[stnurse2008]

Excellent post those things are all important. I had my OR rotation a couple of months ago and those are all things that you need to know. Very complete list. About the passing out, I had one doctor tell me if I started to feel funny to sit down on the floor because it was a long hard fall. I thought that was kind of funny so you know that it happens (fortunately I did not have to utilize his advise)

[bloodytom]

passing out in the OR is something anyone can overcome. it really doesnt feel good at first but anyone can get used to it after several exposures.blood or open tissue doesnt bother me at all now

[ails]

I just came accross this thread. Thank you very much for posting this. I'm about to be exposed to OR for the first time sometime in August. This is really of big help

[2lip]

thanks for a lovely post same procedures in africa here, ascepsis is the key word. obey all rules and enjoy your OR posting. chao..!!!!

[2lip]

when i thinkof the smeel of OR rooms it remind sme of my first yr as a student nurse, I went to observe on my own in the theatre, i tried very hard to cope with the smell of bile,phew!!!! i almost threw up i saw myself dashing out of the theatre,
i was so embarrased.

[2lip]

Originally Posted by 2lip

when i thinkof the smeel of OR rooms it remind sme of my first yr as a student nurse, I went to observe on my own in the theatre, i tried very hard to cope with the smell of bile,phew!!!! i almost threw up i saw myself dashing out of the theatre,
i was so embarrased.

U dont tell a blind man that war has started, he senses it himself.

[goats'r'us]

i have one more, very important thing to add:

don't be offended if the staff are wary of you at first. until you show that you know the basic rules (ie. keep out of the way, no touchee etc), they will assume that you know nothing and treat you as such.

i'm not saying that in a mean way, it's just that people who don't do the right thing can be disasterous, and the staff don't want any trouble.

this was the first thing i was told when i did a three-week placement in OT (well, to be honest the first thing was 'get changed, there's a caesarian coming in that you can watch', but after that was over..) and it was the thing that really stuck, because i otherwise would have felt patronised and unwanted in my first few cases.

[emllpn2006]

One of my favorite things in nursing school was to go into the OR. We only had the chance to experiance one day there but it was great. I saw a cardiac valve replacement. My class mate and I got to stand right at the head of the bed with the crna who explained everything. We were litteraly about 2 inches from the patients head. The surgeon even told the crna to move out of the way and let the students stand there becouse he got to see a open heart every day and it may be the only time that we got that experiance. Hopefully after I complete my lpn-bsn course I will get the chance to work in a OR.

[CALRCN]

Originally Posted by stnurse2008

About the passing out, I had one doctor tell me if I started to feel funny to sit down on the floor because it was a long hard fall.

I can relate to this one (sort of). In my first OR experience, the doctor told me if I felt lightheaded to 'just sit down - whatever you do - just sit down'. So, in the middle of a TKA, I did just that - and sat down right on the floor! Everyone stopped what they were doing and asked if I was okay! I was so embarrased! I then learned there was a chair over in the corner that I should have sat in, but I was so afraid of moving around the room (not wanting to break sterility) that I just stayed put! Luckily the staff was lighthearted and didn't give me a hard time about it!

[Marie_LPN]

Updated.