Kahina McKay Career Spotlight
Kahina McKay is a Perioperative Registered Nurse working in the operating room at Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital in Moose Jaw, SK.
What are you responsible for as a Perioperative Nurse? Please describe a typical day for yourself.
Our responsibilities vary day to day depending on the role and specialty we’ve been assigned. A typical day for myself is speaking to my patients prior to coming into the operating room to confirm their surgery, complete a safety checklist with them and answer any questions that they may have. We then bring them into the Operating Room to meet our team and perform our last safety checks and time outs before sending them off to sleep for their procedure. We are then responsible for either scrubbing in with the surgeon and assistant, or if you are in the circulating role, you are responsible for assisting the anesthesiologist, obtaining & opening any required supplies using sterile technique, documentation and generally keeping the room running as the non-sterile team member.
How is your work-life balance as a Perioperative Nurse?
The work life balance that I have as an OR nurse is very accommodating to my family. In the operating room we work 0730-1600 which allows me to be with my family in the evenings, on weekends and statutory holidays. Our team takes turns working on call but those are manageable as it’s only a few days a month.
Have you always wanted to be a Perioperative Nurse? Tell us more about your career path.
I have always had the goal of working as a Perioperative Nurse but felt it was important to take the time to work in other areas of the hospital and elevate my basic skills and knowledge first. I spent a handful of years working on the Surgical Unit, where we take care of patients following their surgeries. It’s interesting to now be on the other end and have the experience and knowledge of a patient’s entire surgical journey during their hospital stay.
Are there opportunities to further your career as a Perioperative Nurse?
There is always room for learning as a Perioperative Registered Nurse. As we learn new specialties, trial new equipment or learn new procedures that our surgeons will be performing, we are always learning. There are many additional courses we can benefit from having here in the operating room as well, including our Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and the Lead 2 course.
Do you have any advice for students or new graduates looking to pursue a career as a Perioperative Nurse?
If you’ve ever considered a career as a perioperative Registered Nurse, the need is there! It is a fast-paced environment, we work very closely as a team and every day is different. Depending on where you are located, there are often sponsorship opportunities for taking the Perioperative Nursing Course. There is an online portion as well as a lab and preceptor focused portion.
What is the number one thing you love about being a Perioperative Nurse?
The operating room is a very “teamwork” forward department. Right from the beginning I have loved that every aspect of the job is collaborative with the entire team. Everyone works together to help things run smoothly. Everyone has a role in efficiency and the flow of the day. I love being a part of such a hard-working team and am so proud of what we accomplish on a daily basis!
