Rn​/Registered Nurse - Or First Assistant

Overview

RN First Assistant – Full Time | Beebe Healthcare

Beebe Healthcare is seeking a skilled and compassionate Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) to join our dynamic surgical services team. In this full-time role, the RN First Assistant will play an essential part in providing expert perioperative nursing care, supporting surgeons, and ensuring optimal patient outcomes in the operating room.

The RNFA is a clinically competent professional nurse with demonstrated expertise in the perioperative setting. This role encompasses the full nursing process, including assessment, planning, intervention, implementation, and evaluation, while providing direct assistance during surgical procedures. The RNFA collaborates with surgeons, anesthesiologists, and the perioperative team to deliver safe, efficient, and high-quality patient care.

Responsibilities

• Deliver comprehensive perioperative care to surgical patients.
• Perform first assistant duties, including tissue handling, wound exposure, suturing, and hemostasis.
• Collaborate with the surgical team to ensure safe and effective operative outcomes.
• Utilize critical thinking and clinical expertise in preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care.
• Support Beebe Healthcare’s mission of excellence in patient-centered care.

Key Responsibilities

• Demonstrates competency in performance of scrub/surgical routines and aseptic technique.
• Utilizes proper scrub, gown and gloving technique for self, surgeon, and assistant.
• Ongoing monitoring of asepsis in all roles - scrub, circulator, and assistant.
• Anticipates needs of surgeon.
• Consistently recognizes sequence of procedures in all roles - scrub, circulator, and assistant.
• Passes instruments correctly.
• Appropriate review and preparation for assigned procedures.

• Understands and utilizes established guidelines for operation of autoclaves and steris units.
• Performs daily A-Test/Biological tests as required.
• Performs proper care, handling, and assembly of instruments for processing.
• Ensures complete/thorough documentation of all flash and steris cycles as per protocol.

• Accepts personal accountability for proper handling, judicious use, and optimum care of all department supply, instrument, and equipment inventory.

• Utilizes the nursing process throughout the perioperative setting per patient assessment.
• Collecting, interpreting, recording, and communicating pertinent data relevant to patient care in surgery.
• Care planning - utilization of collected data to plan appropriately for intraoperative nursing care.
• Implementing - provides direct patient care to meet physical and psychological needs.
• Evaluating care - continuously evaluates patient response to nursing intervention and modifies care plan to achieve desired outcome.

• Demonstrates and conveys theoretical knowledge and skills related to perioperative nursing care -- understands the "why" concept as well as the "how" process.
• Thorough/Accurate/Complete documentation of intraoperative patient care.
• Understands / Demonstrates / Conveys knowledge related to proper intraoperative patient positioning.
• Universal skin care precautions.
• Prevention of nerve damage.
• Prevention of pressure related skin breakdown.

• Assists with completion and accuracy of surgical sponge, sharps/miscellaneous items, and instrument counts as per established policies and guidelines.
• Assists with maintenance of up-to-date preference sheets in conjunction with Resource RNs and department Nurse Managers.
• Effectively demonstrates critical thinking, prioritization of duties, and time management skills throughout the perioperative arena.
• Maintains accuracy with patient charge process, cost efficient usage of case supplies, and ensures all pertinent data is provided to post case data personnel to facilitate a time efficient billing process.
• Strives to ensure efficiency in turnaround time between procedures - readily available; communication with OR Desk/Charge RN and/or department Nurse Manager; gross cleaning of body fluid spills to confine contamination throughout the procedure; prioritization of case completion process; assists with room clean up tasks as necessary; prioritizes case setup process toward maximum efficiency.

• Init…