July 2025 • Volume 18, No. 7
From the Editor
Since experiencing a lumbar compression fracture a few months ago, I’ve become especially attuned to spinal matters. Fortunately, my symptoms are receding, thanks to physical therapy, exercise, and bone-strengthening diet and medication; no surgery was needed. But the experience helped inspire this issue’s surgical topic. Here we provide links to some general resources, news and videos about spine surgeries.
In addition to thinking about your patients’ spines, please give some attention to your own! There are techniques for protecting our spines when we have to stand for long periods, as can happen when you are working in the OR. We are re-running a piece on this topic written for this publication in 2010 that is just as valid today as it was 15 years ago.
Our Student in the Spotlight is Ashley Zendt, RN, BSN, CNOR,, of Manheim, PA.
And then scroll down for NIFA’s favorite links, including our RNFA job board.
Enjoy!
Julie Lancaster, Editor
Photo: Teeradej on Adobe Stock
A Tip for Perioperative Nurses: Be Kind to Your Spine in the OR
by Gwen Phillips, PTA (Physical Therapy Assistant)
Your spine can take a beating when you stand for long periods of time in the OR. Proper posture can help prevent pain and fatigue — it simply takes less energy to use your body when it’s in correct alignment. Even a few minutes of attention a day can help. Check out these simple tips:
- Completely relax your stomach muscles. Notice how this exaggerates the lumbar curve in your lower back. Now engage your abdominal muscles as if you’re trying to touch your belly button to your spine. This should elongate your spine, decreasing that lumbar curve. When your abdominal muscles are engaged, pressure is taken off your spine, decreasing fatigue and pain.
- It’s easy to “lock” your knees when standing for long periods of time but this doesn’t do your lower back any favors. Locking your knees — standing with them very straight — actually transfers the weight-bearing load from your legs and hips into your lower back. Standing with “soft” knees — knees that are mostly straight but flexible — will relieve your lower back.
- Driving to and from work is a great time to give your upper back and neck some TLC. At stoplights, roll your shoulders back to touch the seat — this gently stretches the chest muscles that can become tight when doing detail work. Press your head and neck back into the headrest as if trying to make a double chin. This relaxes your neck extensors that work hard supporting your head when you’re gazing down in surgery. Both these exercises can be done while standing in the OR, too.
Guest contributor Gwen Phillips is a Physical Therapist Assistant at AdventHealth Porter Outpatient Physical Therapy in Denver, CO, and has also been a professional modern dancer since 2004. This article originally appeared in the May 2010 issue of the RNFA eNews.
Types of Spinal Surgery
Decompress and stabilize: Understanding types of back surgery
This Mayo Clinic article provides a general summary covering decompression procedures (laminectomy, diskectomy) and stabilization surgeries (fusion).
Read more . . .
Top 6 Spine Surgeries
From HealthCentral, a health information platform. This article identifies and describes in more detail specific surgeries including microdiscectomy, laminectomy, spinal fusion, kyphoplasty, disc replacement and Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF).
Read more . . .
Spinal Surgery News
Surgeons Bid for Medical First: Removing Spinal Tumor Through Patient’s Eye
This May 2025 story by Mark Johnson in the Washington Post describes the dilemma for doctors attempting to remove a thumb-sized chordoma (tumor) in a patient’s cervical spinal cord. After considering and rejecting several paths for treatment — blasting it with radiation, approaching it surgically through the back of the patient’s neck or from the front through her mouth or through a nostril — they eventually settled on a surgical approach through the lower eye socket. “Although surgery through the eye socket was not new,” Johnson writes, “using that route to reach down to the spine was.”
Read more . . .
The State of Augmented Reality in Spine Surgery
Since Augmented Reality (AR)’s introduction in 1997 as a virtual tool to help streamline surgical procedures and improve patient outcomes, AR-based-head-mounted displays and surgical navigation systems have been used extensively in thoracic and lumbar surgical procedures. This 2023 article by Barbara Hazelden on MedCentral includes perspectives from two surgeons about how AR has changed their experience, what the barriers are to it, and the future of AR in spinal surgery.
Read more . . .
Videos
Anatomy of the Spine
A short (2.5-minute) video describing how the vertebrae, intervertebral disks, and facet joints work together to allow our bodies to move in different ways. From the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Watch video . . .
TLIF Lumbar Fusion Surgery L4-5 L5-S1
Livestream of an open surgery fusing L4 through S1 with a posterior approach. Deuk Spine Institute, Melbourne, Florida. Watch video . . .
Minimally Invasive Surgery for Lumbar Microdiscectomy
MIS Microdiscectomy on a 24-year-old female with a left L-4 and L-5 radiculopahy secondary to a large L4-5 disc herniation, from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Watch video . . .
Anterior Cervical Disc Replacement
Anterior Cervical Disc Replacement from the Seattle Science Foundation. Watch video . . .
In The Spotlight: Ashley Zendt
Credentials
RN, BSN, CNOR
Student Status
Current student in NIFA’s RNFA program
City & State
Manheim, PA
Current Position
OR Nurse/Scrub
Where did you get your RN degree?
Pennsylvania College of Nursing and Health Sciences (ASN) 2019 – Lancaster, PA;William Paterson University (BSN) 2022 – Wayne, NJ
How did you come to choose perioperative nursing?
Through conversation, a distant relative introduced me to the world of Surgical Technology. With little to go on except for interesting stories and a desire for a solid career, I decided to enroll in a Surgical Technology program. I immediately fell in love with the operating room and, ever since, I have wanted nothing more than to learn, grow and succeed in my career. I am super excited to be getting my RNFA, a long-term goal that is now a reality.
What is one funny, scary or unique moment you’ve experienced at the table?
Memories tend to stick out more if you’ve done something wrong! I vividly recall scrubbing for an External Fixator many years ago. Generally speaking, I always made it a habit to check my drill batteries before the surgical procedure starts. Except for this one time. Unfortunately for me, the battery did not work and the surgeon had to wait for the circulator to bring a new battery. I was mortified. Never Again … I check every battery, every time!
What is one technique or RNFA trick you’ve learned from NIFA that you will use for life?
I truly appreciated learning how to throw my deep dermal stitches more efficiently. I cringe when I see small incisions that were closed, yet they still appear to be open at the skin edges. The technique that Dean taught during our SutureStar course was a game changer for me. I can’t wait to put my new skills to the test!
How do you feel having your RNFA will impact your life/career?
??????I believe that the versatility of my role as an RNFA will have a positive impact on my career, as well as my surgical department. I am in a unique position in which I have learned to scrub, circulate and most recently, assist on surgical procedures. I am excited to showcase all of my skills and to have a more hands-on role.
NIFA – Office Hours
Monday-Thursday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm
Practice Resources
Here are several of the most-in-demand sites for our students, prospective students and grads:
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are strictly those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NIFA. NIFA does not give any express or implied warranty as to the accuracy of statements made by our contributors and does not accept any liability for error or omission. It is the responsibility of all perioperative personnel to work within and adhere to their facility bylaws and individual scope of practice.
