What Does a Perioperative Nurse Do?
Surgical and perioperative nurses specialize in patient care across all three phases of surgery. In the pre-operative phase, you're assessing patients, verifying informed consent, confirming surgical site markings, managing anxiety, and completing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. Intra-operatively, you're either circulating or scrubbing — coordinating the OR environment or handling instruments at the sterile field. Post-operatively, you're managing recovery in the PACU, controlling pain and nausea, and monitoring for complications. You'll work directly with surgeons, anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and surgical technologists in a tightly coordinated team unlike any other nursing setting.
The circulating nurse — who must be an RN — manages the overall OR environment, serves as the patient advocate, documents the procedure, verifies counts of sponges, sharps, and instruments, handles specimens, and coordinates equipment. The scrub role handles instruments at the sterile field, anticipates surgeon needs, and maintains sterility. PACU nurses manage post-anesthesia recovery including airway management, pain control, and discharge readiness. Settings include hospital ORs, ambulatory surgery centers, endoscopy suites, cardiac cath labs, and robotic surgery programs. CNOR certification through CCI recognizes specialized perioperative expertise, while CRNFA offers advanced surgical assisting for experienced OR nurses.