Surgery/OR

Pre-Op
You will have the opportunity to observe clients being prepared for surgery and to assist
the nurses when appropriate.
1. Describe how the nurse admits a patient for surgery and what areas the nurse
focuses her assessment on.
2. Describe the teaching that is provided to the patient and his family prior to
surgery.
3. Describe the necessary steps in getting a patient ready for surgery.
4. Describe the discharge criteria that must be met before the patient can be
discharged following his surgery and the discharge teaching that is provided prior
to discharge.
5. Describe any follow-up phone calls or care that is provided following surgery.

Surgery
You should be able to observe a variety of surgeries as assigned by the hospital staff.
1. List the different personnel present in the OR suite and describe their role.
2. List four different things the circulating nurse performs to fulfill her role.
3. Identify important aspects of health and hygiene of surgical team, surgical attire
and surgical scrub, preservation of sterility and sterile fields.
4. Describe a minimum of one surgery you were able to observe, including the
reason for the surgery, the underlying pathophysiology, and the surgical
procedure. Please use Access Medicine (search engine in library data base) and
use Schwartzs Principles of Surgery, current edition to review the surgical
procedure in addition to your nursing text.
a. List two complications associated with this surgery.
b. List two nursing diagnoses the OR nurses implement along with
appropriate interventions

Describe the patients position in the four surgeries. Describe common surgical
positions and possible complications of each.
Describe the type of anesthetic (local, general, spinal, etc.) the patient received.
Describe the four stages of anesthesia in your own words.
Identify four types of skin closures.
.

PACU/Post-Op (Even if you are unable to participate in PACU care, please complete
items #3 and #4 below)
Assist the PACU nurses in taking vital signs, assessing for complications, charting, and in
transporting clients back to their rooms.

1. Describe the type of information that is given in report from the OR nurse to the
nurse in the recovery room.
2. Describe the initial assessment of the patient entering the recovery room. What
areas should the nurse focus her assessment on?
3. Describe 3 complications the patient is at risk for in the initial recovery period.
4. Describe at least 2 interventions for each of the complications you described
above that the nurse uses to assess for and/or prevent these complications.
5. Identify the problems associated with peri-operative positioning.
6. Describe how you assisted the recovery room nurses to prevent or monitor for
complications.
7. Describe the type of information that is given to the nurse caring for the patient
after they leave the recovery room.
8. List the nursing diagnoses and interventions that apply to the client in the
immediate post-op period.