Day in The Life - Theatre Nurse (NHS)

It has been so long since I last posted on here, life has been busy!

I started my new Nursing job in the operating theatres (OR), at Royal Cornwall Hospital. In New Zealand I worked as a theatre/practice nurse mainly doing skin cancer removals, I absolutely loved it and realised I wanted to continue a career into theatre nursing.

There are plenty of differences between New Zealand & UK nursing… for starters, the instrument names are all different!  which means I have to learn them all again.

Here’s how I’m learning the instrument names right now; I laid my table out & labelled everything, took a photo so I can memorise at home!

I’m going to jump right into it… here’s my “day in the life” of a new OR nurse! Ps per patient confidentiality I don’t give out any information on the surgical procedures I am part of. This is just to give you a rough idea of what it’s like to be a theatre nurse in the UK!

6.30am – Wake up, wash my face and brush my hair back into a ponytail.

Put some comfy clothes on (yoga pants, jumper, jacket) and prepare my bag for the day. I don’t wear my uniform to work as the operating theatres are sterile and I get a new, clean uniform (scrubs) at work each day. Yay for comfy clothes to work!

6.45am – Breakfast – fresh berries and yoghurt, almond milk coffee (keto life). I then make my lunch/snacks for work.

7am – Drive 15 minutes to work while listening to my favourite music, the sun starts to rise – my favourite time of the day!

7.30am – Get to work, swipe in, and go to the changing rooms. Put my lunch in the fridge.

7.45am – Change into my scrubs and shoes, & fill my water bottle up

8am – Check the whiteboard to see which theatre I am working in for the day… today it’s trauma in the morning, and upper GI in the afternoon.

8.05am – Briefing. All theatre staff meet in the main area for a briefing each morning. They go over any plans for the day, and it’s an opportunity to ask questions and get any updates from overnight.

8.15am – Set up the theatre for first case – turn on computers and sign in, check and stock instruments, suction and diathermy machines, emergency trolley.

8.45am – Patient arrives to be anaesthetised. They are put to sleep in the room next door to theatre, as they are a child it can be quite intimidating walking into a theatre full of nurses and doctors with scrubs and masks on.

9.15am – Surgery begins, as a circulating nurse I am responsible for ensuring that the scrub nurse and surgeon have everything they need, also responsible for documenting during the surgery and setting up equipment. As the surgeon and scrub nurse are gloved and gowned (completely sterile), they are not able to touch anything except the patient and the sterile trolley.

11am – Leave surgery and go into the lunch room, make myself a coffee and have a snack (strawberries!)

11.15am – Back in theatre, the case is finishing up. As the patient wakes, we start packing down the instruments, and preparing for the next case. Another child for emergency surgery, so we don’t have much time to turn around!

12pm – The second case of the day is underway. Once again I’m the circulating nurse, ensuring the scrub nurse and surgeon has everything they need.

1pm – Lunch time – tuna salad! I head down to the cafeteria and get a coffee to have with lunch.

1.30pm – I enter my new theatre for the afternoon, which is upper GI. We get the theatre ready for the next patient – this surgery will take around 4 hours.

5pm – The surgery is finished, so I go for another quick coffee break. My feet hurt – it’s been a long time since I was on the floor! Only 1.5 hours left and we have a quick case to do.

5.15pm – Prepare the OR again for the next patient – mop the floors, clean the boards, get the documentation ready.

5.30pm – Next case begins.

6.30pm – The case is still going, but I finish at 6.30 so someone comes in to relieve me. I go to the changing rooms and get dressed ready to go home!

7.15pm – Arrive back home, help Cian make dinner, clean up and then slump on the couch before preparing everything for tomorrow!

9pm – Shower and bed. I’m exhausted after being on my feet for 10 hours. But I love my job so it’s totally worth it.

I hope you guys enjoyed that! Let me know if you’d like to read anything else nursing related.

Liv x