NORWAY — Sandy Richards, RNAS-C in the Surgical Services Department at Stephens Memorial Hospital, has successfully completed testing to be a certified first assistant in the operating room, according to Western Maine Health Senior Vice President of Clinical Services, M. Patricia Cook, RN, MBA, EdD. She is the first nurse at Stephens Memorial Hospital to achieve this status.

Richards completed a three-year course through the National Institute of First Assisting online. As part of her training, she was also able to venture to the University of Southern Nevada for courses where she participated in simulated surgeries. In the SMH operating room, she was mentored in her internship by Gregory Hardy, M.D., as well as other surgeons as she worked with them.

The First Assistant RN certification required that she first be certified in operating room nursing, which meant studying independently and then passing a national exam while she was working on her First Assist certification requirements.

In addition to her role as a first assistant, Richards is an RN circulator and also cares for patients in surgical day care and the post anesthesia care unit.

She has been a registered nurse at SMH for seven years. She lives in Norway.