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What does a surgical nurse do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
What does a surgical nurse do

Generally, a surgical nurse provides patient care before, during, and after surgery. Surgical nurses assist the surgeons and anesthetists whenever necessary. They prepare patients for their surgery and serve the actual procedure. It is part of their job to mark incision sites and sterilize them. They give preoperative instructions, prepare the operating room, and administer medication. The roles they play include being circulating and scrub nurses. Also, they intervene whenever complications occur.

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Surgical nurse responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real surgical nurse resumes:

  • Manage GI bleeds, asthmatics, bowel resections, fractures, patients with chest and feeding tubes.
  • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
  • Maintain BLS, NRP, ACLS
  • Prepare patients for procedures, initiate and maintain intravenous therapy, and obtain 12-lead EKG.
  • Establish care plans and perform care for ICU, CCU, cardiac, and neurological patients.
  • Serve as a BLS/ ACLS instructor.
  • Average patient are on ventilator, continuous dialysis, multiple drips, and 5-lead EKG.
  • Serve as a preceptor for incoming staff members, and are responsible for scheduling of ICU staff.
  • Perform all GI relate duties; administer conscious sedation, assist physician with technical duties, sterilize and maintain scopes/equipment.
  • Provide generalized nursing care in a resource intensive, inpatient rehabilitation hospital environment.
  • Complete chemotherapy competency course in order to provide care and administer chemotherapy agents to patients.
  • Initial assessments done base on patients chief complaint and document accurately using, HMS computer applications efficiently.
  • Demonstrate quality patient-focuse care, utilizing an interdisciplinary team approach, in the setting of rehabilitation care.
  • Provide patient and staff education regarding oncology care and promote interdisciplinary care plans for the oncology patient.
  • Cultivate non-judgmental listening skills in order to provide unbias care and counseling to patients facing life-changing diagnoses and prognoses.

Surgical nurse skills and personality traits

We calculated that 31% of Surgical Nurses are proficient in Patients, BLS, and Acute Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Surgical Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 31%

    Cultivated non-judgmental listening skills in order to provide unbiased care and counseling to patients facing life-changing diagnoses and prognoses.

  • BLS, 15%

    Assisted Education Department in developing BLS program schedule and training for employee certification.

  • Acute Care, 7%

    Provided comprehensive history and physical exams to furnish appropriate assessment and plan in inpatient acute care settings.

  • Acls, 5%

    Supervised Nursing students of Community College Nursing program and obtained ACLS certification

  • Rehabilitation, 4%

    Demonstrated quality patient-focused care, utilizing an interdisciplinary team approach, in the setting of rehabilitation care.

  • Quality Care, 3%

    Provided comprehensive high-quality care to a diverse patient population including: orthopedic, urology, and general surgery.

Common skills that a surgical nurse uses to do their job include "patients," "bls," and "acute care." You can find details on the most important surgical nurse responsibilities below.

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a surgical nurse to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what surgical nurses do because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a surgical nurse resume shows how surgical nurses use communication skills: "developed guidelines to improve communications between rns and patient care technicians on when to notify the rn of abnormal vital signs. "

Compassion. Many surgical nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so a surgical nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways surgical nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "provided compassion and emotional support to patients throughout ivf experience. "

Detail oriented. This is an important skill for surgical nurses to perform their duties. For an example of how surgical nurse responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a surgical nurse: "maintained accurate and detailed reports including patients' medical information, status and vital signs. ".

Emotional stability. A big part of what surgical nurses do relies on "emotional stability." You can see how essential it is to surgical nurse responsibilities because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical surgical nurse tasks: "provide care to post-operative patients as per surgical procedure by providing pertinent post-op education, emotional support, and close monitoring. "

Organizational skills. Another common skill required for surgical nurse responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of surgical nurses all the time, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." An excerpt from a real surgical nurse resume shows how this skill is central to what a surgical nurse does: "exhibited organizational skills related to patient safety and optimal outcomes. "

Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to surgical nurse responsibilities. Much of what a surgical 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 surgical nurses: "performed physical assessments and interventions in preparation for various diagnostics studies and surgical procedures. "

Most common surgical nurse skills

The three companies that hire the most surgical nurses are:

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Compare different surgical nurses

Surgical 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.

If we compare the average surgical nurse annual salary with that of a nurse clinician, we find that nurse clinicians typically earn a $1,134 higher salary than surgical nurses make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between surgical nurses and nurse clinicians are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, acls, and rehabilitation.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a surgical nurse are more likely to require skills like "bls," "acute care," "quality care," and "oncology." On the other hand, a job as a nurse clinician requires skills like "emergency situations," "educational programs," "medication administration," and "surgery." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Nurse clinicians really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $73,633. Comparatively, surgical nurses tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $57,543.On average, nurse clinicians reach higher levels of education than surgical nurses. Nurse clinicians are 5.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Surgical nurse vs. Nurse educator

A nurse educator is responsible for teaching aspiring professional nurses, designing courses according to the curriculum, and organizing activities to practice and enhance the students' knowledge. Nurse educators manage clinical activities and observe the students' performance in actual training. They must have excellent knowledge of the medical industry, as well as its practices, to respond to the students' inquiries and concerns accurately. A nurse educator identifies the students' strengths and weaknesses, develop comprehensive lesson plans, and strategizing various nursing programs.

A career as a nurse educator brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a surgical nurse. In fact, nurse educators salary is $3,958 higher than the salary of surgical nurses per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Surgical nurses and nurse educators both require similar skills like "patients," "bls," and "acute care" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, surgical nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "quality care," "patient outcomes," "patient safety," and "orthopedics." Meanwhile, a nurse educator has duties that require skills in areas such as "bsn," "professional development," "educational programs," and "staff development." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, nurse educators earn a higher salary than surgical nurses. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, nurse educators earn the most pay in the pharmaceutical industry with an average salary of $94,493. Whereas surgical nurses have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $57,543.In general, nurse educators achieve higher levels of education than surgical nurses. They're 14.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for surgical nurses in the next 3-5 years?

Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University

Telehealth will continue to play an essential role in the delivery of high-quality patient care. As nursing professionals, RNs must be familiar with the delivery of digital health, including issues such as the scope of practice, regulation, delivery platforms, and patient privacy to name a few.

Surgical nurse vs. Registered nurse med/surg

The job of registered medical-surgical nurses is to care for patients with either surgical or non-surgical conditions. They are responsible for aiding patients to cope with their illness, prevent diseases, and promote good health. Entry-level registered nurses often rely on standardized care plans and medical procedures and make scientific-based nursing judgments. On the other hand, intermediate level nurses are more skilled in developing care plans that meet client needs. Requirements to become a medical-surgical nurse include a college degree in nursing, excellent assessment and observation skills, and patient education skills.

An average registered nurse med/surg eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of surgical nurses. The difference in salaries amounts to registered nurse med/surgs earning a $20,787 higher average salary than surgical nurses.surgical nurses and registered nurse med/surgs both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "bls," and "acute care," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from surgical nurse resumes include skills like "quality care," "orthopedics," "cpr," and "general surgery," whereas a registered nurse med/surg is more likely to list skills in "quality patient care," "critical care," "pet," and "robotic surgery. "

Registered nurse med/surgs earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $74,800. Surgical nurses earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $57,543.When it comes to education, registered nurse med/surgs tend to earn similar degree levels compared to surgical nurses. In fact, they're 1.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Surgical nurse vs. Private duty nurse

A private duty nurse is responsible for providing quality health care services for a specific patient's medical needs. Private duty nurses work within a large health care institution or in a private household setting, depending on their scope and availability. They assist the medical staff in administering medications for the patients, conducting medical procedures, evaluating the patients' condition, and reporting progress and any updates to the attending physician for immediate attention. A private duty nurse must be highly attentive, especially on supporting the patient's daily activities and self-care needs.

Private duty nurses typically earn lower pay than surgical nurses. On average, private duty nurses earn a $8,507 lower salary per year.While their salaries may vary, surgical nurses and private duty nurses both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "patients," "quality care," and "direct patient care. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between surgical nurses and private duty nurses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a surgical nurse might have more use for skills like "bls," "acute care," "acls," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of private duty nurses require skills like "medication administration," "hospice care," "trach care," and "adl. "

In general, private duty nurses earn the most working in the government industry, with an average salary of $58,981. The highest-paying industry for a surgical nurse is the professional industry.In general, private duty nurses hold similar degree levels compared to surgical nurses. Private duty nurses are 2.2% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of surgical nurse

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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