Registered Nurse - Operating Room - First Assistant

Registered Nurse - Operating Room - First Assistant

The Registered Nurse - Operating Room - First Assistant duties include but are not limited to:

• Demonstrates competence in practice and decision-making, deliberate planning, and critical thinking skills. Integrates knowledge, skills, abilities, and judgment and is self-directed in goal setting for managing complex situations. The focus is beyond the self to the evolution of systems thinking by synthesizing knowledge to solve problems that result in demonstrated outcomes. The ability to cope with and manage competing priorities.
• Evaluates others, coaches, and mentors others, and demonstrates leadership skills through collaborative efforts.
• Functions in an expanded perioperative nursing role. When performing delegated medical functions, First Assist RNs are practitioners who are agents of the supervising physician(s)/independent licensed practitioner(s) who are responsible for the First Assist RN's actions within the agreed upon scope of practice. The supervising physician/independent licensed provider is to direct and review the work and practice on a continuous basis to ensure that appropriate directions are given and understood, and appropriate care is rendered.
• Possess the necessary knowledge, judgment, and skills specific to the expanded role of First Assist RN clinical practice. Intra-operatively, the First Assist RN practices at the direction of the attending surgeon. The First Assist RN shall not concurrently function as a scrub nurse with responsibility as a surgical first assistant. Verifies the standardized procedures in effect before performing the functions of a surgical first assistant. Maintains knowledge of current Association of peri-Operative Registered Nurses (AORN) Standards, VHA Directives and service level standard operating procedures.
• When directed by the attending surgeon, the First Assist RN's expanded role permits the performance of intra-operative functions including, but not limited to: positioning the patient, preparing and draping the surgical site, administering local anesthetic, providing exposure and retraction, providing hemostasis; utilizing electrosurgical cautery (ESU), bipolar and ultrasonic devices, suture ligation, hemostatic agents and argon beam, use and handling of surgical instrumentation, tissue manipulation, dissection, suturing, and stapling, making the skin incision or stab wound for laparoscopic surgery or drains and placement of trocar (based on State Board of Nursing) for laparoscopic access, robotics insertion and removal of instrumentation, securing drains, closure of wounds and application of dressings, including wound vac therapy, application and removal of casts and splints, harvest of vein and arteries for bypass conduit, cleansing the surgical area, including superficial, subcutaneous, muscle and fascia, bone and abdominal and pelvic cavities, removal of surgical drains (chest tubes, knee drains).

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Nurse Total Rewards

Pay: Competitive salary, regular salary increases, potential for performance awards

Paid Time Off: 50 days of paid time off per year (26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)

Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA

Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)

Licensure: 1 full and unrestricted license from any US State or territory

Work Schedule: Rotating Shifts: 6:00am - 2:30pm, 7:00am - 3:30pm, 11:00am-7:30pm, On-call M-F, weekends, holidays. Overtime as required for patient care.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

US Department of Veterans Affairs