The Hanover and District Hospital has been able to increase its surgical volume by 12 per cent over the last year thanks to two very specialized Operating Room Nurses.
Earlier this year we reported that these two nurses acquired specialized training that allowed them to assist surgeons with many types of surgeries, eliminating the need for an extra doctor at the table.
Well now these Registered Nurse First Assists (RNFA) have gone one step further — they are now qualified to provide light sedation to surgery patients undergoing scopes.
Vice President of Patient Care Services Esther Millar says this frees up physicians to redirect their time to other areas of surgery as well as areas of the hospital such as the Emergency Room.
Millar says the Registered Nurse First Assists are enabling the hospital to increase surgical volumes in both in-patient and out-patient surgeries.
In a time when the Hospital is working so hard to recruit additional surgeons, she says these two nurses are playing a significant role in shorter wait times for patients.
It’s Millar’s hope that the skill of these two nurses will entice new surgeons to come to Hanover.
Millar hints these two nurses may have the opportunity to expand their skills again in the future through other forms of specialized training.
