Operating Room Nurse Day 2024 is on Thursday, November 14, 2024: Anyone have information on Army MOS 68D (Operating Room Specialist)?

Thursday, November 14, 2024 is Operating Room Nurse Day 2024.

Sponsored Deals

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Check Price

The operating room specialist assists the nursing staff in preparing the patient and the operating room (OR) environment for surgery and for providing assistance to the medical staff during surgical procedures. They also operate the centralized material service (CMS) and are responsible for preparing and maintaining sterile medical supplies and special equipment for medical treatment facilities. The operating room specialist also assists in the management of operating room suites.

Duties performed by Soldiers in this MOS include:

Assists in preparing patients and operating room environments for surgery and provides assistance to the medical staff during surgical procedures. Performs various preoperative and postoperative procedures as directed. Maintains the cleanliness of the operating room and sets up sterile fields for surgical procedures. Receives, cleans, decontaminates, sterilizes, stores and issues various medical supplies and equipment used during surgical procedures.

Provides technical guidance to subordinates. Performs operating room scrubs and provides scrub and circulator services as required. Sets up, positions, and operates specialized operating room equipment. Supervises and advises subordinate personnel.

Training Information

9 weeks, 0 days, at Fort Sam Houston, TX

10 weeks, 0 days at a major military hospital for residency training. Possible locations include:

Fort Sam Houston, TX

Fort Gordon, GA

MAMC, Tacoma, WA

TAMC, Honolulu, HI

WRAMC, Washington, DC

Fort Bliss, TX

Fort Hood, TX

Fort Belvoir, VA

Fort Jackson, SC

Fort Leavenworth, KS

Fort Bragg, NC

Fort Campbell, KY

Fort Carson, CO

Fort Stewart, GA

Operating Room Specialist (68D) Enlisted Officer Active Duty Army Reserve

Injured or wounded Soldiers need immediate treatment, so when Army physicians aren't available, the Operating Room Specialist steps in to provide basic and emergency medical treatment.

Assist in preparing patients and operating room environment for surgery

Provide assistance to the medical staff during surgical procedures to include the creation and maintenance of sterile fields for surgical procedures

Assist in the accountability for all instruments, needles, sponges and medications placed within the sterile field

The duties do not include the manipulation of tissue (cutting, suturing, cannulating, grafting, sawing or drilling)

Perform various preoperative and postoperative procedures as directed

Maintain the cleanliness of the operating room

Receive, clean, decontaminate, sterilize, store and issue various medical supplies and equipment used during surgical procedures

Responsible for the sterilization process, which includes inspecting, cleaning, assembling, warping and sterilizing equipment

Operate and run sterilization checks on a variety of sterilization equipment to include Steam, Sterrad and Steris Systems

Training

Helpful Skills

Advanced Responsibilities

Related Civilian Jobs

Related Army Positions

Civilian Certifications Earned

Job training for an Operating Room Specialist requires nine weeks of Basic Training, where you'll learn basic Soldiering skills, and 19 weeks of Advanced Individual Training and on-the-job instruction. Some of the skills you'll learn are:

Emergency medical treatment

Basic nursing care

Study of the human body

Minor surgical procedures

Clinical laboratory procedures

Methods for diagnosing diseases

Helpful attributes include:

An interest in helping and caring for others

An ability to communicate effectively

An ability to work under stressful conditions

An interest in chemistry, biology, psychology, general science and algebra

Attention to detail

Advanced level Operating Room Specialist provides guidance, supervises and trains other Soldiers within the same discipline. As an advanced level Operating Room Specialist, you may be involved in:

Perform circulator services under the direct supervision on an RN as required

Sets up, position, and operate specialized and advanced operating room equipment

Supervise and advise subordinate personnel

The skills you learn as an Operating Room Specialist will help prepare you for a future with civilian hospitals, clinics, nursing homes or rehabilitation centers. With an Operating Room Specialist background, you may consider a career as a medical assistant, medication aide or p

nurses only please?

Hi,

Currently, I am a Family Nurse Practitioner. I started out as an Operating Room Nurse. I worked privately for a heart surgeon as an RN Second Assistant (the RN First Assistant Laws were not available at that time). I was able to get this job because I had worked as an OR Tech part time during nursing school. The position was about 80-96 hours a week as I was on 24 hour call for 4 weeks and off for 1. As I was young and single I didn't mind as I was making a lot of money for doing this. Imoved from this job, to an easier job again as an OR Nurse working M-F days no weekends no call or I could work 3-11 M-F again no weekends no call. this was relaxing after the first job. I kept this job for a couple of years. I next joined the Army. They kept me in the OR. The job was basically M-F 7-3 with rotating call and no weekends. I stayed in this position for 4 years. They transferred me and I was in charge of a small OR as the only OR nurse it was still M-F days, I was always on call, but rarely if ever called, and frequently able to take time off during the week as there were no cases scheduled most days. I was then transferred and was incharge of a free standing Same Day Surgery Center. We did about 17 operations per day. There was no call, I worked still M-F but I went in about 6 am and got off at 2pm. I next Taught at a Junior college in an Operating Room Technology Program. My primary Position was managing the overall program, though I also taught some of the anatomy and physiology courses. I went back for my Masters Degree and became an FNP. I worked in a Family Practice clinic for 5 years. I then moved into assisting in Spinal Surgery and working at a Spine Surgery Clinic with the spine pain patients and pre and post operative spine surgery patients. From this position I moved into working Pain Management. I obtained my Ph.D. and work primarily with patients with severe pain syndromes without physically identifiable causes, migraine patients and chronic headache patients. Currently due to my health most of my time is spent in research.

My wife graduated with her BSN and has worked 11-7 in a psychiatric treatment center for juveniles since. She has been offered other shifts and the opportunities to be a supervisor, but prefers to be the charge nurse on her unit where she is comfortable.

The main thing is nursing is full of opportunities. Just decide what you want to do, work 8 or 12 hour shifts, work a standard shift or a modified schedule, choose where you want to be in the hospital. If you don't like where you are, there is always an opportunity to move. That is one of the things that makes nursing an attractive profession...you have options.