title: Nursing in a technological environment: nursing care in the operating room.
abstract: Operating room nurses continue to draw criticism regarding the appropriateness of a nursing presence in the operating room. The technological focus of the theatre and the ways in which nurses in the theatre have shaped and reshaped their practice in response to technological change have caused people within and outside the nursing profession to question whether operating room nursing is a technological rather than nursing undertaking. This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study that was conducted in an Australian operating department. The study examined the contribution of nurses to the work of the operating room through intensive observation and ethnographic interviews. This paper uses selected findings from the study to explore the ways in which nurses in theatre interpret their role in terms of caring in a technological environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rural Health, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. rosalind.bull@utas.edu.au
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bull
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: FitzGerald
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004645:Empathy; D006272:Health Facility Environment / Q000458:organization & administration; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D013677:Medical Laboratory Science / Q000458:organization & administration*; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009736:Nursing Process; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D009871:Operating Room Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D013038:Specialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires