Operating Room Duties

The operating room plays a vital role at any hospital. Operation and medical procedures take place in the operating room where many staff and trained professionals have many lives in their hands. Hundreds of duties exist that must get done in the operating room to ensure that the operation is a success. Whether in preparation, cleaning, pre-op or post-op, there's always something that needs to get done. By ensuring that the operating room duties get done properly and in a timely manner, doctors and surgeons can perform their roles and help in saving lives. Many different duties get carried out by a range of operating room staff, each having their own unique role and duties to perform.

Operating Room Nursing Duties

• Operating room nurses play a crucial role in the operating room. Nurses become part of the operating team to perform nursing care before, during and after the procedure. According to the Henry Ford Health System, operating room nurses educate the patient on what will be taking place, prepare a lot of the utensils and other materials involved and coordinate the operation and patient care. Some operating room nurses, called perioperative registered nurses, make sure that sterile conditions get acknowledged, and monitor the patients during the surgery. Surgeons rely on a perioperative registered nurses for his opinions, critical thinking abilities and problem solving capabilities.

Operating Room Technician Duties

• According to ThinkQuest, an operating room technician assists in preparing operating rooms for surgery. He makes sure the surgical instruments, bandages, linens and other equipment are ready and in proper order for the operation to take place. Operating room technicians take the responsibility to pass the surgeons the desired equipment, as well as count sponges and needles before and after the surgery. He also delivers all of the necessary specimens to the hospital labs in order to get analyzed. Once the surgery has taken place, the technician brings the patient to the recovery room.

Operating Room Assistant Duties

• According to Diploma Guide, the operating room assistant is basically the messenger and housekeeper of the operating room. He makes sure that the room is clean and sterile before anything takes place. He also cleans up and restocks everything after the procedure. With instruction from the nurse he can assist patients to recovery, pass instruments, cut sutures and take care of specimens.

Operating Room Specialist Duties

• According to the US Military Health Division, the operating room specialist becomes the right-hand person to the doctors. He can give emergency medical care until a trained doctor is able to see the patient. They also set up all the equipment to check vitals, and that everything is properly sterilized. Usually, the operating room specialist will be the first to see a patient that needs surgery, before the doctors or surgeons. He will get the accurate medical information and history of the patient as well.