What does an operating room nurse do?

An Operating Room Nurse assists surgeons during operations and keeps the operating room sterile at all times. They ensure that patients are ready for transport to the recovery room.
Operating room nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real operating room nurse resumes:
- Post op surgery assist recovery nurse with obtaining vitals signs and attaching EKG leads and oxygen.
- Achieve departmental goals and objectives by instituting SGNA standards and processes for inpatient and outpatient care.
- Organize and manage regular clinics involving external physicians, including ophthalmology, ENT, Med/Surg, orthopedics, and podiatry professionals.
- General surgery, ortho, GU, GI and ENT and dentals.
- Complete BLS and ACLS certification.
- Specialize in GYN, urology and orthopedics.
- Specialize skills in GYN/Oncology, general surgery, plastics, ENT, orthopedics, urology, and ophthalmology.
- Monitor post-anesthesia patients from arrival in PACU.
- Assist doctor with colonoscopy and EGD procedures and administering medications.
- Provide comfort and compassion while preparing patients for surgery and providing care following procedures.
- Initiate and maintain iv sites, administer medications according to physician orders and protocols.
- Assist physicians with various tasks during conscious sedation, monitor anesthesia care and general anesthesia.
- Monitor patient's weekly labs especially those receiving chemo-radiation and head and neck oncology patients.
- Delegate supervised care of telemetry and post-operative patients in a high security and forensic atmosphere.
- Work in an ambulatory surgical center serving surgical and pain management patients ranging from pediatrics to geriatrics.
Operating room nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Operating Room Nurses are proficient in Patients, BLS, and Acls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Emotional stability.
We break down the percentage of Operating Room Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 21%
Performed preoperative assessments on patients being prepared for surgery, followed facility guidelines in clearing each patient for surgery.
- BLS, 13%
Certified nurse of the operating room, registered first assistant, BLS and ACLS certified.
- Acls, 7%
Monitor the respiratory and cardiac response of patients undergoing local procedures as authorized by my ACLS certification.
- Surgical Procedures, 4%
Decreased turnover between surgical procedures by 20 minutes through effective time management and problem solving related to equipment operation.
- PACU, 3%
Monitored post-anesthesia patients from arrival in PACU.
- Pre-op, 3%
Performed all duties of Pre-Op nursing
Most operating room nurses use their skills in "patients," "bls," and "acls" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential operating room nurse responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for an operating room nurse to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, an operating room nurse resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "maintain open communication within the or, and between the or staff and patients families. "
Compassion. Many operating room nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so an operating room nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways operating room nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "provided comfort and compassion while preparing patients for surgery and providing care following procedures. "
Emotional stability. This is an important skill for operating room nurses to perform their duties. For an example of how operating room nurse responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an operating room nurse: "performed pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative assessments to include physical, psycho-social, educational/learning, and emotional status and needs. ".
Organizational skills. For certain operating room nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of an operating room nurse rely on this skill, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what operating room nurses do: "participated and served as a super user with organizational computer physician order entry development, training, and implementation. "
Detail oriented. A commonly-found skill in operating room nurse job descriptions, "detail oriented" is essential to what operating room nurses do. Operating room nurse responsibilities rely on this skill because "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." You can also see how operating room nurse duties rely on detail oriented in this resume example: "oriented, teaches and supervises perioperative nursing students. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to operating room nurse responsibilities. Much of what an operating room nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of operating room nurses: "checked charts for history and physicals, labs, x-rays, ekg's, etc. "
The three companies that hire the most operating room nurses are:
- Trusted Health Plans2,847 operating room nurses jobs
- Aya Healthcare1,627 operating room nurses jobs
- MedPro Healthcare Staffing789 operating room nurses jobs
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Operating room nurse vs. Advanced registered nurse practitioner
An advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) is responsible for patient care. An ARNP may practice independently or work with other healthcare professionals such as physicians. Your duties typically include examining patients and determining diagnosis by physical examination, patient history, and other medical assessments, admitting, managing, and discharging patients to and from medical facilities, and managing health care by developing, implementing, and evaluating treatment and care plans for patients. You will also be responsible for referring patients to other health care service providers or facilities.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between operating room nurses and advanced registered nurse practitioner. For instance, operating room nurse responsibilities require skills such as "bls," "acls," "surgical procedures," and "pacu." Whereas a advanced registered nurse practitioner is skilled in "arnp," "patient care," "primary care," and "diagnosis." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Advanced registered nurse practitioners earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $103,277. On the other hand, operating room nurses are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $78,495.The education levels that advanced registered nurse practitioners earn slightly differ from operating room nurses. In particular, advanced registered nurse practitioners are 46.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an operating room nurse. Additionally, they're 2.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Operating room nurse vs. Nurse clinician
A nurse clinician is a health expert who provides care and assistance to patients in hospitals, clinics, or similar establishments. Among their responsibilities include preparing equipment and documents, administering medication, monitoring the patient's condition, maintaining charts, and regularly reporting to physicians. In some establishments, they may also perform administrative support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and organizing records. Moreover, a nurse clinician must maintain an active communication line with fellow medical staff to provide optimal services to patients.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real operating room nurse resumes. While operating room nurse responsibilities can utilize skills like "bls," "pre-op," "perioperative," and "aorn," nurse clinicians use skills like "cpr," "emergency situations," "patient outcomes," and "educational programs."
Nurse clinicians may earn a lower salary than operating room nurses, but nurse clinicians earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $73,633. On the other hand, operating room nurses receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $78,495.nurse clinicians earn higher levels of education than operating room nurses in general. They're 6.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Operating room nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from operating room nurse resumes include skills like "surgical procedures," "pre-op," "perioperative," and "aorn," whereas a registered nurse charge nurse is more likely to list skills in "cpr," "resident care," "acute care," and "critical care. "
Registered nurses charge nurses make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $68,929. On the other hand, operating room nurses are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $78,495.When it comes to education, registered nurses charge nurses tend to earn similar degree levels compared to operating room nurses. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Operating room nurse vs. Psychiatric registered nurse
A registered psychiatric nurse works alongside mental health experts to develop and administer psychiatric treatment plans according to the patients' needs. Among their responsibilities include gathering and organizing patient information, studying the patients' medical histories, conducting interviews and assessments, providing counseling, administering medicine, and restraining unsettled patients. There are also instances when they must conduct inspections to remove potentially harmful objects and provide psychoeducation to the patients' families. Above all, a registered psychiatric nurse must closely monitor the behavior of patients, record their daily progress, and report to the psychiatrists regularly.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between operating room nurses and psychiatric registered nurses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an operating room nurse might have more use for skills like "bls," "acls," "surgical procedures," and "pacu." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of psychiatric registered nurses require skills like "substance abuse," "triage," "im," and "mental illness. "
In general, psychiatric registered nurses earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $79,959. The highest-paying industry for an operating room nurse is the professional industry.In general, psychiatric registered nurses hold similar degree levels compared to operating room nurses. Psychiatric registered nurses are 2.0% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of operating room nurse
Updated January 8, 2025











