STAFFING IN OT AND MEMBERS OF

SURGICAL TEAM
Staffing is a selection, training, motivating and retaining of a personnel in the organization. The
norms are providing staffing requirement information in a number of ways, to facilitate various
uses.

The staffing requirements in can be measured by –

• Staffing needs,
• Population ratios,
• Fixed staff requirements per level of care,
• Number of hours worked,
• Hours associated with direct patient care
• Workload calculation

The staffing requirements in OT staffing is based on the –

• Number of cases operated per day,

• Total number of hours of cases,
• Type of cases,
• Nature of cases,
• Prescribed norms, policies and procedures
BENEFITS OF GOOD STAFFING
• Improves patient outcome
• Lowers mortality rate
• Increase OT efficiency
• Reduce patient waiting time for surgery
• Balance workload
STAFFING PATTERN OF OT
MEMBERS OF THE OT TEAM

• The management of intra-operative nursing care is the coordinated efforts of well-

organized surgical team. Whose function include safe, efficient & effective care to the surgical
patient in OT.
• OT surgical team has the following personnel:
• Medical personnel
• Anaesthesiologist
• Nursing personnel
• OT technician
• OT Attendants
• Lab technician
• OT Sweepers or Cleaners
• MEDICAL PERSONNEL OR SURGEON
• A surgeon can be defined as a doctor, who operates a body either to cure or
prevent a disease, fix an injury, or to solve a health problem. Thus, it is said that a surgeon is a
medical practitioner, who is an expert at performing operations on the body.
• The surgeon job description depends upon the type of the surgeon he/she is. There
are different types of surgeons and their set of duties:
• General Surgeon - A general surgeon usually operates on the abdominal
parts and performs operations related to hernia and appendicitis.
• Neurosurgeon - operates on brain and spinal cord
• Orthopaedic surgeon - An orthopaedic surgeon is an expert at performing
operations related to bones, joints, spine, etc.
• Plastic surgeon - They perform various types of cosmetic surgeries which
include, liposuction, treating skin burns, etc.
• Each of these specialized surgeon is an expert in operating the respective parts of
the body.
• Duties of surgeon -
• Before surgery learn the medical history of the patient, make sure if the
patient has certain allergies, expected outcome after the operation.
• Before starting with the surgery, a surgeon should make sure that the
operation theatre is well equipped with surgical instruments required for the surgery.
• The surgeon should provide all the information and risks associated with
the surgery to the patient.
• The surgeon should manage, plan and schedule the surgery, after studying
the physical condition of the patient.
• After completion of the surgery, the surgeon should prepare the case
history and provide all the necessary after surgery care to the patient.
• ANAESTHESIOLOGIST
• Anaesthesiologist is a physician trained in anaesthesia and perioperative
medicine.
• Duties of Anaesthesiologist -
• Administer anaesthetics to prevent patients from feeling pain and
sensations;
• closely monitor patients' vital signs during surgery and adjust anaesthetics
accordingly;
• Monitor patients through the first recovery stages after an operation;
• Anaesthesiologists may also help treat patients with conditions causing
chronic pain.
• More than ninety percent of the anaesthetics used in health care are
administered by or under the direct supervision of an anaesthesiologist.
• NURSING PERSONNEL
• Nursing personnel or nursing section in OT is headed by the Nursing Director or
Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). The other members of the nursing team working under the nursing
director are as the following:
• Deputy Nursing Director or Deputy Nursing Officer (DNO)
• Nursing supervisors
• Scrub nurses - works directly with the surgeon within the sterile field
• Circulatory nurses - responsible for managing the nursing care of the
patient within the operating room and coordinating the needs of the surgical team with other care
providers necessary for completion of surgery.
• Nurse – in – charge store
• Nurse – in –charge reception, admission, transfer etc.
• OT TECHNICIAN
• O.T. Technician is a qualified person, is the member of the surgical team.
• Operating room technicians are also called surgical technicians.
• They assist in preparing operating rooms for surgery. They are responsible for
having surgical instruments, sterile bandages and linens, needed fluids, and other equipment
ready for the operation.
• They may also assist doctors by handing them needed instruments during surgery
and for counting sponges and needles before and after the operation. They deliver specimens to
hospital laboratories for analysis, and after operations they take patients to the recovery room.
• Duties of OT technician
• Operation Theatre Technician has to carry out the routine work pre-
operatively such as – Carbonization, Fumigation, Sterilization and Autoclaving.
• Ultra Violet (U.V.) lighting has been used for germicidal sterilization to
prevent Mould / Bacteria Growth etc.
• So the environment is free from the disease causing microorganisms & the
required instruments, linen, dressing materials etc. are free from the pathogenic microorganisms
& ready for the use in operation / surgical procedure
• OT ATTENDANTS
• Also known as OT nurse assistant or OT ward boy.
• OT Attendants is assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and
medical interventions.
• These duties are classified as routine tasks involving no risk for the patient like –
• Lift patients on and off trolley to OT table with the assistance of nurses.
• Transfer patients' files between departments, specimens to laboratories.
• Make sure that an adequate supply of clean clothing and linen is available
for the patient and that soiled items are removed and send for cleaning.
• Assist in the maintenance of stocks of linen and non-medical supplies.
• LAB TECHNICIAN
• Collect samples of body fluids and tissues.
• Perform clinical tests usually of a simpler nature.
• OT CLEANERS
• OT cleaners are the personnel who are engaged themselves in cleaning the OT
pre-operative & post operatively.
• Cleaners clean the OT with the antiseptic lotion with wearing of gloves, mask &
cap.
• They are responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of OT.

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