Development and definition of the role of the operating department nurse: a review

In the current cost-conscious National Health Service (NHS), the role of th e nurse during anaesthesia and surgery is one that has interested health se rvice managers keen to know what happens behind the closed doors of the ope rating department. It is clear that if nurses working within this specializ ed setting are to secure a future in providing care for surgical patients, then it is important to clarify and articulate exactly what it is that thei r role involves. The aim of this paper is to examine the role of the operat ing department nurse. First, it will illustrate how the role of the nurse h as evolved alongside medical and technical advances in surgery, particularl y in the last century. Second, it will highlight that while definition of t he role has received attention in the North American literature, references in the British literature as to what it is that operating department nurse s do, are scant. Finally, it will address the evolving role of the contempo rary perioperative nurse highlighting the changes and challenges that nurse s who work within this setting are currently facing. It is suggested here t hat nurses need to engage in role definition in order to be clear about the ir direction for the future, particularly within the fast changing, technol ogically driven environment of the operating department.