RN advice on outpatient/ambulatory surgery please!?

[shortsuzy87]

Hello! I'm a new grad who has been working on a neuroscience floor in a hospital for almost 6 months now. I would rather stay at least a year, but I really hate the stress. I just don't think it's for me.

There are a few places hiring for outpatient surgery. I would do preop/op/and postop. I observed about 7 surgeries all together in school and was facinated. One of them was an open heart surgery, so I don't think I'd be squemish.

I want a job where I utilize my nursing skills (assessment, critical thinking, IV therapy, etc), but I don't feel like I wanna cry mid-shift for stress. Please give any input on outpatient surgery nursing!

If anyone has any other suggestions for employment please let me know! I just don't want "How much do you weigh? Why are you here?" to be my primary role. Thanks everyone!

[arnie1234]

hello- Outpatient surgery can be a good alternative. The pace will most likely be pretty fast,which can sometimes feel like an assembly line. It has the benefits of being a cross between hospital nursing and doctor office nursing, but may not pay as well as the hospital. If you do take the position, make sure that you are able to cross train between pre and post to keep your skills.

[Laxmom237]

hello- I agree with the above that you need to keep your skills up so cross trainingis a must. I work at a surgery center and all the PACU nurses cover pre-admission testing, pre-op on day of surgery and post-op. Some days can be stressful but I really love it! We get a nice mix of patients-babies to elderly, carpal tunnel release to cosmetic surgery. The beauty of nursing is that you can try it and if you don't like it, there are so many other specialties. I see your original post was in January so I hope things are going well for you.