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 representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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 list "patients," "bls," and "acls" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important operating room nurse responsibilities here:

  • The most important skills for an operating room nurse to have in this position are communication skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a operating room nurse resume, you'll understand why: "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and assess their health conditions" According to resumes we found, communication skills can be used by a operating room nurse in order to "maintain open communication within the or, and between the or staff and patients families. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many operating room nurse duties rely on compassion. This example from a operating room nurse explains why: "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when looking after patients." This resume example is just one of many ways operating room nurses are able to utilize compassion: "provided comfort and compassion while preparing patients for surgery and providing care following procedures. "
  • Emotional stability is also an important skill for operating room nurses to have. This example of how operating room nurses use this skill comes from a operating room nurse resume, "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to manage their emotions to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stresses." Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "performed pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative assessments to include physical, psycho-social, educational/learning, and emotional status and needs. "
  • In order for certain operating room nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "organizational skills." According to an operating room nurse resume, "nurses often work with multiple patients with various health needs" As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "participated and served as a super user with organizational computer physician order entry development, training, and implementation. "
  • As part of the operating room nurse description, you might find that one of the skills that might be helpful to the job is "detail oriented." A operating room nurse resume included this snippet: "registered nurses must be responsible and detail oriented because they must make sure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This skill could be useful in this scenario: "oriented, teaches and supervises perioperative nursing students. "
  • While "physical stamina" is listed last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to operating room nurse responsibilities. The skill is described by this resume snippet, "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as moving patients" Here is an example of how this skill is used, "checked charts for history and physicals, labs, x-rays, ekg's, etc. "
  • See the full list of operating room nurse skills.

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    What Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners Do

    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.

    In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take advanced registered nurse practitioner for example. On average, the advanced registered nurse practitioners annual salary is $29,565 higher than what operating room nurses make on average every year.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between operating room nurses and advanced registered nurse practitioners are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like patients, rehabilitation, and compassion.

    As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because an operating room nurse responsibility requires 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." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

    Advanced registered nurse practitioners receive the highest salaries in the health care industry coming in with an average yearly salary of $103,277. But 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 is a bit different than that of 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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    Now we're going to look at the nurse clinician profession. On average, nurse clinicians earn a $3,096 lower salary than operating room nurses a year.

    Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Operating room nurses and nurse clinicians both include similar skills like "patients," "acls," and "surgical procedures" on their resumes.

    But both careers also use different skills, according to real operating room nurse resumes. While operating room nurse responsibilities can utilize skills like "bls," "pre-op," "perioperative," and "aorn," some 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 side of things, operating room nurses receive higher paychecks in the professional industry where they earn an average of $78,495.

    On the topic of education, 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.

    How a Registered Nurse Charge Nurse Compares

    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.

    The third profession we take a look at is registered nurse charge nurse. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher salaries than operating room nurses. In fact, they make a $3,087 higher salary per year.

    While looking through the resumes of several operating room nurses and registered nurses charge nurses we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "bls," and "acls," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from operating room nurse resumes include skills like "surgical procedures," "pre-op," "perioperative," and "aorn," whereas a registered nurse charge nurse might be skilled 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. Whereas operating room nurses are paid the highest salary in the professional industry with the average being $78,495.

    When it comes to education, registered nurses charge nurses tend to earn similar education levels than 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.

    Description Of a 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.

    Now, we'll look at psychiatric registered nurses, who generally average a higher pay when compared to operating room nurses annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $4,798 per year.

    While their salaries may vary, operating room nurses and psychiatric registered nurses both use similar skills to perform their jobs. Resumes from both professions include skills like "patients," "physician orders," and "rehabilitation. "

    Even though a few skill sets overlap, 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 psychiatric registered nurses might include skills like "substance abuse," "triage," "im," and "mental illness" on their resume.

    In general, psychiatric registered nurses make a higher salary in the health care industry with an average of $79,959. The highest operating room nurse annual salary stems from the professional industry.

    In general, psychiatric registered nurses reach similar levels of education when compared to operating room nurses resumes. 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.