New Grad in OR any advice

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Specializes in Oncology.

I graduated this past May and recently passed my boards. I have had an OR position waiting for me since graduation and will be starting soon. My first week of orientation is Nov. 12th which I know will be a general hospital orientation. I was told by a friend of mine that after that first week we're separated into our specialties for one month in the classroom before we're even allowed on our designated floors which sounds good to me. I still don't know what service I will be assigned because it depends on how well I do during OR training. I have been reading Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery as soon as I got my license number. I have been reading posts and have come across some negative and positive points of OR nursing. As a new grad I'm expecting to be overwhelmed with the vast amount of new knowledge I will have to take in relatively quick in the OR. I have heard horror stories from seasoned nurses. From what I know I'm the newest addition to their OR suite. The last new hire RN for that floor was two years ago and the nurse manager along with the rest of the floor seemed excited to hear that I was joining them. I'm really excited and I feel like a little kid the night before Christmas, waiting to open gifts.

Can you tell I'm excited about the OR? I wanted to know what to expect and how to prepare myself for this new adventure. How to handle myself amongst seasoned RNs and difficult surgeons. Finally what to expect from OR training itself.

Thanks!

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one of the best do and don'ts is in the sticky at the top of the or page by marie_lpn. while its title is "soooo, you're observing the operating room (or)," it has information for any newbie to the or.

the horror stories etc... are not always the norm. facilities are different and so are their policies. many places (not all) now have a manner where you can have a surgeon "written up" for inappropriate actions.

there will be positive and negative things in any nursing you do. you just have to figure out what you want the most. you are off to a good start by studying alexander's.

i wish you the best!!!

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Specializes in OR.

The best advice I can give is to take this one day at a time. That and never let them see you cry!! And there will be days when you want to cry. You will be completely overwhelmed for a long time. Eventually you'll start to feel more comfortable in the setting and your confidence will build. Then you will have a day when absolutely nothing goes right and you'll feel like you're back to square one :uhoh3:

The second post in this thread gives really great advice about circulating. The first time I read it so much of it made no sense at all:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f39/circulating-222321.html

Today was my last day of a 6 month periop nurse residency program in a 22 Suite OR. There were days I wanted to run away crying and days when I couldn't imagine working anywhere else. Overall, I love the environment in which I work and I love the people I work with. I still feel like I know so little. I've heard it said many times that you won't begin to get a real grasp of the job until you've been circulating for an entire year and you won't begin to feel truly competent until year two or three.

Good luck

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Specializes in Oncology.

Thank you so much both for the great advice and sharing your experiences! Monday is orientation and I can't wait =o)

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Specializes in Operating Room Nursing.

Best wishes for your OR career.

My advice is to try not to take too much on at once. Learn one day at a time and ask questions when appropriate. Do they have a mentor or preceptorship program? It helps when you have a supportive person to talk to when your learning.

As for dealing with difficult surgeons it can be very difficult. I always try to focus on my patient first and to block out any negative behaviors.

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