OPINION

'I have a confession to make, I found theatre nursing boring'

28 June, 2011 | By Claire Aubrey

Student nurse, Claire Aubrey, did not take to theatre nursing and found the environment uncomfortable and alien

During my recent placement on a surgical ward I was given a week’s pathway in theatres in order to find out as much about theatre as I could and gain an insight into the variety of operations that take place there.

I have a confession to make.

While it was interesting in parts and there was so much to learn, in all honesty, I found it a little boring. Frighteningly, operations can go on for up to 17- 18 hours probably longer and, although I did not stay that long in any of them, a ten hour stint can be a typical day for observation.

I think that I have taken away with me as much as I could from the experience but I did find it hard to muster the same enthusiasm that I deliver on the ward every day. Already tired and anxious, I would find myself summoning my wide smile and look of inquisitive interest every morning, feeling it drain from my body as the day progressed.

I found it quite amusing how keen I was to please and whenever asked, I would gush about how amazing it had been and what a great experience it was. Is honesty the best policy in this case? It felt unprofessional to say anything other than positive things but I would never choose theatre for my career and I am relieved that I will not be venturing there again.

“Everything seemed clinical and I felt isolated and removed from the patient in a way that was uncomfortable and alien”

I saw a wide variety of procedures from cataracts to hip replacements right through to caesarean sections. It was the first time that I had ever seen a new-born baby and, although I am not a baby person, I felt a wave of emotion at this miracle. However, each process was intricate and pain-staking and I could not help but feel a little sorry for the scrub nurse wiho had to stand still for hours, not even handing over equipment, with a dry throat, dry eyes and a sore back.

It occurred to me during this time that work in theatres does not seem to be nursing in the way I think of it and not in the way it is generally portrayed.

Scrub nursing seems to be a distinctly different type of job altogether, and likely connected, for this reason, to the emergence of the Operating Department Technician role. In all honesty, I could not relate to it, not seeing the patient awake, no talk, no holistic care. Everything seemed as clinical as the environment in which it took place and I felt isolated and removed from the patient in a way that was uncomfortable and alien.

I did get to scrub in for one of the procedures and, whilst initially thrilling, the magic soon wore off and eventually I was doing the same process over and over again. I could not say of this job that every day would feel different to me and this was one of my major draws into nursing. I could not leave this feeling behind to go into theatres - the dynamism and the variety of dealing directly with such a wide range of people.

I will always appreciate my time in theatres as it is a unique experience and one which gives great insight into the surgical patient. I also greatly admire those who have the patience and skill to work there. A major attraction to nursing for me was how diverse the fields are in which you can work.

However, I think it may be one field that I will be crossing off my list for the foreseeable future.

Readers' comments (4)

mike | 28-Jun-2011 4:50 pm
Nothing wrong with that. One of the best things about this profession is that there are a wide variety of specialties/areas of interest, and a wide variety of people to fill them. One of the worst things about it is that there isn't necessarily the jobs in those specific areas once qualified, so many of us end up in areas we have little or no interest in, hoping that a job in our own area will come up.
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Christina Hollinshead | 29-Jun-2011 9:39 am
Totally agree with Mike, sorry Claire you felt you had to fake pleasure in the role LOL! We are all different, when I did my nurse training it was not a problem to say if we felt an area was not for us, that does not detract from the appreciation of the skills of the nurses in that area.
I also found theatre very boring, for the same reasons, there is little communication required, however, for people who are more interested in the direct physical healing, a very important part of medical care, then this is a great area for those skills to be developed.
I am wondering if you picked up that the scrub nurse was not merely "watching" the surgery, the nurse would have been preparing for any unexpected eventualities and prepared to have the correct equipment to hand immediately required. Not something that those of us who are day dreamers can do very well! It requires great concentration, attention to detail and sharp observation.
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Babs | 29-Jun-2011 1:35 pm
The advantage of doing placements is as much finding out what you don't like as you do. This can be further narrowed into a speciality, ie acute ward oncology nursing, or end of life care etc. The beauty is we are all different and find our niches eventually, I wanted to be a midwife until I did my maternity placement! Now I work in acute cancer care and have found my niche.
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Anonymous | 29-Jun-2011 3:06 pm
Interesting piece. The ‘scrub nurse’ may not have been a nurse. Many theatres are now mainly staffed by Operating Department Practitioners (not Operating Department Technicians). Their role does actually involve a lot of vital communication with the patient over the whole of the perioperative period. This article underlines the fact that theatre is a specialist area and should be staffed by those who undertake a specialist two or three year educational pathway, namely ODPs. Claire merely reinforces this view together with the fact that the wards and related areas are where nurses will demonstrate their expertise.
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