Diego’s Typical Day at Work at Hospital

I do shifts work. Normally, I do day shifts (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and night shifts (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.) in
the emergency operating room. Sometimes I do morning shifts (8 a.m. to 15 a.m.) and early shifts
(14 p.m. to 20 p.m.) in the programmed operating room.

The policy of my hospital is that the theatre nurses are able to perform duties and responsibilities
in recovery room, anesthetic, circulating and scrub.

During the first 2 years I just did recovery and anesthetic, because for my past experience, I have
great ability to work with critically ill patients and I didn’t need to adapt much time. In the third year
I started to work with scrub too in a few specialties.

-When I work like anesthetic I do supervision of the anesthesia equipment and testing anesthetic
machines (Datex - Ohmeda). I prepare all material, equipment or drugs by all types of anesthesia:
general, regional, spinal, epidural, caudal Bier´s block and blocks. I collaborate with anesthetist to
induction of anesthesia and awakening of the patient if it was general anesthesia.

I do monitoring during anesthesia, BP, oxygen saturation, ECG and invasive monitoring, arterial
pressure line and central venous pressure line.

I do investigations: blood extraction, arterial blood extraction, glucose testing,...

I administer all drugs. I do computer literary and others documents. I use thermal devices,
warming blankets, PCA, blood warming devices, infusion pumps,...

I identify and take action for complications of anesthesia: scoline apnea, cardiac arrest,
laryngospasm, respiratory arrest, pnuematorax, cardiac arrhythmias, malignant hyperthermia,
anaphylactic shock, hypovolemic shock.

I follow the patient to recovery room.

When I work in recovery room I supervise all equipment and testing defibrillator. I must add that I
do the following assessments: immediate Post-Anesthetic; complete head to Toe Physical,
Aldrete score (activity, respiration, circulation, consciousness, oxygenation), comfort (nausea,
pain). I monitored to patient.

I can perform well airway management: care of the unconscious Patient, Tracheotomy care, care
of intubated patient, assist with intubation, care of the Ventilate patient, insertion of airways
oral/nasal, oxygen administration, use of ambu-bag in emergencies,...

I can perform well management of post - op patient anesthetic complication: laryngospasm,

Emergence Delirium, airway Obstruction, Malignant Hyperthermia, hypertension/hypotension,
dysrhythmias, Hemorrhage/Shock, Emergency Re-intubation, cardiopulmonary arrest...

I do ananalgesia control and discharge procedures. When the patient has discharge we escort
the patient until transfer area and give the information about the patient to the colleague that
belong to the destination patient unit.

-When I work like scrub and circulating both in a team we prepare all equipment and instruments
necessary for each surgery. I instrument general surgery emergencies, obstetrics - gynecology
emergencies and any orthopedic emergencies. Sometimes in the operating room programmed
too.
In general surgery I instrument: abdominal perinea resection, hemicolectomy, cholecystectomy,
spleenectomy, gastrectomy,...; laparoscopic procedures in cholecystectomy and appendectomy;
herniorraphy, appendectomy and others procedures.
In obstetrics/gynecology: Abdominal hysterectomy, cesarean section, dilatation and curettage,
vaginal hysterectomy,...

In Orthopedic: Reduction and fixation of fractures with insertion of Steinman pin or Kirschner
Insertion; whit plates and screws; with external fixation; Intramedullary nailing and fixation of the
DHS plate.

We verify all instruments before and after each surgery so recount of compresses too. We
delegate to auxiliary staff the function of washing and sending the instruments to service
sterilization.

We work as a team.

Diego Sevilla is a student at the online language school Avatar Languages

See more student work at www.avatarlanguages.com/studentwork