Hey all. Current OR circulator/scrub wanting to move into ICU soon in preparation for CRNA school. Is there anyone else here that spent most of their career as an OR nurse first? That strangely seems pretty rare. I think it's because once OR nurses get into the field, they don't want to have to leave to go to ICU. :)

Do you feel like this experience helped you in your preparation to be a CRNA? I feel like my experience gives me a pretty good idea of what CRNAs do since I work with them all day every day, and help as much as possible during inductions and pay attention to what they're doing. I still plan on putting my year in ICU before I apply, but I wasn't sure if my OR experience (4 years) would be a plus at all.

I'm in school now and I've had a couple of scrub techs and circulators ask me that same question. As long as you have ICU experience it will not hurt you to have OR experience. You'll be better prepared for knowing about various surgical procedures and how the whole team works together, etc etc. That being said, OR experience is no substitute for ICU experience and I will tell you that you know nothing about what the crna is doing. Sure you see them induce and intubate but after that curtain goes up you won't see much and you don't know how much is running through their head every second of that case. Good CRNAs make it look easy. And as an OR RN you don't actually have any direct care of the patient. In the ICU you will learn how to manage vents, drips, run codes, manage lines, etc. Keep in mind that 1 year is the bare minimum and they really won't count other experience. And no matter how much you think you know going into school, once you get into school and into that new advanced role, you realize how little you knew! (I'm speaking from personal experience, no knock towards anyone out there!)