Continue being a circulator or move on?

[luvapug]

I was hired as a circulator in May. I was very over-whelmed at first but by the end of the first serve I was finding it all a little mundane-the excitement has worn off. Now I'm almost finished with my third serve and as time goes on I find myself liking it less and less each day. I'm to the point where I can't wait for breaks and to go home and for the weekends. If I continue my orientation it's going to take me another five months at least. I know people say it takes a year to feel comfortable. I can see that but what I'm looking at is even after I'm comfortable I'm not sure if I'll still enjoy being a glorified gopher which is what it feels like. Should I just quit now so they can find someone else or should I stick it out to see if I'll eventually like it? Is three and a half months long enough to know whether this is for me?

[jeckrn, BSN, RN]

If you dont like it I would say move on, being in the OR is not for everyone just like ICU, ED, MS, LTC etc. Good Luck.

[luvapug]

Thanks! I think I'm going to stick it out. I think it's just the particular serve I'm in right now that is very trying. We have some difficult surgeons to work with in this area. There have been some days I'm in other areas and I can see what it can be like. I had to go back to my first serve one day as well and I realized all I had learned since I'd moved on and it was a nice feeling to actually feel like I was a help instead of a hinderance. I guess I just need to be patient and hang in there longer.

[Swtclggr]

I felt just like you did when I began my journey in the OR. One day I looked around the room and thought what other place does a patient get anesthesia, surgeons, scrub tech and circulator, that is 4 to 5 professional at one time for a given amount of time? It changed my outlook and afterward I evolved over the years to be OR education, OR Manager, OR Director, & I've even been in charge of building many surgery centers. There is a lot of room for growth and opportunities in the OR. That why it takes so long to learn everything. Hang in there it won't be long until you feel like that great nurse you were before!

[luvapug]

Wow that sounds great! I like the potential for growth and being part of an important team. Thanks for the reply!

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Have you scrubbed in yet? THAT is where the excitement is! Circulating is just sterile waitressing, really. It can get mundane.

See if you can scrub a few cases. That is what made me fall completely in love with the OR.

[luvapug]

Unfortunately at our facility they don't let RN's train to scrub in anymore-that's all done by scrub tech's they hire fresh out of scrub tech school. I think it would help so much to actually learn the scrub role as well to actually have a better idea of what type of instrument may help when a surgeon is having trouble, to get to actually see first-hand the surgeries and steps better, to get more variety of roles, etc. We've all said we wish they would let us do that but they won't because it's cheaper to pay a scrub tech to do that than an RN. I would think due to the importance of what a scrub tech does they should either pay better or let RN's perform that role.