Stupid little mistakes....

[RNOTODAY]

I am still learning to circulate, and my orientation is going so so at best. Everybody at work, who have been there a long time say my orientation is really really bad. But, I have nothing to compare it to, so I dont know. I will say, there is NO consistency. I am being taught by travelers, I am with a different person every day.We do everything, so its a little hard to be proficient at one thing, and I dont think there is one procedure that I have seen even twice, or 3 times, and I have been there 6 months.

Right now I know basic things, but I am still struggling with what trays we need for cases ( we have reprocessing "issues" to complicate things further) , and basically, if I am with someone that makes me nervous, I forget stupid little things, like forgetting to hook up suction right away, or forgetting to chart something I know I need to chart. Does this go away with time? Sometimes I feel so inept!!! Did anybody feel like this when they first started? Did anybody else forget stupid things that they knew they needed to do?

And, sometimes, I get so task oriented, because I have to learn everything WHILE I AM USING it in a case, I get focused on that and if the surgeon asks for something I dont hear it, well, you get the picture... please, some words of wisdom....

I have done ER, ICU, and thus far this has been the toughest for me, and I dont know why. Thanks guys!!

[RNOTODAY, BSN, RN]

Need to start with a good perioperative nurse program.OR nurse educators should take an active role in educating new nurses.

It takes about 16 weeks of didactic and practical exposure to different surgical specialties to be able to function and learn the basics of OR.

The best way to learn OR is to read the type of surgeries you are going to do,know the preferences of the surgeons and ask questions to the senior staff prior to the procedure. This might be too much but if you don't do this then you are like a robot and no self satisfaction.

Education,motivation,encouragement & experience=self improvement might lead to job satisfaction.

My hospital made an arrangement with a local tech college, with a scrub tech program, to teach the peri op 101 course in 5 weeks. This was not straight 5 weeks, it was 2 days a week for 5 weeks.We have no educator right now.We then got bounced around day to day to whatever service/preceptor combo seemed right for the day.And the staff "disagreed" with the program so much, and didnt trust us at all, so they basically made us "observe", so we didnt learn much at all. Then when people complained , we got 2 weeks circulating and scrubbing in each service. I dont know about any of you guys, but 2 weeks learning to scrub something is not going to help me. Circulating, maybe, but deffinitely not scrubbing. I feel the 2 weeks is a waste of time, and should be used circulating, since we will be mostly doing that. Anyway, I think I am the victim of a shabby orientation. I am just going to have to do my best. On top of this, I have missed several weeks of it due to medical reasons.

What do you guys think of that?

[ortess1971]

My orientation has been going pretty well but sometimes I feel like I'm just being hung out there in the wind because I have previous OR experience. I think they figure because I've been doing well that I don't need a "full" orientation. Yes, most cases, I'm fine being left by myself but there are some cases/specialties I haven't had much exposure to, even as a scrub tech, so I feel that I should get the same attention as any other new grad. Also, there's the whole anesthesia factor. Some of my favorite people are CRNA's but some of the docs rush you and give you attitude if you're new. Sorry, but we've had more than our fair share of anesthesia students so back on up and cool your jets, Doc! Sorry, I was venting there.... I'm seriously considering talking to my nurse educator to just kind of touch base and let her know some of my concerns. I truly love the OR but I've been in a little funk this week. HMMM, maybe reality is rearing its ugly head?

[micco]

For me, i read the preference sheets for the procedures the afternoon before. Do you have an Alexander's? If you are unfamilar with the surgery, this is good book for finding out the sequence of events. I think the best piece of advice i have recieved is to figure out your own routine and stick with it. When setting up a room, the first thing I do is gather equipment and then set up my prep stand with a foley, prep kit, and bovie pad. I made a list of things to look at in the chart and what questions to ask when interviewing the patient. I put the list behind my ID badge. Do you have preference sheets for each surgeon for each procedure? These sheets have instrument trays and supplies etc listed on them. Ask the tech what they need. Techs can be a good source of info about supplies. I make notes on procedures that I am not familiar with so next time I will be more prepared. It does get easier. Ask who ever does the schedule to be placed with the same person for a few weeks. that might help too.

[nurseontheloose]

I think you just described me. I have been a nurse for 13 years, but only in the OR/PACU for the past 3 years. To top it all off, I am one of those darn travlers now. To make you feel better, ever place I have been, even the "seasoned" OR nurse, still forgets, and makes "Stupid little mistakes", like forgetting to put a bovie pad on. And no, I was not only me that has made that mistake. Hope things get better for you. Hang in there. OR nurses are a different breed, but that is a true statement for alot of departments.

[tinkerbell06]

It is so nice to know I'm not the only one out there in the OR feeling that way and other people are going through the same experiences. I feel the say way about trying to get a routine down when starting cases. Just when I think I have the hang of it something else happens. Hopefully things will get better. I really think it takes a good year of orientation and it would be better to be in one service for at least a month before moving on to another.

Good Luck with everything. Just know that you are not alone and I am struggling right along with you.