When one thinks of going to the hospital, it is normally in the context of having some sort of procedure done. Be it having an appendix removed or undergoing a more complicated operation, the operating room will be filled with all sorts of medical professionals.

Contents:

• Who Is a Surgical Nurse?
• What Surgical Nurses Do in Preoperative Care
• Duties of Surgical Nurses During Surgery
• Role of a Surgical Nurse in Postoperative Care
• Education Requirements for Surgical Nurses
• Other Surgical Nurses’ Requirements
• Why You Should Consider a Career in Surgical Nursing?
• How Much Does a Surgical Nurse Earn?
• How to Become a Surgical Nurse?
• Advantages of Earning a Degree in Surgical Nursing

Who Is a Surgical Nurse?

Anyone who enters the hospital for a surgical procedure is going to interact with a surgical nurse at some point during their visit. In addition to being a vital part of the actual surgical team, surgical nurses can be found in preoperative and postoperative care units.

Surgeons, anesthesiologists, surgical technicians, and nurses will work together to assure proper patient care. Surgical patients understand and indeed demand that only specialists perform the various needed procedures. For instance, most people only want a licensed anesthesiologist administering anesthesia. If someone is having a heart surgery, they only want a cardiologist to operate on them.

But how many people have given thought to the type of nurse that is in the operating room? Some may think that a nurse is just a nurse and that all are the same. This is not true and you may be surprised to know just how specialized this field of nursing has become.

What Surgical Nurses Do in Preoperative Care

The surgical nurse makes sure the patient is stable enough for surgery. They clean and prepare the area that will be operated on and discuss the procedure with the patient. In addition, the surgical nurse is charged with updating the various specialists involved with the patient’s condition as well as the patient’s family.

Duties of Surgical Nurses During Surgery

The surgical nurse will make sure the required surgical instruments are properly placed and available for the surgeons. They will monitor all of the devices and advise accordingly regarding status. Often a subcategory of surgical nursing, known as a circulating nursing, will be in place to ensure all is in order.

Role of a Surgical Nurse in Postoperative Care

After surgery, the input of a skilled surgical nurse is vital to a speedy patient recovery. Small deviations in diet and medication can be devastating, so it is up to the surgical nurse to make certain these are correctly monitored.

In addition, dressing and vital signs must be also monitored very closely. As in preoperative care, the surgical nurse must interact with the family to help them understand what is happening to their loved one.

Education Requirements for Surgical Nurses

Surgical nursing is a specialized nursing field that requires a Bachelor Degree in Nursing. Afterward, a state exam is required and then further specialized training will be needed before you can be certified to work with a surgical team.

A good surgical nurse will also have exposure to many different types of surgical procedures. They must be familiar with the specialized preoperative and postoperative requirements for different kinds of surgery.

Other Surgical Nurses’ Requirements

Surgical nurses interact frequently with doctors, patients, families, and other nurses. They must deal with highly emotional people. Therefore, good communication skills are necessary. Surgical nurses are also patient advocates and disseminators of information.

As one of the top ten most rewarding professions, medical surgical nursing not only pays a lot better than the average yearly salary but the intangible rewards from making differences in people’s lives can’t be understated.

Medical-surgical nursing can capitalize on many of the benefits of the nursing profession.

Those who choose the medical surgical nursing route need certain characteristics to make the most of this specialization.

These include:

• Endurance. The demands of medical surgical nursing can be strenuous. Especially during those times when things don’t go as planned, which is most of the time in a hospital. Your patients are depending on you even when things are very busy and demanding of your time and attention.

• Stress handling ability. While not all operations create high-stress situations, any could turn that way on a dime. With this in mind, those who want to enter medical surgical nursing will need to be certain they can handle the pressure that might come along with the job. There’s no do-overs in the operating room.

• Willingness to take orders. While all nurses must be able to take and carry out orders, medical surgical nursing can present more face-to-face encounters with doctors than other areas of hospital work. Those who don’t mind constant contact with doctors thrive in this area.

• Blood. Yes, you have to be able to work with and around blood in medical surgical nursing. Some nurses are just naturally queasy and can’t deal with blood and the smell associated with it. But that’s ok, that’s why there are doctors offices for those to work in.

• Ability to continue learning. Medical-surgical nursing is a specialty just like any other area of nursing, and you can become certified as a medical surgical nurse. Those nurses with specialty certifications make more money and do their jobs better because of further education.

For those that really enjoy making a difference in their patients’ lives, medical surgical nursing provides this. But just like anything else, it’s not for everybody. So spend some time researching your nursing profession of choice before taking the plunge, you’ll be glad you did.

To execute their duties in a proper fashion, surgical nurses need to have a combination of clinical and personal skills. The nurses have to answer all the questions that a patient might have regarding the surgery. In addition to that, it becomes the responsibility of the surgical nurses to trouble shoot any queries that the patient’s family has about the surgery. They also ensure that the patient is comfortable with all the procedures that will be performed on him or her. In short, the surgical nurses prepare the patient for the coming ordeal, both mentally and physically. It is because of these functions that the best nurses are very empathetic and possess a very high degree of intuition.

During the surgery, the surgical nurses observe every detail very keenly. Surgical nurses are required to be very attentive, have excellent observational skills and react quickly. Since the patient is unable to convey any distress during the surgery, it becomes the nurse’s job to pick up any subtle signs of discomfort and report that to the surgical team immediately. Sometimes, even some minor changes in the vital signs can lead to various complications. Surgical nurses are specially trained to pick and interpret any of these signs.

At this time, most of the surgical nurses are traditionally working in hospitals. However, with the way health care is being promoted, it is possible that very soon clinics, as well as emergency rooms, will be qualified to perform surgical practices. This will allow these specially trained surgical nurses to broaden their professional horizons. Surgical nursing can be labeled as a demanding profession, since even the smallest decision that is made in an operation theater can lead to completely different results.

A number of people are looking for new career options in the present economy, and this is certainly true. Lots of people are beginning to take into account the potential for being a surgical nurse . Healthcare is one field that is constantly hiring so there are a lot of opportunities for surgical nurses. Because you know that you’re helping people, you will find that becoming a surgical nurse is fulfilling and satisfying. You need to absolutely check out this article if you are interested in becoming a surgical nurse as we can provide that details.

Why You Should Consider a Career in Surgical Nursing?

Stability, as well as job security, are certainly two perks that you’re going to see with being a surgical nurse . This is a position that will definitely be a thing that will always be there because currently there are a lot of surgical nurses. You’ll not need to bother about there being a low demand for surgical nurses because that’s not really the case, and you’ll not need to be worried about getting laid off.

How Much Does a Surgical Nurse Earn?

The surgical nurse salary may be something that you are pondering about. How much money does a surgical nurse make? One thing that attracts people to this position is the fact that surgical nurses make a decent amount of money. Typically, a surgical nurse can make anywhere from 59,955 to US$ 81,142 annually. The average surgical nurse salary is generally around US$ 74,333 annually. If you have more experience plus much more education, you can make more income as a surgical nurse , which is certainly something that you will see to be true.

It’s really a valid concern that you could be wondering tips on how to be certain that you’re actually obtaining the best surgical nurse salary. Folks can be surgical nurses by going to the programs that different schools offer. Finding the best program at the best school achievable to get your certification will be the first thing to do. If a surgical nurse has gone to a wonderful institution to get his/her education, he/she will get hired for a better salary. You can ensure you receive the very best surgical nurse salary possible by joining advanced courses that you can put on your resume.

You may realize that getting to be a surgical nurse could be the best option for you as many folks have found when it comes to hunting for a different career. The favorable surgical nurse salary is one of the best benefits, though there are several more connected with being a surgical nurse. Helping individuals in the medical field is really something that is respectable, which is another advantage.

How to Become a Surgical Nurse?

There are three educational paths to become a surgical nurse. The first way, although it’s becoming less and less popular nowadays, is getting a diploma from an accredited nursing program or hospital. The other two ways are achieving an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Whether you’ve acquired a diploma or a degree you still must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses.

Before becoming a surgical nurse you should know some of the negative aspects of the career. For instance, nursing is very stressful work and burn-out is quite common. You won’t have a nine-to-five day, expect to work a lot of nights and weekends. Finally, nurses work with very sick people, including patients that are dying. You must have the personality and the emotional stability to deal with death and suffering on a daily basis.

Advantages of Earning a Degree in Surgical Nursing

1. You’ll always be able to find a job.

There’s more to this than the aging of the Boom Generation, too. Medical science is opening new doors in the health care industry from home health care to community nursing. There will always be jobs for qualified nurses, and those who have nursing degrees will always get hiring preference.

2. You’ll be able to find a job anywhere you want to live.

From the inner city to luxury suburbs, every community needs nurses. Whatever your ideal setting is, chances are good that the community will welcome you with a job and open arms. You can even choose to travel while you work – there are nursing jobs in the hospitality industry, including nursing jobs on cruise ships and in resort towns. When you have a nursing degree, you can choose where you want to live and know that there will be a job.

3. Surgical nurses with degrees can command higher salaries.

Surgical Nurses with an advanced degree can earn, on average, 25% to 50% more than non-degreed nurses, even in the same position. In addition, a nursing degree is a requirement for some of the highest paying jobs in nursing. Those jobs include head nurse and management jobs, jobs in a hospital, a nursing home, and clinic management, industrial nursing jobs and nursing jobs in city, state and federal Public Health departments.

4. A surgical nursing degree gives you more career choices.

Specialization is becoming the norm in all fields these days, but especially so in medicine. Advanced nursing degrees often offer you the opportunity to acquire specialized knowledge in a particular nursing field. That specialized depth of knowledge will allow you to work in higher paying jobs that have more of an effect on the world of medicine and on the patients with whom you work.

Higher certification standards mean that those who do not have at least a nursing certification will not be able to work in the field at all. If your intent is to get a nursing job that pays well, a certificate or license is no longer enough. A nurse with a degree concentration in business and management may manage a nursing home, a hospice or a nutritional clinic.

If you think you have what it takes to become a nurse, then you can start your career training by contacting your local hospital or college to find information regarding a training program. You might even contact a long-term care facility also since they will have a lot of information as they hire quite a few nurses to help take care of their elderly live-in patients. That often happens these days.