Working @ a Fertility Clinic ~o 🥚
I’ve officially started a job as a per diem Surgical Center RN at a fertility clinic! And booyyyyy am I excited about it! :) For the next few shifts, I will mainly be shadowing the surgery center lead RN and learning more about the role of the surgery center RN. At this state of the art fertility center, top notch doctors do egg retrievals, IUI (intrauterine insemination), embryo transfers, etc. As a surgical center RN, my role is to mainly call the patient in, get them changed into a gown, obtain consent for whatever procedure they are in for, review discharge information, and help with post-op care. I think eventually I would also be able to help out as a circulating OR nurse if they ever need me. In the OR, the nurse helps get the patient onto the OR table, may help to cleanse the woman’s external and internal vagina with iodine solution, and collect the fluid from drained follicles into test tubes with special media to be passed to the embryology lab. I’ve only gotten to see egg retrievals so far and they are pretty quick! The procedure occurs transvaginally. A special ultrasound guided scope goes into the vagina to find the ovaries, and then a needle punctures through the walls into each follicle (hopefully containing viable eggs!) the doctor can find. The patient is sedated with propofol and fentanyl, maybe 15-20 minutes in the OR, and they’re back into the PACU to be monitored. In the PACU, we keep the patient nice and warm with warmed blankets, get them some water and snacks, and get sets of vital signs every 15 minutes. The embryologist and fertility doctor may also come to visit and speak with the patients once they’re awake. That’s what I’ve been able to observe so far! I am excited to finally wear scrubs again, practice some basic nursing skills, and help couples who are trying to conceive! Hopefully I can update you all again soon when I start seeing patients on my own!
Sincerely,
Meagan
P.S. YES, I am trying to make this RN job work along with TA-ing and being a full time Family NP student!