What Are the Duties of an Operating Room LVN?

Licensed vocational nurses – also called licensed professional nurses, or LPNs, in different parts of the country – have varying scopes of practice, depending on the state where you live. In some states, LVNs can work in the operating room as a scrub nurse or circulating nurse. In other states, LVN/LPN operating room jobs are not an option. Only certified scrub techs can hand instruments to surgeons, and only registered nurses, or RNs, can work as circulating nurses. Check with your state's Board of Nursing for specifics on permitted LVN duties in your state.

Working as a Scrub Nurse

If you work as an LPN scrub nurse, you're in the middle of the operating room action. Like the surgeon, you will "scrub in" to the operating field by performing a surgical hand wash before putting on sterile gowns and gloves. Once you take your place inside the sterile field around the operating table, you must avoid touching anything that's not also sterile, so that you don't contaminate the operating site.

During the surgery scrub nurses hand the surgeon instruments, sponges and sutures and might also assist by holding retractors or performing other tasks. A surgical LPN must be familiar with all surgical instruments and sutures used in surgery and learn which instruments and sutures certain surgeons prefer. If you're the scrub nurse, you will also count sutures and sponges with the circulating nurse at the beginning of each surgery, at least once during the surgery and at the end.

Circulating in the OR

Circulating nurses perform an entirely different set of tasks in the OR. The circulator isn't sterile, so she can go in and out of the room to get needed supplies, answer the phone and write notes detailing the events during surgery, including the time of the first incision and the closing time. The circulating nurse also identifies the patient before surgery and ensures that the patient's chart contains all the necessary information.

She assists the anesthesiologist if needed and applies grounding pads to the patient if certain instruments are used during surgery. At the end of the surgery, the circulating nurse prepares the patient for transport to the recovery room and might accompany her there. The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, or AORN, believes that only RNs should function as circulating nurses. But in some states, LVNs can function as circulating nurses under the supervision of an RN who is immediately available in case of emergencies.

LVN Education

LVNs attend school for less time than registered nurses. Most LVN or LPN programs require approximately one year of classroom and clinical studies before obtaining eligibility to take the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX-PN and become licensed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Once licensed, you can apply to work in the operating room if your state allows it. Operating room nurses, like other nurses, usually receive on-the-job training in their field. You might also need certain certifications, such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support, advises FreshRN.

LVN Salary

LVNs who work in the operating room generally earn the same salaries as other nurses working in the hospital or surgery center. The median hourly wage for an LVN was ​$22.75​ in May 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, with the annual median salary being ​$47,310​.