nursing student w/ questions about OR

Brendalee · Feb 15, 2000

Hi there. The education required for OR nursing depends upon what kind of OR nursing you want to do. In the hospital I work in (NY state), To be a circulator, you must be an RN, with certain experience and qualifications. To be a pre-op/post-op nurse, preferrably an RN. To be a scrub nurse/surgical technician, you must be an LPN/surgical tech training(preferrably certified as an CST. I started my job as an

LPN with 6 1/2 years of various experience.

minimum of 3 of Med-Surg. experience required for this to be considered. I learned on the job.. It has been very difficult, although the doctors have been pretty good .. some excellent..

An LPN/ST assists with instruments,etc.

An RN/Circulator manages the room and etc....

justanurse · Feb 17, 2000

Just like Brendalee said, it depends on what you want to do. It also depends on where you are. I've got a friend who just started in OR fairly fresh out of ADN school, with no experience as of her hire. You may check out the hospitals around where you are to see what their requirements are and then decide which is best for you.

BEG · Feb 17, 2000

If you are really interested in becoming an OR nurse I would recommend you have at least a year of good solid med/surg nursing behind you before you start. This will give you a good basis on which to learn new and very exciting things. A BSN is not a requirement but good judgement and quick thinking on your feet is required. Some decisions have to be made very quickly! Also RNs do not just circulate the rooms. We also scrub and first assist.In order to become an RNFA however you must have at least a 2 year experience in the OR scrubbing and circulating. OR is a great place to work but you must be dedicated. Good luck.

SSUleader · Mar 3, 2000

Hi 77Beetle!

I am a senior nursing student at a State University in California. I went through many rotations in nursing college and found that I absolutely, positively am interested in becoming an OR nurse. I am doing 350 hours in the OR as my Senior Clinical, and know that OR nursing is my calling. If you are thinking about OR nursing, try getting some experience in the OR before you graduate so you know if you like it or not. It is definately not what I expected (it is much more interesting than I had imagined).

In response to requirements-I do not believe you need a BRN to become a cir/scrub nurse. My friend received an Associate Degree, and immediately after he graduated he got a job in the OR as a scrub/cir nurse.

As far as getting experience in med/surg prior to working in the OR, I do not want to go that route if I do not have to. If I can get a job in the OR directly out of nursing school, I am going to take it. It is where I want to be, and if it is where you want to be, and you know that for sure, you should go for it!

Good luck in nursing school,

Nursing Student :0)

Linda J · May 5, 2000

There are varied levels of education among the OR nurses that I currently work with (North Carolina)...as stated there are LPN/ORT that function as "scrub" nurses, RN(ADN, Diploma, BSN educated nurses) that can function as circulators/Scrub nurses, you must have a BSN and 2 years of experience now to function as a RN First Assistant (RNFA), and there is the Sugical Technologist who is a non-licensed member of the team that functions in the scrub role. I went to the OR straight from nursing school but there are many nurses who did various other types of nursing prior to coming to the OR; therefore, I can't say if a MED-SURG background would be helpful in the OR or not. The OR is so specialized that I am not sure that any other form of nursing would be a beneficial precursor to OR nursing. Hope this helps!

Rtate22 · May 17, 2000

I thought that the surgical technologist was a licensed certified member of the OR team.