What is an OR Nurse?

Operating Room nurses --also known more commonly as OR nurses --are registered nurses who work in an operating room setting. This specialty is unique because OR nurse jobs can be found in a variety of settings including hospitals, medical centers, surgical centers, ambulatory surgery centers, day-surgery settings and many other healthcare clinics. An OR nurse job description will include work in both the pre-op and post-operative areas. 

The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), outlines standards and guidelines to define the OR nurse job description. According to the association, in 2019, OR nurses were the 6th highest in demand out of the top 25 nursing specialties and PACU nurses were the 9th.

Life of an Operating Room Nurse

One question that comes up a lot is, what does an operating room nurse do? The answer will vary depending on the surgical setting and the type of operating room but regardless of all of the variables, an operating room nurse plays a key role during the entire process of surgery. 

The most common operating room nurse job descriptions will include the following OR nurse responsibilities:

• Assisting with patient care in settings such as the recovery room, procedure room and operating room
• Administering meds before, during and after surgery
• Ensuring the operating room remains sterile
• Checking patient vital signs before, during and after surgery
• Completing patient charting both via paper and electronic documentation
• And other responsibilities.

The most common types of operating room nurses are scrub nurses and circulating nurses. 

Why Travel as an Operating Room Nurse?

There are SO many reasons to travel as an OR nurse! How about these? Great pay, freedom and fun! 

One of the biggest perks of life as an OR travel nurse is the ability to earn great pay! You can use your hard-earned OR nursing skills to make more money, enhance your career and impact patient lives across the country. 

Consider a few of the advantages of becoming an OR travel nurse

• Great Pay
• Higher wages than staff nurses --up to 15 percent more
• Company-sponsored medical and dental benefits
• Tax-free travel reimbursement
• Free housing.

You can discover more of the benefits and perks to becoming an operating room travel nurse here. Don’t forget to search for operating room nurse jobs online using our job search tool!

Read More About OR Travel Nursing Salary and Requirements from the link below.