What to Expect when Working with a Surgical Team

What to Expect when Working with a Surgical Team As you may know, surgical interventions are performed in order to diagnose or cure a specific disease, or in some cases correct a deformity. Generally, surgery is always pre-planned, but some unexpected complicities can sometimes occur. In these situations, it is extremely important for you as a surgical nurse to know what to expect when working with a surgical team. Obviously, nurses have a variety of roles and functions associated with patients’ surgical management. As a surgical nurse, you are part of the perioperative surgical team, alongside surgeons, surgical technicians, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists. Also, surgical nurses provide care of a patient before, during, and after surgery, and there are certain things you have to be aware of and expect during these phases. Here are the most important ones!

Unexpected surgeries Usually, surgical nurses work eight to ten hour shifts. It’s true that most surgeries take place during the day. But, as a surgical nurse, you have to be prepared to be called in at night and on weekends, as well as holidays to assist emergency surgeries. Whether you work full-time or part-time, always be aware of the fact that you can be paged in the middle of the night for an unexpected surgery. There’s nothing you can do, it's consistent with the job. Actually, there’s one thing. Always be prepared!

Long and exhausting surgeries Another thing to expect when working with a surgical team, is undeniably long and exhausting surgeries. Often, surgeries can last hours, and it is not unusual for you to spend an entire shift on your feet. This means that you have to be in very good shape to maintain your physical and mental strength in order to survive exhausting surgical procedures.

Constant communication with the surgical team Undoubtedly, surgical nurses must have constant, high quality interactions with the surgical team they are operating with. As a member of the team, you must possess clear and effective communication with technicians, physicians, and other nurses on the team to ensure the highest quality care.

Patient questions prior to surgery This one’s pretty logical. Since you are the one who takes care of patients before surgery, you can expect a lot of questions from them about their well-being. This is normal behavior, that patients are asking questions, seeking answers. So, you can expect long discussions with patients about any concerns they may have, as well as mentally preparing the patient for surgery.

Surgeries require extensive knowledge An aspect of the job, a surgical nurse prepares the operating area by laying out instruments and other equipment needed for surgery. This means that you must possess vast knowledge about the various instruments categorizing the surgery. Under the direction of a surgeon, surgical nurses handle instruments and are expected to maintain tremendous concentration and focus during surgery.

Monitoring patients after surgery After surgery, there are numerous procedures that take place in order to monitor the patient.

Most commonly, observations of the patient need to be taken and recorded every fifteen minutes. As a surgical nurse you would expect to closely monitor the patient after surgery and report their state of well-being. This can be exhausting if you have five or more patients to monitor.

Being a surgical nurse is not easy. You have to be extremely flexible, ready to be called in at anytime, assist in surgical procedures for extended periods of time, and also be mentally and physically strong enough to endure pressure. On the other hand, when working with a surgical

team is inspirational, adventurous, and there’s always room for improvement! Of course, there are a lot of things you have to expect when working as a surgical nurse, but if you are in love with the job, the pros far outweigh the cons. Expect the unexpected and you’ll always be prepared!

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