By Don Sadler
Despite its challenges, many OR nurses believe that theirs is the greatest career in the world. So, we asked some perioperative nurses to share with us why they love their jobs. Following are their responses.
Dawn Whiteside, MSN (Ed), RN, NPD-BC, CNOR, RNFA
Director of Education, CCI Institute
I love working in perioperative nursing because it is the ultimate place to be a patient advocate, and also because it’s highly team oriented. Our patients are routinely medicated and unable to advocate for themselves. This provides the perioperative nurse with the great privilege and responsibility of advocating for the patient. Throughout nursing, we are highly interprofessional and collaborative. In the perioperative setting, nurses are in an environment that’s often intense, with an average of five people working together with a singular purpose of taking care of the patient. Perioperative nursing is the only specialty I ever wanted to work in and I was blessed to be able to go into it right out of nursing school in 1987. Now, my job is to promote patient care through certification and preparing the next generation. I love it all!
Margaret Vargas, BSN, RN
As a perioperative nurse, I find my position rewarding because of the friendships and rapport that are built with patients and fellow co-workers. To me, perioperative nursing is a community coming together to help individuals meet their health goals and needs. Whether we perform a 10-minute pain procedure or a three-hour anterior lumbar interbody fusion, we play an important role in improving our patients’ quality of life. Reassuring my patients and putting them at ease throughout all phases while prioritizing patient safety is a responsibility I take seriously. There is beauty in knowing that as a nurse, I can make a difference in a patient’s surgical experience, from beginning to end. The camaraderie that’s between patient, nurse and surgical team is why I love being a perioperative nurse.
Tiffany Vetter White, BSN, RN
Perioperative Surgical RN, Anmed Health
Surgical nursing is a unique specialty requiring a special set of skills, but it provides lifelong learning experiences as changes in surgery are always occurring. The rewards of perioperative nursing are many, including the ability to safeguard the welfare and safety of one patient at a time. I thoroughly enjoy working in perioperative services because as a perioperative nurse, I must constantly be thinking through the next possible steps in the surgical procedure so the patient, surgeon and team won’t face delays during the perioperative phase. I recently accepted a position as charge nurse in the operating room and this has opened even more opportunities to learn and better understand so much more about surgery. Working alongside surgeons, anesthesia and certified surgical technicians has deeply increased my knowledge and love for surgery.
Beverly Kirchner, MSN, RN, CNOR, CNAMB
When I first became a perioperative nurse over 40 years ago, I loved perioperative nursing because of the adrenalin thrill you get in a trauma room. You are with a scrub tech to provide care, advocate for the patient and the patient’s family, and assist the surgeon in saving a life. Then, I began to understand what lifelong learning was and how learning helped me provide safe patient care. Education is essential when using the ever-changing technology brought to the perioperative setting. As I moved into leadership, I loved perioperative nursing more because it gave me a passion for helping others by being there for them in their time of need. Today, I strive to make a difference in nursing by mentoring, coaching, listening and even at times just holding a door open to make it easier for the nurse. Life as a perioperative nurse has taken me on a journey I am honored to have traveled.
Vangie Dennis, MSN, RN, CNOR, CMLSO
AORN President
From the moment I entered the OR as a new nurse, I knew I’d found a setting that would keep me engaged and stimulated for my entire career. It’s very exciting to work closely with an exceptional team of professionals and to have the satisfaction of knowing that I am making a tremendous difference in the lives of our patients and their family members. As perioperative nurses, we are always learning new ways to provide care more safely, whether through advancements in technology or new evidence that creates practice change. I’ve worked in all sorts of settings including ambulatory and acute care and in several surgical specialties and it has all been exciting and rewarding.
Jamie Ridout, RN, MSN, MBA, CNOR, NEA-BC, CASC
Executive Director, Triangle Surgery Center
I feel like perioperative nursing found me, as opposed to me finding it. After graduating from nursing school 30 years ago, I wasn’t clear on what direction I wanted to pursue. From the moment I watched open heart surgery as a new graduate, I knew perioperative nursing was what I needed to do for the rest of my life. This profession is rigorous. It has brought me to my knees and challenged me in ways I’d never been challenged before. But it also afforded me the opportunity to witness miracles and experience the gift of saving someone’s life. It has taught me about myself and humanity. Most importantly, perioperative nursing has made me recognize what an honor it is to care for someone in their most vulnerable state. The trust patients put in a circulating nurse is a level of trust I have always recognized and respected.
Raema Howell, RN, BSN, MSHI
Planner II, Washington University in St. Louis
I love working in the perioperative field as it offers such a diverse platform of opportunities. Over the span of my career as an OR nurse, I have grown in my understanding of the overall functionality of the surgical environment. This has led me down an entirely new career path: health care facility design, construction and activation. In 2015, I joined the project team to spearhead a replacement hospital project. Along my journey, I have learned to work with architects, engineers and construction teams that specialize in health care design. Currently, I am working on the activation of a state-of-the-art neuroscience research building. Working in the perioperative field has afforded me many opportunities to challenge myself and my career. The possibilities for advancement are great and that is why I love the perioperative field.
Erin Keeney, MSN, RN, CNOR
Director of Perioperative Services, AnMed
I have been in perioperative services since 1997 and it is one of the most amazing and rewarding careers. I started out my career as a CST and then RN. I have a passion for everything associated with perioperative services. From the teamwork and how we care for our patients to how we work hand-in-hand with surgeons, it truly is a team effort to provide exceptional outcomes for our patients. Perioperative services is fast paced and no two days are the same. There is no other career path I could imagine that would give me as much satisfaction as being a perioperative nurse. I love perioperative nursing!
Deborah L. Spratt, MPA, BSN, RN, CNOR, CHL
I wanted to be a nurse ever since I was a little girl because I wanted to help people. I am a diploma school graduate so as part of our med-surg experience we spent six weeks in the operating and recovery rooms. We not only observed but also scrubbed and circulated with our assigned preceptors. After that experience, I knew I never wanted to work anyplace else. This was long before Periop 101. We had an educator, but I don’t remember a formal orientation. The RN and ST staff were great, and I have never looked back. I have loved every perioperative job I’ve ever had. There is nothing better than collaborating with your colleagues to provide safe patient care while ensuring that the team is practicing in a safe environment. I believe you can’t have one without the other. I still speak on sharps safety, SPHM, mandatory smoke evacuation and workplace civility.
Ruth Plotkin Shumaker, BSN, RN, CNOR
CEO/Owner, Ruth P. Shumaker Perioperative Consulting
I love working in the perioperative arena because it encompasses the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative phases of care. It requires emotional, intellectual and evidence-based practice. Perioperative patient care ranges from newborn children to people who may be on the cusp of death. Perioperative nursing is a profession founded on a commitment, passion and love for the well-being of others. Nurses make a difference and help patients in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. The protocols and standards used for surgical patients and procedures make every step critically important.
Jeffrey Keane, BSN, RN, CNOR
I have been a member of the operating room team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for more than 15 years. During this time, I have been able to advocate for many patients to ensure they are safe during their surgical procedure. While patients are in the operating room, they need a strong voice to speak and act in their best interest. We have a wonderful team that I consider family who uses evidence-based practice. In perioperative nursing, we have a unique opportunity to provide care for one patient at a time. Not many other areas of nursing are able to do this.
Bill Duffy, Program Director, Nursing and Healthcare Administration MSN
Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, Loyola University of Chicago
I became a nurse to make a difference in people’s lives and found perioperative nursing to be the perfect opportunity to not only achieve my purpose, but to do so in such a special way. I believe every person is a unique creation who will never be duplicated. As a perioperative nurse, I get to go inside the body and see the beauty of God’s work while I help repair what is wrong. This is a special honor in that I and my perioperative colleagues are allowed to help repair and restore a person so they can regain their health and continue their contribution to the world. What can be more rewarding than that?
Justin Fontenot, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAADN
One of the most significant rewards of any nursing career is seeing your patient progress, heal and return to pre-surgical independence. It is this idea that keeps me actively involved in post-surgical client care. Following a long career in post-operative floor nursing, I now have the privilege of teaching in post-operative clinical settings. Nursing students learn the most in post-operative settings and they, like me, are drawn to supporting their patients to optimal healing. After the surgeon repairs what seems impossible at times, nurses are there to take the reins. We keep clients safe, comfortable and free from post-operative complications and use our skills and advanced knowledge to manage complex client situations. There is no better clinical setting for me. I will always be a proud post-operative nurse!
Amanda Heitman, BSN, RN, CNOR
Perioperative Educational Consultant, Periop Anew
I love working in the perioperative field because there is no other nursing field like it. We are unique with everything we do to keep our patients safe by advocating for them when they are most vulnerable. The perioperative arena is ever-changing, so you learn something new every day. We are very team oriented and work closely with several different areas such as paranesthesia, sterile processing and endoscopy to provide the best possible patient outcome. I also love sharing my passion for perioperative nursing by speaking to nursing students. I enjoy sharing what really happens behind the scenes in our exciting world and teaching new nurses in the OR the rationale of why we do what we do. I am always excited to share my knowledge to grow our perioperative future.
