Questions for OR Manager

Specialties Operating Room

Published

My husband and I are in the middle of moving to another state. I applied to the work in the OR in the hospital where we will be living and I randomly got a phone call from the OR nurse manager and had an unexpected phone interview. I was not prepared to ask any good questions. My experience is also in post partum so I dont know what to ask.

What questions do I need to ask about a new job in the OR? I am excited about the position but I want to ask the right questions before I accept.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I'm not a nurse manager....student nurse to be exact, but here are some I asked, and some questions to find out some info that I was given:

(Of course, some are for after being offered a position...you'll have to change them up if not taking an internship position.) :)

How long is the internship?

What are the hours for the internship?

What are the days for the internship?

How long is the classroom portion of the internship?

Are the texts for the didactic portion supplied?

Will I have a preceptor?

How long will I have the preceptor?

What days/hours will I work after the internship is over?

How long is the commitment to work after the internship?

How does this OR handle holidays?

Is weekends, nights and major holidays on call only?

Does this hospital provide the scrubs?

Are cloth scrub caps allowed?

What is the pay schedule like? (Weekly? Every 2 weeks?)

Is call mandatory?

How is call set up....volunteered, or scheduled for us?

Does your hospital offer an NCLEX review?

What does this hospital offer as far as CEUs?

What are the shift differentials?

Is there a clinical ladder set up?

Does the hospital offer more money if certified?

Does the hospital pay for certification exams?

Does the hospital offer tuition reinbursement?

Is this hospital planning a Magnet status?

How are nurses' input utilized at this hospital?

In your case, does this hospital help relocate?

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thank you for your input!

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I would ask what is the range of experience of the nurses in the OR. I you have a reasonable distribution with some very experienced nurses (10+ years) some experienced nurses (5+ years) and some new nurses (1-2 years) then your OK. If you see a bimodal distribution (only very experienced and very new nurses) then that is a warning sign.

David Carpenter, PA-C

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.
I would ask what is the range of experience of the nurses in the OR. I you have a reasonable distribution with some very experienced nurses (10+ years) some experienced nurses (5+ years) and some new nurses (1-2 years) then your OK. If you see a bimodal distribution (only very experienced and very new nurses) then that is a warning sign.

David Carpenter, PA-C

Why do you consider this a warning sign? Just curious

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Why do you consider this a warning sign? Just curious

I'm not sure what the semi-official term is but I have worked in malignant areas where the team leaders were very controlling. They would not share information or techniques since this made them more "valuable" or more "necessary". In reality it was very detrimental to a smooth running department. It could be anywhere from only that team leader knew where things were in the store room to on that team leader knew how to operate a certain instrument. This also involved fairly cliquish behavior. To be fair I have also seen this in a very dysfunctional ICU. From my understanding this is not restricted to medicine (or nursing) and is common in the tech industry.

Looking at the spread of members in a group can tell you a lot about the group. In the case I mentioned above, new nurses would join and after a year or two would either realize that they had no chance of advancing or not want to play the game. They would invariably leave and their places would be taken by new nurses. This would produce a gap in the middle. Its fairly representative of a dysfunctional organization. If you see this it is worth asking about. I had a friend who noticed that the organization had a few members 20+year and a bunch

Looking at the composition of the organization can tell you alot about the organization that the organization may not want to share with you.

David Carpenter, PA-C

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I can definitely see your point, but I also envision a younger generation that runs on divorce, talking back, etc....

Get my point? Now days, it's easier to quit and move to the next one than to work harder to make things work out.

So, I guess, is to find out 'why' the generational gap is there, and that is the hard part....try finding the honest person who will actually talk to you.

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Specializes in NICU.

While I don't work in an OR, I can definitely speak to David's point. My unit is borderline toxic - very little teamwork, some nice horizontal violence (although I hate that term) and an seemingly insurmountable "that's the way we do things here, EBP be damned" ethos. And we do have that kind of age distribution - very senior (20-30 year) nurses who have a lot invested in being an "XXXX Hospital" nurse, because we're kind of fancy, and then new, starry-eyed grads. There are exceptions, obviously, but quite a few of those middle-range nurses are going back to school, so I doubt they'll end up being one of the 30-year vets. We lose a LOT of people once they hit that 1 year, don't want to look bad mark.

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

As you can tell I have been around the block more than a few times. I guess I have seen this on and off over the years. The group I have been working with over the past 20 years have been a very cohesive group. We cover each other's back and help in anyway. We have of course had the newbies over the years who just didn't cut it. I am not one of the preceptors and have nothing to do with training any of these individuals but have found that my co-workers, being more family than co-workers, could be a little hard on new hires. I have always stood back and watch the developement of thes individuals over the 3 or 4 months they are trained. Over the past 10 years we have had probably 20 new hires with only 4 or 5 making it. The OR is a tough and demanding area and not for everyone. It seems that both sides can be responsible for giving up too early. After awhile you can just know who will make it and who won't. Some older nurses want results very quickly while others can tell the desire and tenacity of a new OR nurse that might take a little longer with patience.

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Specializes in Operating Room.
I'm not sure what the semi-official term is but I have worked in malignant areas where the team leaders were very controlling. They would not share information or techniques since this made them more "valuable" or more "necessary". In reality it was very detrimental to a smooth running department. It could be anywhere from only that team leader knew where things were in the store room to on that team leader knew how to operate a certain instrument. This also involved fairly cliquish behavior. To be fair I have also seen this in a very dysfunctional ICU. From my understanding this is not restricted to medicine (or nursing) and is common in the tech industry.

Looking at the spread of members in a group can tell you a lot about the group. In the case I mentioned above, new nurses would join and after a year or two would either realize that they had no chance of advancing or not want to play the game. They would invariably leave and their places would be taken by new nurses. This would produce a gap in the middle. Its fairly representative of a dysfunctional organization. If you see this it is worth asking about. I had a friend who noticed that the organization had a few members 20+year and a bunch

Looking at the composition of the organization can tell you alot about the organization that the organization may not want to share with you.

David Carpenter, PA-C

I once worked in an OR like this..people actually got threatened if you wanted to learn more about a procedure because that was "their" area, or "their" doctor...Sickest place I've ever seen.:icon_roll
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Specializes in Operating Room.
I can definitely see your point, but I also envision a younger generation that runs on divorce, talking back, etc....

Get my point? Now days, it's easier to quit and move to the next one than to work harder to make things work out.

So, I guess, is to find out 'why' the generational gap is there, and that is the hard part....try finding the honest person who will actually talk to you.

I'm all for sticking things out, to a point. Some places are just so nasty that you should leave. I've always been one of these types that will pick up and go if the place isn't suiting my needs anymore. I've known nurses that want to leave a facility but they say "but I have 5 weeks vacation a year at this hospital!" Yes, but for the other 47 or so weeks out of the year, you're miserable. Not the way I want to live. Also, these places will boot you out on your fanny if it suits their needs.

That said, I'm glad I did two years in the OR From Hell because now, I'm bulletproof. I don't give a rat's heinie if people like me or not. I like the OR and I like my job most days but I'm not going to cry into my pillow because some crusty ol' thing is mad at me. So over it!

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