Careers at Gulfcoast Eye Care

The PRN Registered Nurse provides direct nursing care to patients throughout the perioperative continuum — pre-operative admission, intra-operative circulating support, and Phase I/II recovery and discharge.

This role requires a nurse who is comfortable moving quickly, communicating clearly, and maintaining meticulous accuracy in a setting where case turnover is measured in minutes and laterality errors are never acceptable.

Responsibilities:

Pre-Operative
– Complete admission assessment, history review, vital signs, and medication reconciliation
– Verify consent, surgical site and laterality, IOL selection, and NPO status against the surgeon’s orders
– Establish peripheral IV access and administer pre-operative medications, including topical dilating and anesthetic agents, per physician orders and center protocol
– Confirm the patient’s ride home and post-operative support plan prior to sedation

Intra-Operative
– Serve as circulating nurse: patient positioning, prep, sterile field monitoring, and documentation
– Participate in the surgical safety time-out, confirming patient, procedure, eye, and implant
– Monitor the patient during monitored anesthesia care in collaboration with the anesthesia provider
– Anticipate the needs of the surgeon and scrub personnel to support efficient room turnover

Post-Operative
– Provide Phase I and Phase II recovery care, including monitoring for hemodynamic changes, nausea, and pain
– Deliver clear written and verbal discharge instructions covering eye shield use, drop schedules, activity restrictions, and warning signs requiring immediate contact
– Confirm follow-up appointment and complete discharge documentation Center Operations
– Maintain accurate documentation in the electronic health record
– Adhere to infection prevention, sterile technique, and medication handling standards, including intraocular and multi-dose medication protocols
– Support ongoing compliance with state licensure, CMS Conditions for Coverage, and accreditation standards
– Assist with instrument and supply readiness, crash cart checks, and emergency preparedness drills

Qualifications:

Required

– Active, unencumbered Registered Nurse license in the State of Florida, or a multistate
license under the Nurse Licensure Compact
– Current BLS certification
– Current ACLS certification, or willingness to obtain within 90 days of hire
– Minimum of two years of recent RN experience in perioperative, PACU, emergency, or critical care nursing
– Demonstrated proficiency in adult IV insertion
– Availability to work a 7:30 AM start on Monday, Tuesday, or Friday surgery days, with a commitment of at least two shifts per month
– Comfort with electronic documentation

Requirements:
– Ability to stand/walk for extended periods
– Manual dexterity for operating diagnostic equipment

Why PRN With Us:

– No call, no nights, no weekends, no holidays. Monday, Tuesday, and Friday cases
start at 7:30 AM and wrap up by early afternoon.
– Predictable case mix. Ophthalmic surgery is high-volume and protocol-driven — you will build real mastery quickly.
– Genuine flexibility. Tell us your availability; we build the schedule around our block days and your life.
– A team that stays. Our surgeons, anesthesia providers, and staff work together case after case, and it shows.

Suncoast Eye Center · Part Time, ~28 hours · Hudson, FL

This role has two halves, and both matter.

On surgery days you are at the table. You will prepare the operating room, maintain the sterile field, and assist the surgeon and circulating nurse through each case. Ophthalmic surgery is precise, fastpaced work with short case times and frequent room turnover, and what makes someone good at it is anticipation, consistency, and meticulous attention to detail.

On non-surgery days you own our equipment. The phaco platforms, microscopes, sterilizers, and instrument sets that make surgery days possible need someone tracking their service, scheduling their maintenance, and keeping their documentation straight. Right now that work is spread thin. We want one person who knows this equipment because they use it, and who takes care of it because they understand what happens when it fails mid-case.

To be clear about what this half of the job is and is not: it is service and maintenance. You will own the agreements that keep our equipment running, the schedules behind them, and the records that prove the work was done. It is not purchasing, product selection, or anything resembling sales.

If you are a strong surgical tech who has wanted more ownership than the OR alone provides, this is that role. Prior ophthalmic experience is a plus, but we are glad to train a strong surgical technician who wants to specialize. Training here is hands-on and happens on real cases.s

Responsibilities:

IN THE OPERATING ROOM

• Prepare the operating room before each case, including the surgical microscope, phacoemulsification unit, and instrument trays.
• Maintain strict aseptic technique and monitor the sterile field throughout each procedure.
• Anticipate and pass instruments, sutures, viscoelastic, and supplies to the surgeon efficiently during cases.
• Verify intraocular lens selection, model, and power against the surgical order as part of the time-out process.
• Assist with patient positioning, draping, and pre-operative preparation alongside nursing staff.
• Perform accurate instrument counts and account for all sharps, sponges, and supplies before, during, and after each case.
• Clean, decontaminate, inspect, package, and sterilize ophthalmic instruments per manufacturer IFUs and AAMI standards, and document sterilization cycles and biological indicators.
• Turn the room over quickly between cases without cutting corners on infection control.
• Handle and dispose of biohazardous materials per OSHA and facility policy.

EQUIPMENT & INSTRUMENTS

• Maintain the ASC equipment inventory, including phacoemulsification platforms, microscopes, sterilizers, and support equipment, with current service and maintenance records for each.
• Schedule and coordinate preventive maintenance, calibration, and repair visits, and make sure the resulting documentation is filed where a surveyor can find it.
• Track instrument inventory, coordinate repair and sharpening, and keep surgical sets complete and in good condition.
• Keep equipment and sterilization documentation survey-ready for AAAHC, Medicare, and state requirements.
• Monitor par levels for surgical supplies and implants, and coordinate reorders before anything runs short.

SERVICE & MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS

• Own our equipment service and maintenance agreements: know what each one covers, what it excludes, what it costs, and when it renews.
• Schedule the preventive maintenance and service visits those agreements entitle us to, and make sure we actually use what we pay for.
• Verify that service work was completed as agreed, and check service invoices against what the contract covers before they go to accounting.
• Serve as the day-to-day point of contact for service vendors and biomedical technicians, following issues through to resolution.
• Bring renewals forward ahead of expiration with a recommendation, whether that is renewing, changing the coverage level, or moving to time and materials.
• Escalate price increases, new agreements, and equipment downtime to the Director of Surgical Operations, who approves and signs.
• Other duties as assigned in support of safe, efficient patient care.

Qualifications:

REQUIRED

• High school diploma or equivalent. • Graduate of an accredited surgical technology program, or equivalent documented surgical technician experience acceptable under Florida law.
• Current BLS/CPR certification through the American Heart Association.
• Working knowledge of aseptic technique, sterile processing, and instrument handling.
• Organized and reliable with documentation. A meaningful part of this job is keeping records that hold up under survey.
• Comfortable working digitally. You will live in Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Teams, and Excel, to track service schedules, maintenance records, and vendor correspondence. We need someone who picks up new systems quickly without hand-holding.
• Ability to work independently, communicate clearly, and stay composed in a fast-paced surgical setting. • Reliable availability on scheduled surgery days, including early morning start times.

PREFERRED

• Certified Surgical Technologist (CST) through NBSTSA.
• Prior experience in ophthalmology, an ambulatory surgery center, or another single-specialty setting.
• Familiarity with phacoemulsification platforms, femtosecond laser systems, or ophthalmic microscopes.
• Sterile processing certification (CRCST or equivalent).
• Experience managing equipment service agreements, preventive maintenance schedules, or biomedical vendor relationships.
• A knack for building a simple tracking system when one does not exist yet.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• The following are essential physical functions of this role and may be performed with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Ability to stand for extended periods and remain in a stationary position during procedures.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 20 pounds and to push or pull equipment and supply carts.
• Manual dexterity and fine motor control sufficient to handle delicate microsurgical instruments.
• Visual acuity sufficient to distinguish small instruments, markings, and lens packaging.
• Ability to work with exposure to bloodborne pathogens, sterilants, and cleaning chemicals, with appropriate PPE provided.