With that being said, surgeries are often pre-scheduled and will take place during normal day times. Surgical nurses will typically work during the day and evening hours. Nurses who are employed by an inpatient hospital unit that performs scheduled surgery will usually be required to work during the day and possibly even overnight. Shifts will be anywhere from eight to twelve hours and some nurses will be on call and must be ready to work at an instants notice. Educational requirements for a surgical nurse varies. A licensed practical nurse is required to complete a twelve-month diploma or certificate program. The curriculum that will be covered includes the topics of anatomy, physiology, and human growth and development. They will also have nursing skills practice and training in real-world clinical settings under the supervision of and …show more content…
Licensed practical nurses with surgical roles can advance academically to become a registered nurse through available colleges and universities. Registered nurses working in general post-surgery care units are able to move among surgical specialties in an ambulatory surgery or in a hospital. RNs can also pursue graduate education which will make them eligible to become a clinical nurse specialist with a surgical focus or nurse practitioner who assists surgeons during procedures. Many surgical nurses choose to become a certified registered nurse anesthetist. They are the nurses that provide patients with the anesthesia and sedation during surgery.
Wages vary greatly among surgical nurses and depend on the educational degree obtained and their level of expertise. The annual range for LPNs that was reported by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2014 was $31,640 to $58,710. The range for eighty percent of RNs in the same year earned anywhere between $45,880 to $98,880. As a general rule nurses who have obtained a bachelor’s or masters’ degree will earn a higher salary. Also, nurses who work in major cities usually make more than do the nurses in rural