RN (Outpatient Surgery)

Sullivan County Community Hospital•Sullivan, IN

About The Position

The RN provides perioperative nursing care for outpatient surgery and endoscopy patients, including assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of care. The nurse assesses patients’ physiological, psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual status; identifies appropriate nursing diagnoses; plans individualized perioperative care; and initiates discharge planning for local and endoscopy patients. The role also includes scrubbing and/or circulating for surgical and endoscopy procedures, supervising assigned perioperative nursing associates and assistants, and providing post-anesthesia recovery care. The RN assumes on-call duties for the department.

Requirements

Graduate of an accredited school of nursing.
Graduate of a formal perioperative nursing course or have documented on-the-job training.
Preferably have at least one year of experience in a clinical setting.
Possess circulating and/or scrubbing duty experience.
Perform nursing interventions using the nursing process, incorporating current clinical knowledge with established nursing practice.
Continuously acquire surgery skills through clinical experience, on-the-job training, in-service education, and continuing education.
Proficiently read, write, and understand English.
Accurately read fine print, supply labels, patient identification bracelets, the surgical schedule, and policies and procedures.
Accurately hear and follow verbal instructions.
Push and pull heavy objects, such as gurneys, patient beds, and operating room beds.
Lift patients, boxes weighing up to 40 pounds, and instrument sets weighing up to 20 pounds.
Hold a Registered Nurse license to practice in Indiana.
Hold CPR and ACLS certifications.

Nice To Haves

At least one year of experience in a clinical setting.

Responsibilities

Comply consistently with established Behavioral Expectations.
Assess patients’ physiological health status on admission to the operating room and throughout the intraoperative period.
Assess patients’ psychological, sociocultural, and spiritual status on admission to the operating room.
Identify nursing diagnoses appropriate to the intraoperative and postoperative period.
Plan care based on problems and needs identified in the assessment.
Coordinate perioperative care to promote patient comfort, including efficient use of downtime, use of surgeon preference cards, and coordination with other disciplines.
Initiate discharge planning for local and endoscopy patients, including patient and family instruction, teaching, and resource referral.
Implement perioperative nursing care according to the established plan of care and operating room policies and procedures.
Supervise assigned perioperative nursing associates and assistants in carrying out actions needed to meet identified goals.
Scrub and/or circulate for simple and complex surgical and endoscopy procedures.
Evaluate the effectiveness of care provided.
Communicate perioperative nursing care.
Design, implement, and evaluate systems to improve the quality of perioperative nursing care.
Assume on-call duties for the department.
Manage airways, monitor respiratory adequacy, and intervene appropriately during post-anesthesia recovery.
Monitor postoperative patients’ cardiac systems and identify arrhythmias and signs of shock, intervening when appropriate.
Use the PAR scoring system to determine patient progress toward post-anesthesia recovery.
Document care and complete charging procedures, including vital signs, intake and output, and the patient care record.