Transplant Nurse Job Description
Transplant Nurses are highly-specialized Nurses who help patients either donate or deceive organs. Transplant Nurses must prepare living donors for Transplant procedures, as well as keep them informed and fully educated on the process and risks involved.
Transplant Nurses are also equipped to provide care for patients who receive vital organs, such as a heart or lungs, from deceased organ donors.
All living donors are people who volunteer to donate organs or tissues to those in need. The most common organs donated include kidneys, bone marrow, portions of the liver, and much more.
Typical duties of Transplant Nurses include all of the following:
- Recording full medical histories of patients and donors
- Ordering lab tests to ensure organ matches
- Clearing and prepping patients and donors for surgery
- Monitoring patients’ vital signs after surgery
- Make diagnoses
All Transplant Nurses must be extremely detail-oriented and prepared to directly deal with patients. They also must be prepared to help patients deal with loss and grief, as finding an organ donor is often a long and arduous process due to the complications involved with finding a matching donor.
Transplant Nurses often find themselves working in hospitals with Transplant centers, although in certain cases, hospitals without centers may designate certain Nurses to serve as resources on organ donation. Transplant Nurses also undergo a thorough education process, which culminates with passing the Transplant Nurse certification exam in order to become a certified clinical Transplant Nurse.
