Coming home (aka) returning to OR

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Specializes in OR Hearts 10.

So 7months after returning to floor nursing I am coming back to the OR.

I give floor nurses a lot of credit. I can do the job well but the bad outweighs the good on the floor. (For me anyway) Reasons for leaving...all those listed in the "I'm tired of it" thread. But my main reason is I refuse to be cussed at all day for things out of my control (when is my f'in doctor going to be here/DC me, etc.). I understend in the OR if someone cusses the "situation" but if a doc cusses at me, I'll write their behinds up in a heartbeat. On the floor you can't say squat to the pt.

I have found many things the same even though the actual job is very different. One charge that helps, another that looks right through you. Nurses that are very dedicated and those that just get by.

As crazy as it can get in the OR, the job is easier (sorry OR nurses), so why kill myself trying to be in 4 rooms at the same time. I'm going to miss the maybe one pt a day (week) that I really feel appreciates all I do for them.

Maybe I'll do a shift a month on the floor to remind me why I left when the OR starts driving me crazy again. LOL

1 Votes
Specializes in ICU, Operating Room, CVOR.

Your post brought a smile to my face. I was a floor nurse before transferring to the OR three years ago. On occasion, I entertain the thought of returning to the floor, romancing the idea of the occasional (okay - rare) patient and family that appreciate my efforts. I miss the war torn camaraderie with the other nurses, the hilarity of the patients (me going through admission questions: "what is your understanding of your illness?" Pt: "The scab done come of my colon!"), watching my clinical skill and knowledge progress from fearful GN to a source for new GNs, and what seemed like greater autonomy. What I don't miss is like you said - everything in the "I'm tired of it" thread and the feeling that I never had the resources to adequately care for my 5-7 patients.

Dang...it sure feels good to have found a home. :w00t:

1 Votes
Specializes in Only the O.R. and proud of it!.

Easier? I don't know. I've never done anything but peri operative nursing. I think what's easy is what you enjoy doing the most. All in the frame of mind. Away form my al home, my work home is the OR. And yes, to me it's easy.

Sent from my iPad (so excuse any typos and autocorrects!!) using allnurses.com

1 Votes
Specializes in NICU, ER, OR.

I agree... compared to floor nursing; the OR is easy...

Why? Because... most of the time... if there is a problem in the OR, someone in the room knows exactly what to do to FIX it.. and done..,carry on with the job.. on the floors... problems last for hours/ days/ weeks... and once you’ve gotten a taste of that instant gratification of a job well done in the OR.. everything else seems difficult. To me, anyway..

plus? It’s easy if you ❤️ LOVE IT !!

1 Votes
Specializes in OR.

I’ve worked in crummy ORs where the job itself was easy for those exact reasons...problems occurs? Someone, somewhere knows how to fix it. I’ve worked in great ORs where it was the same thing. With the crummy OR, The fixer was me. ? Anyhow...

I loved the fairly regimented day...Sort of...in any case...you start, you open, you do whatever, you close. I love the excitement of instant fixes like vascular procedures, transplants, etc. Even drag-arsing in in the middle of the night, because something went awry.

For the person with Obsessive compulsive tendencies ?‍♀️ The OR is great because you can count tiny objects and be particular (do not rearrange my table if you scrub me out for lunch or I will cut you! ?)....but you better also be ready to go if all hell breaks loose.

I think even in my writing, my love for the OR shows through. Like nursing in general, it’s not about the $$. If you truly love something, the $$ is secondary.

Yes I have tried the floor. Once. It was a very well run, good floor. I hated it. It was just Not. My. Thing. My nurse manager had a great description. Me trying to work the floor was like her trying to work in the OR. Like walking backwards in high heels.

I have great respect for floor nurses. They work thier tuchas off and do a job that I clearly cannot and honestly don’t want to do. One thing I have long said is that “I work in the OR because I no longer know how to behave in public.”

I want my OR and will crawl in at 2am when on call, for those ‘This isn’t an emergency and you damn well know it. You’re just doing it because you don’t want to wait for an add-on room at the end of the day case” anytime if I can have that back.

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