ARSD 44:75:11:01. Surgical services

Each hospital in which surgery is performed must maintain an operating suite with appropriate equipment, including X-ray viewing devices. The suite must be supervised by a registered nurse with training and experience in operating room services. A circulating nurse must be assigned to each operating or procedure room during each procedure and must be present for the duration of the surgical procedure unless it becomes necessary for the nurse to leave the operating or procedure room as part of the procedure or the nurse is relieved by another circulating nurse. A facility shall develop and implement written policies and procedures for surgical services that govern surgical personnel privileges, supportive services of other professional and perioperative personnel, and operating suite procedures. A facility shall develop, implement, and post policies and procedures pertaining to safety controls. Each facility shall maintain a roster of surgical staff members that delineates the surgical privileges of each member on file in the operating suite. For the purposes of this section, the term, circulating nurse, means a registered nurse trained, educated, or experienced in perioperative nursing who is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the nursing care and safety needs of a patient in the operating or procedure room and who also meets the needs of the operating and procedure room team members during surgery. The circulating nurse works outside the sterile field in which the procedure takes place and duties include but are not limited to recording the progress of the procedure, accounting for instruments, and handling specimens.