Soooo, you're observing in the Operating Room (O.R.)...

An LPN I work with, who has had experience in the OR gave me a great piece of advice that applies to anything involving sterile fields. "When you put on sterile gloves, pray." Meaning hands away from the body, above the waist and fingers interlocked.

I did this when I entered the procedure room for observation and I think/hope it earned a tiny bit of respect from the two nurses and the surgeon.

For me to type the words "What wonderful advice!" just doesn't seem to do this thread justice. I am scheduled for my first EVER shadowing experience in 2 days (in the OR per my request), and I looked on this forum to see if there was any information about shadowing/observing in the OR. Not only have you kind people given me the tools to make the most of my experience, you've given me advice that I believe might give me a little edge over my classmates.

This little nursing student is OVER THE TOP excited. An operation? In person? THAT'S NOT MY OWN??? How awesome is that?!?!?!!! But, thanks SO MUCH to all of you for giving me the advice to show my excitement by following proper protocol.

Said it before, I'll say it again. . .gosh, I love this forum.

this is my second rotation in the O.R.
I would like to share to you my experience.

1st experience:
My first O.R. experience was scheduled Jan.2 and i was absent on the first day (christmas break) i entered the hospital on jan.3. my groupmates were already oriented of the hospital policies and standard sterile techniques observed. but i wasn't ( i was absent)

Few hours past and i was glad that there was an urgent O.R. (diverticulosis with anastamosis) we were so excited at the same time scared (its our first time, and reading and mastering the procedures through reading is way different when your actually there) Our Clinical instructor asked one of my groupmates to volunteer to be a scrub nurse, I being aggressive and enthusiastic jumped up scrubed. (my groupmates were too scared)

i was instructed to do surgical scrubbing, unknown to me, what i did was medical scrubbing! it was nice that one of my groupmates thought me the proper way. i then entered the O.R. like an idiot with arms upwards. inside the O.R. i was tensed and scared. it was great that my C.I. was there to aid me. I donned Gloves, Apron blah blah blah...whilst the procedure, oozing blood scared the **** out of me. what i did was, I DIVERTED MY ATTENTION, I LOOKED AWAY AND STARTED DEEP BREATHING, I THEN REMINDED MYSELF THAT EVERYTHING IS OK THAT THE PATIENT IS IN PROFESSIONAL HANDS) with the procedure i saw the different parts of the body skin,muscle,fascia,fats. ewww very disgusting, never the less i enjoyed the experience soo much!

my learning experience:

->read, read, and read it is your responsibility to study, dont blame your teachers if a certain procedure or technique wasn't taught to you( doctors asks questions, dont run the risk of you getting embarassed by not knowing the answer)
->Treat the sterile area as an altar, treat it with respect. always look at it, never allow it to go out of your sight, because if you do, its considered sterile.
->know the names of the surgical instruments and their purpose so that you can anticipate the needs of the physicians
->try to avoid sneezing, talking too much you risk getting the sterile area contaminated
->the endges of the table are considered unsterile, your arms up to your elbows are considered sterile, waistdown it is unsterile.
->refrain from scratching
->i was wondering why do they call it "SCRUB NURSE" if im not mistaken it is because we wear SCRUB SUITS were doctors scrub their sweat on the front of your SCRUB SUIT.

-hope this helped.(sorry for the rusty english

recently being promoted to deputy nursing supervisor. now i have to do more management works compare to being a scrub nurse. at times i feel down when i am not able to scrub up or to assist in cases anymore. being an OR nurse for the past 10 years ,my love is still to have my hand on the patient.
is there a way that i can do both at the same time and how can i divide myself in order to be able to manage th OR and same time to scrub too.

EXCELLENT, Marie... Just damn EXCELLENT

Marie,

I read this post of yours quite a while back and put it in the back of my mind until...TODAY. My first OR experience (since LPN school) of my RN program. And don't ya know...this post was the FIRST thing I thought of as soon as I walked on to the floor! Though my OR rotation is strictly observational, I really enjoyed it the nurses were some of the nicest ones I have met! I work in the ER now and have never considered doing anything else, but after just a few hours today I am considering maybe checking into the OR internship at my hospital when I graduate!

Good Stuff Marie!!!!
Kids,,,I hope you're taking note!!!! Just kidding,,,sort of.....

I've been in the OR for nearly 30 years. Over the course of a year, we have student RN's, paramedics, LPN's, physical therapy, xray tech, PA's and interns, come thru, just to name some....not too bad for a small rural hospital. One thing for the "veterans" listening in.....remember gang, you were there once too... How were you treated, like some sort of insect, or with some dignity, for trying to become one of them.
I, for one, love to see students in the rooms,,,any chance I get to teach someone a little bit about my world, cool!!!
Now, kiddies....yes,,EAT BREAKFAST!!! it really helps!!
Don't be afraid to ask questions, but remember there's a good time and there's not. If I'm too out of breath from doing CPR, probably not a good time to ask a question!!
Rember, we're working in the real world, you in the text book world, they don't always agree. Is one more right than another,,not sure, hard to say at times.
Like Marie says, "it's blue, it's sterile" STAY BACK!!! I like to see no less than a good arm's reach. Don't even think about reaching over.
Another good rule....you're going to fall, fall backwards. Better yet, don't tough it out..you don't feel good, let someone know, and let them get you out safely. You can always come back later. Hard to do if you have a head laceration and a date in the CAT Scanner for a concussion from passing out and crashing into a bovie!
And teachers....are you out there too!!???
Give the kids some basic info. You don't have to be an old OR nurse to prepare them. Maybe give 'em a little scavenger hunt type sheet. You know things to look for. Who's the RN, the docs, the tech's, what's there role, how do they interact. How do they communicate, etc.
In our OR we talk to the instructors routinely. They tell us what is going good for them, we tell them if we've had problems with any students, etc.
I want these student well trained...think about it. They are going to be taking care of us some day!!!
Mike

Thank you all for the great tips. I observed my first surgery, a scheduled C-section, without any formal education from my instructors. So, your tips saved me and I had a great time in the OR.
Katie