioperative Nurse

Resources

• Mayo Clinic: Perioperative Nursing Career Overview