A surgical nurse, also referred to as a theatre nurse or scrub nurse, specializes in preoperative care, providing care to patients before, during and after surgery. To become a theatre nurse, Registered Nurses or Enrolled Nurses must complete extra training. There are different specialty areas that theatre nurses can focus in depending on which areas they are interested in. There are many different phases during surgery where the theatre nurse is needed to support and assist the patient, surgeons, surgical technicians, nurse anesthetists and nurse practitioners. Pre-operative, the nurse must help to prepare the patient and operating room for the surgery. During the surgery, they assist the anesthetist and surgeons when they are needed. The last phase is post-operative, enduring that the patients are provided with suitable care and treatments. People who want to become surgical nurses attend nursing school and specialize in surgical nursing. They are often required to pass examinations administered by the government or by nursing certification boards before being allowed to work as nurses, and they may also be expected to attend periodic continuing education classes so that they keep up with developments in the nursing field.
