My OR day consisted of a hernia repair, a colonoscopy, and a hemorroidectomy. The role of the surgeon was to come in and perform the surgery. The anesthesiologist induced anesthesia, and monitored the patients heart and respirations and other vitals during the surgery. They also bring the patient out of anesthesia and extubate them. The circulating nurse job was to monitor during surgery and make sure the patient is safe, and to call the patients family during and after the surgery.
The circulating nurse also goes to the pre-op holding area and assesses the patient prior to surgery and brings them into the OR. The surgical technicians job is to assist the surgeon during the procedure and hand him the required tools needed. They also count before and after the surgery to make sure all tools are present and accounted for. The PACU nurse role was to monitor the patient’s vitals and pain after surgery and to administer any medications.
They also monitor the patient’s arousal after surgery and the surgical site for any possible complications. The first surgery I saw was a hernia repair. The surgeon made a 6-8 inch incision in the abdomen and repaired a recurrent hernia in the small intestine. He then put in a mesh to keep everything in place. General anesthesia was used for this procedure and the patient was intubated and tolerated/woke up well. Betadine skin prep was used and general draping techniques were used.
In PACU the nurse observed the patients level of consciousness and pain level. She also monitored the drainage from the wound and the wound site, and vitals. The second procedure I saw was a colonoscopy accompanied by a hemorroidectomy. First the surgeon did the colonoscopy by lubricating and inserting a tube with a camera into the anus and up through to the opening of the stomach. A screen was available to let the surgeon see what he was doing and if any problems were inside the intestines. The second thing the surgeon did was the hemorroidectomy.
He put betadine on the patient and draped the patients bottom. He them proceeded to remove the hemorrhoid. The patient was under general anesthesia for this procedure and did well. Afterward, in the PACU, the nurse monitored the LOC, the vitals, and the patients pain level. Overall, my OR experience went well and I would enjoy possibly working in the OR one day.