brand spankin' new......

[carluvscats]

Hi all, I just accepted a position as an OR nurse and wow, am I excited! A bit of background.... graduated May 2008, took boards Oct. 2008, started doing pediatric home health (by then the hospital jobs had dried up) in December 2008 and now here I am, virtually starting over.

I was wondering if there's anything I can do in the next couple weeks to prepare for orientation. I still have most of my books from school, but we did not have much in the way of surgery, at least that I can recall. Also, personality-wise, I am a peaceable person, not given to conflict or cliques or gossip; not particularly interested in making friends at work (if I do, great, if not ~ I'm not heart-broken). I have heard that OR nursing in particular can be nasty as far as "hazing" of the new. Has this been your experience?

I eventually want to take the OR experience and do a Doctors Without Borders stint. I have a burning desire to do well and learn, and be great/awesome at it. :)

Any words of advice or encouragement for a newbie would be soooooooooo appreciated. Thank you!

[#1rnstudent]

Learn everything you can from everyone you will meet in the OR. Everyone does things differently. Be patient with yourself. I've been working in the OR for 2 years now, and I still have not scrubbed or circulated for everything yet. Ask your clinical educator what book(s) they would recommend. I learn more from experience and surgical technique booklets the product reps have, than I do from textbooks (especially with ortho). Some days working in the OR are great, other days I wonder why I didn't call in sick. Overall it is amazing to be there. Good luck! Oh, and get a good pair of comfortable shoes because you will be on your feet all shift.

[carluvscats]

Thanks for the response. I have a sneaking suspicion that there are a ton of things I will be learning. :) It is all at once exciting and humbling!

And, thanks for the tip about the shoes! I shall go shopping!

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

Any area of nursing is going to have hazing..and yes, OR nursing can be bad. I swear I work with a group of 7th graders sometimes. The good thing though, is that it toughens you up. You should never accept outright abuse however.

[paigec]

I can't think of anything to help you prepare in advance of your orientation. Yes, you will run into some nasty personalities but I expect that it is that way on the floor as well. My advice to you with regards to that is just listen to them and do things the way they want them done as long as you are in their specialty/service. I had the displeasure of working with a couple of them and seen others being completely ripped apart. I don't know if it is a power thing or whether they feel threatened or what the deal is.

Oh yeah and surgeons are not always sunshine and flowers either. Some are really nice and some are really nasty. Unfortunately the nasty ones always seem to come to mind. You kind of have to be a people pleaser with some of the nasty ones and then they aren't so nasty any more.

Anyway...good luck to you. You seem to have your head in the right place already. I know you will enjoy it. Just remember you run the show when orientation is over.