Scrub Up
23 Apr OR Preparation-How much time do we need?
As an operating room professional, I often wonder if we ever have enough time to setup for surgical procedures? I guess it depends on the procedure, specialty, equipment required and availability of equipment and how much additional support we get from OR staff such as orderlies....
14 Jan Supporting All Operating Room Professionals
In an environment that is surrounded by technology and with an ever increasing demand placed upon operating room professionals, such as OR nurses, technologists, operating department practitioners, all of whom are professionals that support the surgical team, and who setup and prepare all of...
12 Jan Welcome 2016
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year & Welcome in 2016. I know the coming year will bring changes to our profession & with that challenges. As part of the Peri-Operative Team always remember you are unique, dynamic, adaptable...
26 May Team Work
Do you regularly have the same OR team with each list you do, or is your department short staffed and as a result each week you have different staff? How well do the staff you have effectively communicate? As an agency nurse, I casually work around...
29 Apr Documentation Documentation…
So tell me what are your thoughts on the amount of documentation we are asked to complete whilst we are caring for our patient under anaesthetic. In the hospitals I have worked, we have a scrub nurse, anaesthetic nurse & circulator or scout nurse. The documentation...
09 Apr Surgical Smoke- how protected are you?
Have you ever really thought about surgical smoke and the effect it maybe having on your health? Are you aware of the specific masks available to protect us from inhaling carcinogens? Do you know what chemicals have been found in surgical plume? Are you aware that...
10 Dec Technology – Does it make a difference?
Have you ever wondered about the actual value of technology and how best to capture & decipher the benefits, it has over our profession? How does one decide which form of technology to welcome as opposed to deciding if it makes life more difficult & do...
10 Dec Scrubs
Working as a part time university lecturer in addition to partaking in casual nursing shifts as an instrument & circulating nurse, I enjoy challenging my students with insightful forms of trivia. One such question I ask all of my perioperative students is, why are scrubs...
10 Dec Not My Specialty
Is it me or has anyone else noticed how specialised we are becoming in the operating room. Besides all the technology it appears that us nurses are not as well rounded as we used to be. Having completed my training in a large trauma hospital I...