Mary Luu, Licensed Practical Nurse

“I definitely feel supported in my role.”

As an OR nurse, Mary can take the role of either a scrub nurse or a circulating nurse depending on her day. “What I enjoy about my role in the OR is that I get to do both roles, either a scrub nurse or circulating nurse and that I am not limited to only one specific role,” Mary says. In addition to that, Mary says she also enjoys being part of the patient’s journey and to see their surgery from start to finish.

Mary’s background in nursing includes experience in medical/surgical, surgical daycare, palliative care, and hospice. She says she was motivated to apply for her current role in the OR because it’s not often that training opportunities come up for LPNs. Mary says that “as soon as I saw that LPNs could train to specialize knew I had to apply. I wanted to see the other side of nursing and gain a different type of skill set and perspective to become well-rounded in nursing, as nursing is my passion. It isn’t a job but a career for me that I love and enjoy.”

Mary reveals that she was initially hesitant about working as an OR nurse, coming from ward nursing she says she really loved medical over surgical. “I feared that I wouldn’t like surgical since I preferred medical over it and I also feared losing my skills and knowledge gained from nursing school and the wards because I thought wouldn’t be utilizing them in the OR, but I was wrong,” Mary says. She explains that everything she has learned in nursing school and from working on the wards has really prepared her for her role in the OR. “On the wards, you have a 12-hour shift to learn about your patient, whereas in the OR, your time is limited with your patient, therefore your skills, your knowledge and critical thinking skills are utilized and put to the test in a much more condensed way,” she explains. Mary says that she has also gained more skill and knowledge in her time working in the OR and says “I love the OR and I love ward nursing! I honestly wish I could do both!”

While there are many inspirational and exciting moments that have happened while Mary has been working in the OR, there are two in particular that have really stuck out to her. One of those moments was while she was still new in the OR and was surprised with a thank you card from a patient who had surgery in Richmond Hospital, where Mary was one of the nurses in the room for their surgery. “To me, that was so inspiring and motivating knowing that they remembered me because usually, patients are quite anxious and nervous prior to surgery,” Mary says. In addition to that, Mary explains that patients are also under anesthetics and usually don’t remember much, but “the fact that they addressed a thank you card to me and remembered me, really made me feel that I had made an impact on them and others as well.”

The second moment that stands out for Mary was when she was in the OR for orthopedic surgery. While Mary was reading through the patient’s old charts to gain a better understanding of the patient, she noticed that she was also in the OR a year ago for the same procedure, except the surgery was on the opposite side. Mary says that it was “great seeing how well they were doing because you don’t ever really get to know how well your patients are afterward when they continue on with their lives.”

“I definitely feel supported in my role,” says Mary. She explains that her coworkers and entire OR team are supportive, including surgeons, surgical assist, anesthesiologist, anesthesiologist aide, perioperative aid, unit clerk, post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) staff, and housekeepers. “We are a team and cannot function without one another. We are constantly helping each other and teaching each other when we can, offering each other our help,” Mary says. Mary explains that whether you’re a student, a new OR nurse, or an experienced OR nurse, you can always feel confident in asking your team for help and to have them guide and teach you.

Mary says that working in a healthcare environment, “it is in our very nature to care, to want to learn and to have better results for those who are vulnerable and who need our help,” citing the Vancouver Coastal Health Values of We Care for Everyone, We are Always Learning and We Strive for Better Results.

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