The American College of Surgeons (ACS) in Physicians as Assistants at Surgery 2013 Study states “Registered nurses with specialized training may also function as first assistants.” Intraoperatively, the RNFA practices at the direction of the surgeon and does not concurrently function as a scrub nurse. The RNFA must have acquired the necessary knowledge, judgment, and skills specific to the expanded role of RNFA clinical practice. The Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) defines the RNFA as a perioperative registered nurse who works in collaboration with the surgeon and health care team members to achieve optimal patient outcomes. We may feature them in our weekly series.Register for RNFA training by Augand save up to $ 900.00 on tuition! Is there a staff member, physician or volunteer you want to recognize for their outstanding work? Send an email to with their name, role, site, department and why they should be recognized. The general comment is “how cool is that!” People are both surprised and impressed by this aspect of my role. This is a technically challenging skill of artistry that takes time to learn. One aspect of the cardiac RNFA role is to harvest vein, which is used as the conduits for the coronary artery bypasses. What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about your role? I feel I am an ambassador and assistant to all of my professional colleagues. I practice a unique role providing leadership, excellence in perioperative nursing care for the cardiac surgical patient and family through the components of expert clinical practice, consultation, specialized education and leadership. This is a technically challenging skill of artistry that takes time to learn.Īfter completing my registered nurse first assistant certification in addition to a Master’s of Science in Nursing and Education, my dream became a reality thanks to HHS and our cardiac surgeons. I knew then this would be my long-term goal because at that time the RNFA role was just being developed in Canada. In the 1980s, the RNFA role was identified as one to advance perioperative nurses practice. I also wanted to advance nursing practice. I’m fascinated with the amount of leading edge technology, continuous education, problem solving, innovation and constant change in this area. I like paying it forward to the benefit of others. We’re committed to our program, the cardiac patient population, research and innovation now and beyond. Our team is dedicated, efficient, effective and financially responsible. I enjoy being part of a surgical team that has a significant impact on a patient’s well-being through altering and increasing life expectancy. I am proud and privileged to work at HHS in one of the RNFA roles. I also teach surgical techniques to medical and nursing students as well as residents. This includes, for example, positioning, wound healing, surveillance of surgical site infections and bleeding. We collaborate in the post-operation phase to evaluate selected patients and their outcomes of perioperative nursing care. The cardiac surgery team has many roles within it. On a typical day, I also handle preoperative physical assessments and plan for selective cardiac surgical patients. What does an RNFA do?ĭuring an operation, I use a technical skill set to assist our cardiac surgeons with handling tissue, using surgical instruments, suturing and knot tying, providing hemostasis (the act of preventing excessive blood loss) and harvesting conduit to create a new blood flow connection across the heart. She is also a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society and the Registered Nurse First Assistant Network of Canada. She works in the hospital’s cardiac surgery operating rooms and has been with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) for over 34 years.įaye received the Margaret R. Our People Introducing… a cardiac registered nurse first assistantįaye Browne is a cardiac registered nurse first assistant (RNFA) in perioperative services at Hamilton General Hospital.
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