Registered Nurse First Assistant

Overview

Primary Job Duties And Responsibilities

• Promotes the mission, vision, and values of the organization.
• Provides advanced, competent and ethical care within legal and professional standards of practice as applicable to the RNFA role.
• Participates and contributes to preoperative assessment and planning for selected surgical patients, applying advanced clinical judgement in collaboration with the perioperative team.
• Recognizing safety hazards and initiating appropriate preventative and corrective actions;
• Provides optimal surgical exposure through advanced use of instruments, retractors, suctioning, and sponging techniques.
• Performs tissue handling and dissection in collaboration with the surgeon, applying knowledge of anatomy and surgical principles.
• Assists with hemostasis, including clamping, ligating and coagulating vessels, and performs additional procedures within scope of practice in collaboration with the surgeon.
• Performs wound closure, including suturing muscle, fascia, subcutaneous tissue, and skin.
• Placing drains as surgically indicated.
• Assisting with cannulation and decannulation procedures, if indicated.
• Contributes to postoperative patient management and continuity of care in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team.
• Serves as an educator, mentor, consultant, and expert resource to colleagues and other health care professionals in relation to RNFA activities.
• Functions as a senior clinical resource within the perioperative team and enhances multidisciplinary collaboration and team performance.
• Maintains regulatory, licensure, credentialing, and privileging requirements relevant to advanced RNFA practice.
• Completes and maintains RNFA-specific competencies.
• Pursues ongoing professional growth related to both perioperative nursing and RNFA practice and participates in a professional organization.
• Acts as a patient advocate and maintains privacy and confidentiality of all appropriate information.
• Responsible for completing charge capture education and in-service training for their Institute within CCAD. When charges are not captured automatically the nurse will complete within Epic in real time, Perioperative Services within 24 business hours

Qualification & Experience Requirements

• Fulfill the requirements of Registered Nurse
• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing or equivalent qualification (minimum three (3) year curriculum) in Nursing from an accredited program is required
• Certified RN First Assistant (CRNFA) certification or international equivalent is required:

-Surgical Care Practitioner (SCP) qualification (United Kingdom)

• -Advanced Practice Registered Nurse in perioperative services with postgraduate education
• and demonstrated extended scope in surgical assisting (Australia)
• -Registered Nurse First Surgical Assistant (RNFSA) practicing at advanced level with
• postgraduate qualification and validated extended scope (New Zealand)
• All equivalencies must be supported by formal education, documented clinical competency and organizational credentialing.
• Valid and current national license is required
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification is required
• Expert knowledge of surgical anatomy, physiology, and operative technique
• Minimum two (2) years perioperative services experience as a Registered Nurse First Assistant or equivalent in appropriate setting is required. Caregivers who have successfully completed the RNFA training program through CCAD are exempt from this requirement, provided they have a minimum of two (2) years of perioperative Registered Nurse experience.

Preferred

• Master of Science - Surgical Care Practitioner
• Certified Nurse, Operating Room (CNOR) certification
• Certified RN First Assistant (CRNFA) certification