RN First Assist Surgery

CommonSpirit Health•Glendale, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As our Registered Nurse (RN), you will be a pivotal healthcare professional, delivering compassionate, high-quality care that truly impacts our patients' well-being and recovery. Every day, you will leverage your expertise to provide individualized, comprehensive care, making critical assessments, performing skilled procedures, and meticulously implementing patient care plans. You'll collaborate seamlessly within an interdisciplinary team, contributing to a dynamic environment focused on optimal patient outcomes. To thrive in this vital role, you will possess keen assessment skills, acute critical thinking, and a patient-first mindset, driven by a profound enthusiasm to help others. Your sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in a fast-paced environment will not only support patient recovery but also fuel your own career advancement. The Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) is a perioperative nurse who works in collaboration with the surgeon and other healthcare team members to achieve optimal patient outcomes. The RNFA reports to and is scheduled by Surgical Services Leadership; however, during the assisting phase and until conclusion of the operative procedure, the RNFA performs duties under the direction of the surgeon. Perioperative Registered Nurse who works in collaboration with the surgeon and healthcare team, functions under the direction of the surgeon during the first-assist phase, and may support approved service lines based on departmental need, competency, and privileging. The RNFA does not function concurrently as the scrub nurse or circulator while performing the first-assist role. Provides a safe therapeutic core by collaboration with the surgeons and health care team in performing a safe operation with optimal outcomes for the patient. The RNFA practices preoperative nursing and must have acquired the necessary knowledge, skills and judgment specific to clinical practice Collects and interprets complex assessment data, recognizes subtle changes in the patient Formulates an individualized plan of care for the patient with complex needs to achieve desired outcomes Shares data with team and supports team with surgeon. Gets procedure questions asked and helps to set up for correct procedures Makes clinical decisions based on experience, patient population data, and intuition, promotes the development of clinical decision making of all team members.Advocates patient rights from the patient/family perspective: provides counsel and acts as a resource to resolve issue Provides validation of clinical decision for other staff members, seeks validation from others for complex patients or unfamiliar situations Acts as a team leader in coordinating the care of the patient, and the team process Collaborates with the health care team and other disciplines to meet the desired outcomes Teamwork-Communicates effectively and works cooperatively with others. Has respect for and understanding of other clinical disciplines. Uses an integrated approach toward patient outcomes Demonstrates effective communication skills and seeks out opportunities to improve communication among health care team members/patients/families Delegates patient care activities to other health care team members and redirects unit activities ass patient acuity and census changes Actively participates as a member of the CVOR team and CVOR committees Works to implement practice initiatives in a positive and productive manner Able to perform in the Charge Nurse role by coordinating the staff and surgery schedule and handling day to day issues with positive outcomes Able to fill in as needed on the staffing schedule. Helps with lunches and breaks The RNFA acts as a team leader or participant in the quality improvement process. Actively identify areas and explores alternatives to care or practice. Recommends revisions to standards or cost initiatives as needed. W e are not currently accepting new graduate or new to speciality applications. Our next posting period will be July 1, 2026 for an October 16, 2026 start date. Positions can be found under National Resident RN (<12 months experience as an RN) or RN Transition/Fellowship (>12 months experience as an RN. #LI-DH #RN@DH This position is represented by CNA and is covered by the terms and conditions of the applicable collective bargaining agreement

Requirements

5 Years of Perioperative Nursing practice as both a scrub and circulating nurse upon hire
If less than 5 years of experience, 3 recommendations from practicing Surgeons and demonstrated clinical practice
Successful completion of an RNFA program that meets Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) recommended education standards for RN First Assistant programs
Current and active Registered Nurse: CA
AHA Basic Life Support / Advanced Cardiac Life Support
Two thousand (2,000) hours of RNFA practice, upon hire
May have endovenous harvesting, radial artery harvesting, or saphenous vein harvesting experience
Supporting multiple surgical specialties based on department and patient care needs

Nice To Haves

Bachelors Of Nursing
Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant, upon hire

Responsibilities

Deliver compassionate, high-quality care impacting patients' well-being and recovery.
Provide individualized, comprehensive care, making critical assessments, performing skilled procedures, and implementing patient care plans.
Collaborate seamlessly within an interdisciplinary team.
Function as a Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) in collaboration with the surgeon and healthcare team.
Perform duties under the direction of the surgeon during the first-assist phase.
Support approved service lines based on departmental need, competency, and privileging.
Provide a safe therapeutic core by collaborating with surgeons and the healthcare team.
Practice preoperative nursing with acquired knowledge, skills, and judgment.
Collect and interpret complex assessment data, recognizing subtle patient changes.
Formulate individualized plans of care for patients with complex needs.
Share data with the team and support the team with the surgeon.
Facilitate procedure questions and assist with setup for correct procedures.
Make clinical decisions based on experience, patient population data, and intuition.
Promote the development of clinical decision-making in all team members.
Advocate for patient rights from the patient/family perspective, providing counsel and acting as a resource.
Provide validation of clinical decisions for other staff members and seek validation for complex or unfamiliar situations.
Act as a team leader in coordinating patient care and team processes.
Collaborate with the healthcare team and other disciplines to meet desired outcomes.
Communicate effectively and work cooperatively with others, showing respect for and understanding of other clinical disciplines.
Use an integrated approach toward patient outcomes.
Demonstrate effective communication skills and seek opportunities to improve communication among healthcare team members, patients, and families.
Delegate patient care activities to other healthcare team members and redirect unit activities based on patient acuity and census changes.
Actively participate as a member of the CVOR team and CVOR committees.
Work to implement practice initiatives in a positive and productive manner.
Perform in the Charge Nurse role by coordinating the staff and surgery schedule and handling day-to-day issues.
Fill in as needed on the staffing schedule.
Assist with lunches and breaks.
Act as a team leader or participant in the quality improvement process.
Actively identify areas and explore alternatives to care or practice.
Recommend revisions to standards or cost initiatives as needed.