BSN Student interested in Periop Nursing

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 8, 2015

1. As a junior nursing student, is there anything I can do the summer in-between my junior and senior year to get an edge in terms of getting experience? I don't think the hospital I am doing my clinicals in takes externs but does anyone have any recommendations about this? Maybe perhaps getting a certificate in something (not sure what, the AORN website is confusing), volunteering, etc.

Unfortunately, without being a nurse or a surgical technologist, the options in the OR over a summer are extremely limited. Many ORs do hire patient care assistants or whatever terminology they use to do certain duties such as helping position patients and helping clean rooms in between cases. However, I don't know that a facility would be willing to hire someone only for the summer. You may want to expand your horizons for facilities that do accept externs in the OR.

2. Many nurses, including my instructors, discourage precepting in a specialty. They all recommend precepting in Med/Surg or ICU to get a general background/experience. I'm afraid that if I do this, it might take me longer to get a foot in the door for the specialty that I want. I don't mind getting some floor experience... but I know for sure that I would not want to be a Med/Surg nurse forever. I've read posts in here about people getting jobs in the OR as a new grad RN. I just hate to think that I'd suffer through 2 years of Med/Surg when I could have gotten into the OR right after passing the boards.

This is a matter of opinion and in some cases facility policy. Will there be much from med/surg that transfers to the OR? Not really, in my opinion. Will it make you a more well-rounded nurse? Maybe, but then again, why isn't med/surg viewed as a specialty just like every specialty out there instead of a jumping off point?

3. For you circulating nurses out there, how would you rate your job satisfaction? Are the surgeons/techs you work with generally pleasant? I've been warned several times about how much being a circulating nurse can feel like playing gofer... but to me it seemed like there is so much more to it than that.

Most days, I love my job. But just like any other job, there are the bad days: days when patients don't make it out of the OR alive, days when it just gets overwhelming because it's not a good situation (emergencies, shootings/stabbings, etc). There is definitely a bit of a gofer part to being a circulator, but it definitely isn't the definition of the job. Surgeons and coworkers can be good team players, have an attitude, or just have an off day. After all, we are all human.

4. How hard was it to find a job and how long did it take for you to find one after becoming an RN/doing circ training? I'm also curious about working hours. I live in Northern California and I'm not exactly sure how the job market is like for OR nurses here. I'm also considering being an RNFA if its feasible.

No idea what the job market is like in CA. I pretty much walked into a job fair and walked out with a job offer before I'd even graduated, but that was back in the days where it was "You have a license? When can you start?". Those days are long gone.

RNFA: First Assisting (RNFA) : Association of periOperative Registered Nurses

This is really going to be more of a long term goal as you will need scrubbing experience, completion of an approved RNFA program, and a place willing to provide you with RNFA clinical experiences. Not all facilities hire RNFAs; some will use residents, PAs or NPs in the first assistant role. I would strongly advise researching the job market before taking on the financial burden of RNFA school.

desertstar6 · Feb 8, 2015

I graduated with my BSN last year. I was told that I should do med/surg. Before I do OR (which is what I love). I regret it. I never liked taking care of sick ppl. I'm more of the fix them and leave type. However, I contacted the nurse manager while I was in nursing school and told them I want to work in their OR as soon as I can and kept in contact after I graduated. When I found out that they had a OR program for ppl with no OR experience, I applied and got the position.

My advise is to keep in contact with nurse educator in all the hospitals and tell them you want to work in the OR and ask what would make you a candidate for hired. A large part of being in the OR is showing employer that you really want to work there and will stay for a long time.

Georgettes · Feb 8, 2015

Thanks for the input you guys! I really appreciate it. I'm still on the fence about whether or not periop is for me but I am definitely keeping my options open. However I still have some questions about it:

After getting your RN, how do you become a circulating nurse and how long does the process take? I've heard about Periop 101 and whatnot but I am still a little confused about it. Do you have to sign up through a facility that offers it to take the course? Is Periop 101 the only thing you need to qualify as a circ?

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 8, 2015

Any facility that is willing to take on nurses who haven't worked in the OR previously should provide a thorough orientation. Some facilities choose to use AORN's Periop101; some choose to design their own program. Either way, the facility should prepare you to be a circulator as part of your orientation. Orientation length varies- mine was 6 months with one-on-one supervision and then another 3 months where one nurse was a resource to 3 nurses who had completed the one-on-one portion of the orientation.

desertstar6 · Feb 8, 2015

Thanks for the input you guys! I really appreciate it. I'm still on the fence about whether or not periop is for me but I am definitely keeping my options open. However I still have some questions about it:
After getting your RN, how do you become a circulating nurse and how long does the process take? I've heard about Periop 101 and whatnot but I am still a little confused about it. Do you have to sign up through a facility that offers it to take the course? Is Periop 101 the only thing you need to qualify as a circ?

There is a Periop 101 and some facilities use it. Others have their own but still base it on the class. My advise is to look into the program online then ask hospitals how they do their program.

Georgettes · Feb 9, 2015

It sounds to me like getting into periop is very much facility-based. Thanks for the responses everyone :)