CALLiNG ALL PERiOPERATiVE NURSES!!

[TOTALLY CONFUSED]

hello everyone,

let me start off by saying THANK YOU for taking the time to read this. I am 18 years old, soon to be 19 in October. I'm just freshly graduated out of high school, and as my user name says it, IM TOTALLY CONFUSED as far as HOW to begin doing what i want to do in the perioperative nursing field. I am the first out of all the grandchildren to graduate high school. and seeing as how I am, that means there is nobody before me that has gone to college and as a result i feel lost and helpless with no guidance. As a child, my career choices were constantly changing, as do most children's as they grow and find new interests. I can remember exactly when i chose what i wanted to do. I was about 10 or so i'd say, and my mother always had TRAUMA: LIFE IN THE ER on the T.V. Naturally, as any child would, i began watching with curiosity, but much to my mothers amazement I never looked away from any graphic scenes nor did i comment on how gross they were. I just simply watched, completely content. From this time on, my mother used to tell people that I was going to be a doctor. She encouraged me to go onto this path as well, telling me that not everyone can do that, and if i can handle the graphic scenes then i should be a doctor. Gears began spinning in my head, and I began watching more and more medical television. Before i knew it, Discovery Health Channel was on 24/7 and I couldn't get enough of it. Of course, all my life I thought people who couldn't watch surgery, or dissect frogs or anything just had weak stomachs. I'm finding out now that enjoying this type of thing isn't considered "the norm", and it's not very common among young people. When I was in 10th grade, i was made to take this assessment online. This assessment was a series of questions, and the outcome was a long list of careers that were considered "suitable" for you based on your answer to the questions. You were made to choose one of the careers and do a presentation on it. THOSE TESTS ARE SOOOOO INACCURATE. No where on my list did it say "nurse" or anything along the lines of working in the medical field, so i chose "orthodontist" and did that. During the time of presentations, one of my friends presented the topic "surgeons". During her presentation she went on explaining various careers that were related to surgeons, and thats when i had heard the term SURGICAL NURSE for the first time. My interest flared and i did some research. Much to my surprise, at the end of my research i was telling myself that this is what i wanted to do. Sadly to say, my search didn't go much further because senior year was just REALLY HARD and there was no time to even think about it. They say class of '08 had it worst, and coming from a person who's jumped through all the hoops they made us jump through, i can honestly say that it wasn't easy and now i feel as though i can do ANYTHING. So I sit here today, looking up endless information about nursing on my computer and I just can't sort it all out. It's all jumbled; so I'm hoping that this website will help me get direction from people who are already doing what I want to pursue. From all of the readings I have found, I am pretty sure that I want to be a SCRUB NURSE, but that's also why I am here to ask questions. What I would like to know is...

--What is the criteria for High School Education?--

What I mean by this question is simply "what classes should have been completed in high school?" The reason I am asking that is because I know that certain career fields require you to get specified education that the district doesn't require for a graduating and receiving your diploma, such as Psychiatry or Physics. If there are any classes that I must have a credit for that were not completed in my high school years, I plan to complete them in a community college.

--Where do I start?--

i know multiple people who have started their nursing careers through a program called "Certified Nursing Assistant Class" which is held in a nursing home; but i don't want to be a nursing assistant, and I'm wondering if there's a way to skip that step. Do i start in community college, or would it be better just to find a nursing school and begin training there?

--What exactly is "Nursing School?"--

At this school do you just receive training on how to become a nurse [like changing I.V's and filling out charts correctly], or can you actually take the classes you must take to receive the degree's necessary for the job [such as medical terminology and things like that]

--What degree's do i have to get, and what are the credentials for receiving these degrees?--

in other words, what classes do i have to take to achieve becoming a scrub nurse and are they offered in nursing school? and what degrees as far as minors, majors and masters are required?

i have tons of other questions, but before i start getting myself and everyone reading this confused, i think i'll wait until i get responses on these questions. It would be really helpful if someone who was a scrub nurse in ANY AREA OF SURGERY could give me a run down on where and how they started; I'd appreciate it a great deal. Thank you for your time.

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

i dont know exactly how to get into surgical nursing exactly.. you may want to go to the specialty forums and into OR nurses and ask in there.. if thats what you mean by surgical nurse?

but..

i would start by getting your RN.. you can do an associates degree, and this can be completed at a community college, you dont have to just do your prereqs there.. its actually more likely to get into the program if you stay at the same school..

id call your local cc if your interested in this to get more info, but basically how it works is you have a couple prereqs before you can apply for the nursing clinicals (ie. biology, anatomy and physiology, certain math classes) and then a whole bunch of coreqs that you can finish in conjunction with your clinicals, but would be better off, and probably end up finishing them before you get into clinicals anyway. these are classes like (english comp, psychology, humanities, some more science classes:banghead:)

there are "nursing schools" too, which is pretty much the same thing.. but the one near me DOESNT have a waiting list, which is actually bad, because if you dont get in you have to just keep applying, wheras my cc has a waiting list and you are guaranteed to get in eventually. and you complete your non-nursing classes through a nearby university.

but im not sure if all of them work this way.. these are just the schools in my area.

you could also get your BSN (4 years), at a university that offers a BSN program. i dont know much about this subject, but i plan to get my ASD and get a job as an RN and then persue my BSN.. but everybodys different.

im thinking youd try to get a graduate nurse internship as an OR nurse after you graduate with whatever degree you get, if any hospitals in your area offer such a thing.. but i dont know much about specialties.

oh.. and you dont HAVE to be a CNA to get a nursing degree. (at least not in PA). but a lot of schools require you to take a CNA course.. and you WILL have to wipe ass in nursing clinicals anyway.

hope some of this helps..

[imafostermom]

As long as you have a high school diploma, you can go to college. The fastest route is ADN at the community college level and you will be an RN. In the nursing program you will have different semesters in each are and learn the basics in each area. After graduation you take your state exam. After passing the exam you can apply anywhere you like and many will even hire you while waiting for your exam grades. If you choose the OR, then that is where you apply. All units provide an orientation and a preceptor to work with you as you lear that specific area. Nursing school provides a generalized knowledge of all units and in the OR you will get the more specialized training for that unit.

Check the school requirements for the CNA part. In my area, students do not need it. The poster above is correct, these skills are taught the first semester of nursing school.