Circulating Nurse Job Description Template
A circulating nurse is one of two types of operating room (OR) nurses who work in a hospital’s surgical department. While scrub nurses handle instruments directly during a procedure, circulating nurses manage all other nursing care duties outside of the sterile field. If your facility is seeking an individual who can primarily take on circulating duties, it’s important to create a targeted circulating nurse job description to attract the right applicants for this role.
Below we’ll provide a circulating OR nurse job description that outlines example benefits, duties, and qualifications. We recommend tailoring this template as needed and preparing interview questions to recruit highly qualified OR nurses onto your surgical team. You can also browse current circulating nurse jobs to get a better feel for what other competitive organizations are offering to their candidates.
Circulating Nurse
Template:
We’re seeking an experienced RN to work as a circulating nurse in our downtown surgical ward. [Facility name] is renowned for several surgical specialties, offering nurses the chance to work with cutting-edge technology and a highly experienced multidisciplinary team. If you’re looking to further your career as a perioperative nurse, we invite you to join us in furthering our mission to produce the best patient outcomes possible.
Benefits
Tips: Now that you’ve garnered the attention of prospective applicants, it’s time to sell candidates on all the unique benefits that your facility offers. This section is your opportunity to highlight the most notable perks available in your employee benefits package. Candidates will be weighing these factors alongside other opportunities, so it’s important to portray them as accurately as possible.
Template:
- Competitive pay
- 401(k) retirement plan with matching
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Paid time off (PTO) and holidays
- Continuing education (CE) credits
- No weekends, nights, or call shifts
Duties and Responsibilities
Tips: Candidates may be wondering what the circulating nurse role in operating room settings entails. This section should give prospective applicants an idea of what the job looks like at your facility, and what this nurse’s responsibilities would be.
When hiring for the OR, circulating nurse job description duties should differ from that of a scrub nurse — unless you’re seeking someone who can rotate in and out of both roles. Depending on the workflow of your facility, it may also be helpful to distinguish circulating nurse responsibilities before surgery and after surgery.
Template:
Circulating nurses at our organization are expected to perform the following duties:
- Collaborate with the surgical team to deliver nursing care to patients undergoing surgical/invasive procedures
- Perform circulating functions, such as monitoring, recoding, and managing overall nursing care of patients before, during, and after surgery
- Verify the identity of the patient and surgical location prior to the start of the procedure
- Update patient medical records before, during, and after surgery
- Prepare and sterilize operating rooms for use before surgery
- Stock operating rooms with sterile equipment, linens, and supplies prior to each surgical case
- Provide pre- and post-operative patient education to patients and their families
- Assist anesthesia team members during patient intubation and extubation
Compensation and Schedule
Tips: This section of the circulating nurse job description should list all the additional job details about compensation and scheduling. Since operating rooms have atypical hours compared to other types of hospital units, it’s helpful to be as specific as possible about your scheduling requirements.
Template:
- $35-$45/hour with up to $15,000 sign-on bonus
- Start times range between 0530-0700
- Full time, expected 36-40 hours/week
- May occasionally work overtime, depending on the length of assigned cases
- Location: [Insert city, state]
Skills and Qualifications
Tips: In this section, you’ll want to describe the specific skills and qualifications needed to carry out this role. In addition to education requirements and certifications, consider whether you want a nurse with experience that’s related to the surgical specialty they’ll be working in. Additionally, differentiate between required and preferred skills to avoid excluding any qualified candidates.
Template:
- BSN from an accredited nursing school required
- Active RN license administered by the [State] Board of Nursing
- BLS, PALS, and ACLS certification required
- At least 1 year of critical care or operating room experience preferred
Call to Action
Tips: Now that your prospective applicants know everything about the job, they’ll be looking for ways to take the next step. This final section of your job description should include a call to action that invites interested nurses to apply. Provide a link to your application portal or related instructions so that candidates can submit their resumes and cover letters.
Template:
Ready to take your career as a perioperative nurse to the next level? Click here to start your application today.
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