The charge nurse is assigning members of the surgical team;the nurse recognizes that which member is responsible for an expanded role in ensuring preoperative and postoperative patient management in collaboration with other health care providers?

A) Registered nurse (RN)
B) Licensed practical nurse (LPN)
C) Circulating RN
D) Registered nurse first assistant (RNFA)

The role of the RNFA is an expansion of the traditional perioperative nursing role,and areas of responsibility will overlap.Responsibilities specific to the practice of first assisting include participating in "time-out" procedures with other surgical team members (safety measures taken to ensure correct patient,correct procedure,correct site and side,correct patient position,and correct implants/equipment present),providing surgical exposure (assisting in retraction of tissues and suctioning of surgical field),providing hemostasis (control of bleeding),handling and/or cutting tissue,using surgical instruments/medical devices and suturing,performing wound closure,applying human anatomical and physiological considerations in practice,recognizing structure,function,and location of tissues and organs,manipulating tissues accordingly to avoid injury,and ensuring preoperative and postoperative patient management in collaboration with other health care providers.The scrub nurse gowns and gloves surgeons and assistants as they enter the operating room,provides the surgeon with instruments and supplies,disposes of soiled sponges,and accounts for sponges,needles,and instruments in the surgical field.