Outpatient Surgery Center RN (plastics/cosmetic, etc)

I think it's a hard field to break into. From my experience there was only one actual nurse in the whole place, and she was the surgeon's wife! She also scrubbed in and recovered the pts. I also did a little of this when I was an LPN. I think most if not all programs have you do rotations in the OR, but it is not scrubbing in. I would start looking online for these types of jobs to find out how often they are posted as well as what the general requirements are.

good luck!

I work as a RN in a plastic surgery center, and it really is not a job for a new nurse. I don't know of any place that would hire a new RN without at least a year or two in both the OR and PACU. In small surgery centers, there is absolutely no back up like there is in a large OR within a hospital facility. If something goes wrong it is 100% on you. There may be a couple of MAs around, if you're lucky, but if that patient crashes you better know what you are doing or they will go down the drain faster than you can say "nursing license".

Yes, I absolutely would recommend that. I hate to sound like I'm negative about surgery center nursing. I really am not, I love working in surgery centers - no call, no weekends, holidays off. It really is a very nice job, but it can also be overwhelming with responsibility (esp. in the PACU) when you are alone and have no back up. I always advise people to get at least a couple of years under their belt in a large OR before making the move. The problem with being a new nurse in an environment with little to no back up is that you don't know what you don't know until it hits the fan. Those are not the times to have an a-ha moment. Get hose in a large OR where there is someone to help get you through it.

Plastics is very difficult to get into. After my first year as a nurse (med-surg), I decided I wanted to get into plastics. I randomly sent my resume out. After a few months, I got the call. I took the position and fell in love! I eventually moved out of state and tried to do the same (send out my resume) with no luck. The nurses at these places love this type of nursing so much...they will stay until they retire. I know I would have.

As mentioned, I had no prior OR or PACU experience. I was lucky enough to work with a fantastic CRNA that taught me so much. She would also never leave me if I felt uncomfortable with the patient. Even when she did leave, the doctor and the rest of the staff (scrub techs) were still in the facility if I needed anything.

So, my opinion differs somewhat of the other post. Plastic surgeon's will hire an RN without experience because they can mold you into what they want you to be. If you have previous experience, it may be hard to change old ways and old habits. Plastics docs want things done THEIR way b/c it's their practice. I helped the doc when hiring a new nurse after me. He tried out a nurse with hospital OR experience; however, fired her a week later b/c she wouldn't change old habits. He then hired a nurse who had one year of med-surg experience. She is still working there and working out great.

So, I say go for it. If you have a great staff who is willing to teach, you will have no problems.

It is a difficult field to break into without experience and proper training. I think in order to break into the field of aesthetics, you need to have some background in cosmetic medicine. I would suggest taking a course that can provide you with history, and hands on instruction. This will help you when you are speaking with aesthetic offices about your experience.

A course I found out of Chicago is Expanded Aesthetics. It looks like they have a program coming up on November 10-11th.

Best of luck!