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Pre-Operative Nurse

Surgical patients from admission through transfer to theatre — assessment, IV access, consent verification.

Who these nurses care for

Surgical patients from admission through transfer to theatre — assessment, IV access, consent verification.

What the shift actually looks like

High-throughput assessment, IV access and consent verification against a moving surgical schedule. The pressure is timing rather than acuity, and delays anywhere upstream land here.

Credentials and certifications

Typically required
BLS; ACLS in many facilities
Typical ratio
Typically 1:3 to 1:4

What to specify when you send the req

Volume, block schedule, and whether pre-op also covers phase two recovery.

Why this role is hard to fill

Often bundled with PACU in job descriptions when they are distinct roles. Say which you actually need.

What candidates ask before accepting

Answering these in the req itself shortens the process considerably, because they are the questions that otherwise surface at offer stage and cause declines: Daily case volume, whether the role also covers phase two recovery, and start times.

Contract or permanent?

Contract for census swings, leave coverage and seasonal surge. Per diem to protect ratios without expanding core FTE. Permanent when the seat is structural. The expensive mistake is running contract labour for eighteen months on a role that was always permanent.

Licensure

Registered nursing is covered by the Nurse Licensure Compact in most of the country, so a multistate license lets a nurse work across member states without a new application. Thirteen jurisdictions sit outside it — Alaska, California, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands — and in those markets every out-of-state nurse needs a single-state license first. Those are the markets where reqs stay open longest.

How we work this req

Every candidate is spoken to before you see them, with licensure for your state, certifications and unit-specific competency confirmed before submittal. We screen to the credential the unit actually needs rather than the title on the posting. Rates sit inside the ranges on our published cost breakdown.

Common questions

What certifications does a Pre-Op nurse need?

BLS; ACLS in many facilities.

What is the typical typical ratio in Pre-Op?

Typically 1:3 to 1:4.

Why is Pre-Op hard to fill?

Often bundled with PACU in job descriptions when they are distinct roles. Say which you actually need.

What do candidates ask before accepting a Pre-Op assignment?

Daily case volume, whether the role also covers phase two recovery, and start times.

Other units in Perioperative

See all nursing specialties or our nursing staffing overview.

Need Pre-Op coverage?

Tell us the ratio, the equipment and the start date, and we will tell you the realistic fill window.