Theatre Nurse Jobs

Theatre Nurse jobs: frequently asked questions

(Updated Dec 2024)

Welcome to our Theatre Nurse jobs page, featuring all the latest roles throughout the UK, as well as frequently asked questions below.

What is a Theatre Nurse?

Theatre Nurses work within hospital operating theatres and recovery units, caring for patients before, during and after surgery.

They work within a perioperative team alongside surgeons, anaesthetists, operating department practitioners and support staff.

Most Theatre Nurses work on rotation – which means they move from one specialist area of theatre nursing to another.

But some do focus on one specific area, such as anaesthetics or post-surgery care.

Perioperative care is normally divided into four distinct areas: preoperative, anaesthetics, surgical phase and recovery phase.

What are the daily responsibilities of a Theatre Nurse?

What Theatre Nurses do on a day-to-day basis can vary according to their specialism. But typically their duties include:

• Preparing patients for operations

• Explaining the risks and benefits of the surgery

• Anaesthetist support

• Preparing specialist equipment, devices and drugs

• Supporting the surgeon with needles, swabs and instruments

• Co-ordinating the surgical team with other parts of the hospital

• Patient assessments in all phases

• Working and communicating with patients’ families

Theatre Nurses don’t necessarily work in the same round-the-clock manner as General Nurses. Instead, they tend to work in varied shift patterns, and a full-time role requires 37.5 hours of work a week.

What qualifications do you need to become a Theatre Nurse?

To begin with, you need to be registered with the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC).

And to be eligible to register you need to complete a nursing degree in any of these four core areas: adult, child, mental health and learning disabilities.

Once NMC registered, you can often apply directly for theatre nursing roles without any specialist training.

In that scenario, you’re likely to undertake training as soon as you start the role.

You’ll then blend a mix of practice and theory into your studies.

How much do Theatre Nurses earn?

Theatre Nurses start at a Band 5 salary, meaning you will start (with less than 1 years experience) on £29,969 a year currently – rising incrementally every year until you reach the top of your banding. (Latest pay figures by band and years experience is here.)

This salary remains the same regardless of your specialist area of care.

From there, more experience and qualifications can help you to work your way up into higher bandings - and into higher salaries.

But Theatre Nurses can also choose to work in the private sector.

Here, salaries are unregulated so what you earn can vary from one job to the next.

Bank or agency nursing is also an option.

In terms of salary, this can in some cases become very lucrative, with high day rates available.

Flexibility is a big attraction too.

But your success depends greatly on how much experience you already have.

Find your next Theatre Nurse job today

View our latest roles above, or if you can’t find what you’re looking for, create an account and register your CV here and we’ll send you the latest roles as soon as they come up.