Job Description

The Operating Room Registered Nurse (OR RN) is responsible for coordinating and providing safe, high-quality nursing care to patients undergoing surgical and procedural services. Working collaboratively with surgeons, anesthesia providers, surgical technologists, nurses, and other members of the healthcare team, the OR RN oversees patient care and nursing activities within the operating/procedure room and helps ensure an efficient, organized, and safe surgical environment.

The OR RN reviews the patient's medical record and planned procedure, verifies patient identity and surgical site, participates in the surgical time-out, and ensures that appropriate equipment, supplies, medications, instruments, and required imaging are available prior to the procedure. The nurse assists with patient positioning, surgical preparation, medication administration as ordered, specimen management, surgical counts, and intraoperative monitoring and documentation.

The OR RN is responsible for maintaining and monitoring aseptic and sterile technique, identifying and addressing breaks in technique, and confirming that instruments and supplies have been appropriately sterilized or high-level disinfected according to facility policy and applicable standards of practice. The RN advocates for the patient's safety, privacy, dignity, comfort, and individual needs throughout the surgical experience.

In addition to direct patient care responsibilities, the OR RN supports efficient operating room operations by organizing workflow, appropriately delegating activities, assisting with room turnover, maintaining physician preference cards, monitoring supply and equipment needs, and using resources responsibly. The RN communicates effectively with the healthcare team to promote continuity of care and promptly escalates patient safety, clinical, equipment, or operational concerns when appropriate.

The OR RN is expected to demonstrate professionalism, teamwork, accountability, effective communication, and sound clinical judgment while adhering to facility policies and procedures, infection prevention practices, regulatory requirements, and accepted standards of perioperative nursing practice. Additional responsibilities may be assigned based on patient care needs and the operational needs of the surgical center.