Day Surgery Center Nurses: How do you like your job?

mhy12784 · Feb 28, 2015

Well I work in the OR itself in an ambulatory center.

But it seems the preop nurses where I work are happier than the pacu nurses (though theyre all MUCH happier than nurses in other areas of the hospital)

Pay is identical to the rest of the hospital (my ambulatory center is part of a hospital)

I would think that preop is less stressful, and probably the better bet of the two. Patients all go to the bathroom and function pretty independently on their own. Not to mention theyre all NPO still so there is that. Pacu patients are certainly more needy (with good reason)

Eitherway I think its a fantastic place to work.

Know nothing of texas though

pamgri · Feb 28, 2015

mhy12784,

Thanks for the response! You make a good point in saying the patients can ambulate and are NPO for the pre-op nurse. That is a lot of less stress right there!

dah doh, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2015

I moonlight in Day Surgery for my hospital. I pre-op: start IV's, do paperwork, check consents, pre-op checklists, labs & pre-op testing...then send them to surgery. I do post-op: I get them ready to go home after they are recovered by PACU. Patients need to tolerate po fluids, pain controlled, sometimes void, etc. Type out & explain discharge instructions and any education, wound & drain care, take out IV and send them home with a driver. Pay is the same since I work at the hospital. Staff is super pleasant. It's a happier place to work than my usual job in the ICU. Hours are flexible because they take what I am willing to work...anywhere from a few hours to a 8 or 12 hr shift. It's open M-F 05-21. Saturday is on call and done by rotation. Closed major holidays. I don't want to work 5 days a week yet so I don't want to be a permanent staff there yet although the girls keep trying to recruit me!

My hubby works at a stand alone Ambulatory Surgery Center. He loves it! He says it's less stressful than ICU & ER, or even the hospital. He likes his co-workers and the patients and surgeons/anesthesiologists too. Pay is just a bit less than me. Hours are M-F 0430 until the last patient leaves which is sometimes pretty late. No weekends or major holidays. He currently does pre-op, post-op, & PACU. He is also training for O.R. The shifts are staggered so his hours vary.

roser13, ASN, RN · Feb 28, 2015

Only look at ASC's that are under the umbrella of a major system. The pay scale will be the same as the hospital's.

I love my ASC! Going on 11 years now. But as in the hospital, patients are sicker and sicker and not always ambulatory, as implied by our title. Working with the 23-hour patients sometimes seems like being back on Med/Surg.

In my facility, we all rotate through PACU, pre- and post-op, plus our overnight stay area. Patients come into PACU still intubated, so can be high intensity.

But M-F, no weekends, no holidays. Doesn't get much better.

pamgri · Mar 2, 2015

This sounds wonderful!! Thanks for the info!

pamgri · Mar 2, 2015

Sounds like a good deal, I will definitely follow this advice with my search--thanks!!!