Development and definition of the role of the operating department nurse: a review

Abstract

In the current cost-conscious National Health Service (NHS), the role of the nurse during anaesthesia and surgery is one that has interested health service managers keen to know what happens behind the closed doors of the operating department. It is clear that if nurses working within this specialized setting are to secure a future in providing care for surgical patients, then it is important to clarify and articulate exactly what it is that their role involves. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of the operating department nurse. First, it will illustrate how the role of the nurse has evolved alongside medical and technical advances in surgery, particularly in the last century. Second, it will highlight that while definition of the role has received attention in the North American literature, references in the British literature as to what it is that operating department nurses do, are scant. Finally, it will address the evolving role of the contemporary perioperative nurse highlighting the changes and challenges that nurses who work within this setting are currently facing. It is suggested here that nurses need to engage in role definition in order to be clear about their direction for the future, particularly within the fast changing, technologically driven environment of the operating department.

Experiences of the civilian Iranian operating room nurses: A historical survey of the Iran-Iraq war

“…Nursing tasks range from the management of injured patients, preparation of the surgery room, and assistance of other medical personnel in the operation room. This finding was consistent with the results of the current study (3).…”

“…In non-military hospitals, medical events are usually predictable, controllable and less stressful, whereas military hospitals have tumultuous environments. During the war, nurses are faced with excessive pressure due to the increased amount of duties in operating rooms, and contributions of nurses are as essential as those of anesthetists and surgeons to the effective management of the patients (3).…”

Anaesthesia nursing education in the Nordic countries: Literature review

“…A nurse anaesthetist means a registered nurse who has acquired postregistration education and trained for anaesthesia care (ANIVA and SSF, 2008;Ministry of Education and Research, 2005;Meeusen et al, 2010). All Nordic countries except Finland have endorsed the fact that nurses in anaesthesia care require the completion of specialist anaesthesia nursing education to provide anaesthesia nursing care (McGarvey et al, 2000). Nurse anaesthetists are allowed to independently induce general anaesthesia for ASA (the American Society of Anaesthesiologists) I and II patient groups, according to specified anaesthesia care team's protocols and terms (Averlid and Axelsson, 2012).…”

Aims vs. technology: Pedagogical view to the use of educational applications in safety critical contexts

“…In this sense the approach taken by Fitts and Posner ( [11], pp. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14], which was developed further by Anderson [12], is intriguing. In this cognitively oriented approach, declarative knowledge ("knowing what") and procedural knowledge ("knowing how") are understood to support each other in the process of skill acquisition.…”

“…However at the same time nurses' work especially in the operating department is actually defined by, and under the control of other medical professionals, anaesthesiologists and surgeons. There are variety of roles; cardiac surgeon's assistant, endoscopic nurses, laparoscopic nurses, orthopaedic surgeon's assistant and roles in other specialist areas, such as accident and emergency departments [14].…”