ER nurse or OR nurse?

Swellz · Jun 18, 2019

Floor nursing may not be for you, but in many places you will need floor experience to be considered for the ER or OR. Not trying to discourage, just to manage your expectations. Regardless, you want to go in multiple directions; do you have the option to shadow? It might help if you have a better idea of what each job entails. Nursing school doesn't always give you the best picture into the reality of the job.

In the meantime, I would focus on your current job and being the best at it that you can be. I know it doesn't feel like the dream, but there's always skills you can learn that you will be able to take with you to another specialty.

OUxPhys, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2019

I have always been interested in the OR. I started on a step-down. Currently still on a step-down haha. I like my co-workers and managers but even I know I cannot do this my whole career. The schedule for the OR is better. It can be boring at times depending on what type of OR environment you work in. I do like the idea of scrubbing and circulating, one patient etc. It may still be an option for me. Keep in mind though that you will likely lose most of your skills in the OR.

ER sounds cool but I do not like to work under stress so the ER is not an option for me. I had some fellow floor nurses go to the ER after gaining some experience but ended up coming back to the floor because it wasn't at all what they thought it would be.

MMRRN1997 · Jul 7, 2019

I am an OR nurse and have been for 15 years. You may have long cases, like neuro-back surgeries, but during the case you will have to chart, look up your next patient, prepare for your next case, chart the implants, be anesthesia's third arm, obtain sterile equipment and supplied and open them, you may have to help clean the room in between to get it ready for the next case, push in the microscope, pull out the microscope, call x-ray...... I relish a boring day because it is usually few and far between.

Subee2, BSN, MSN, CRNA · Aug 1, 2019

If you dislike interacting with patients, then you might like OR. It is very task oriented, lots of computer charting, gophering, keeping the hairy eyeball open for disruptions in patient safety. I only know from my own personal experience but we got rid of first assists years ago (hired PA's who can write discharge prescriptions) and RN's not permitted to scrub. They can pay a surgical tech less and they are trained much better since they have their own educational programs. Depending on the size of the OR, you may have to take call which can be a real pain if you live too far away - you'll have to make sleeping arrangements. Long periods of boredom interrupted by brief periods of mad computer clicking.

friendlylark · Sep 5, 2019

Go with your gut!!! Go OR ? You know what to do, and you know what you want. Forget this ER business. You can DEFINITELY still be an FNP and work in the OR.

I am an ER RN, and it can be so chaotic. I would love to do something more analytical - working on making some changes ?

All the best to you.

Subee2, BSN, MSN, CRNA · Sep 5, 2019

Why would you go to grad school to be an OR nurse? There is nothing for an FNP to do AS an FNP in an OR.

Defibn', RN, EMT-P · Sep 5, 2019

If you know CRNA is what you want to do then grinding out a couple years in ICU should be doable. Focus on the end goal. In my opinion, OR experience doesn’t really prepare you for anything other than OR. Some ASCs allow nurses to float between OR , preop and PACU. ER can be annoyingly tedious depending on what facility you’re at. ER is good experience though.

Reaz, BSN · Sep 6, 2019

19 hours ago, Undercat said:
Why would you go to grad school to be an OR nurse? There is nothing for an FNP to do AS an FNP in an OR.

I wouldn’t haha I have decided OR is not the best option for me if I want to go back to school. I am considering PA school tho later on if I still want to be in the OR.

19 hours ago, Defibn' said:
If you know CRNA is what you want to do then grinding out a couple years in ICU should be doable. Focus on the end goal. In my opinion, OR experience doesn’t really prepare you for anything other than OR. Some ASCs allow nurses to float between OR , preop and PACU. ER can be annoyingly tedious depending on what facility you’re at. ER is good experience though.

I have actually decided to start looking for ICU jobs!! I think this will be the best experience for me. Thanks for the advice!

Szzzz, BSN, LVN, RN · Nov 4, 2019

On 6/18/2019 at 4:40 AM, Reaz said:
I am a new grad who has been working on a surgical/tele floor for about 2 months. I hate it. I know I am new but floor nursing is not for me and I know this for a fact. I am already planning on finding a new job after 6 months.
I am deciding if I want to be an OR nurse or ER nurse. I have always had a passion for the OR. There is something about surgery and the OR that just makes me the happiest. I was planning on being a CRNA, but I do not even know if I can withstand bedside/ICU nursing to gain all of the experience needed to become a CRNA. So I decided I want to consider OR nursing. I love that you have one patient at a time, they are unconscious, and you can spend all of your time focusing on all of the details for that one surgery. I am a very detail oriented person, so I love that about OR nursing. Also the schedule is a lot better (even with on-call in my opinion.) So, The reason I am second guessing OR is because I am scared that I am going to lose/not learn assessment and critical thinking skills that you would gain by being a bedside nurse. This is the only drawback for me.
I know I said bedside nursing was not for me, but I think I can do ER. In the ER, you do not have to deal with all of the tedious little things that the floor has to deal with (admissions, discharges, I/Os, passing 1,000000 meds, trying to figure out which doctor put in which order, serving needy patients for long hours on end, and way more). Patients are in, you fix them up and send them off while still utilizing so many critical thinking skills. You have to be quick, and I am quick.
Can you tell me your experiences with either specialty, and offer any opinions if you have any! I should mention that I want to go back to school to become an NP. Would OR nursing prevent me from gaining the experience/skills required for that? If I go into OR, I could become a first assist, go to school, and specialize in surgery? Or maybe transfer floors later on in my career? idk. I am just leaning towards OR at this point.

Where did you end up going? I would say OR may be the best option for you. In ER you do have the tedious things you don’t like from the floor just not as often. There are times when hospitals are too full to place patients so they’re your patient until there is a bed for them and that can last more than 24 hours so you may come back to them the next day. You often have a lot of residents if you are in a teaching hospital so you will be trying to find which doctor put in what order and you will be fetching sandwiches and drinks because of long wait tines. I once thought I wanted to be a CRNA so I worked CVICU and PACU and saw that it was not for me. In OR the nurses did have one patient at a time but they are often being pushed to roll the patient back whether the pre-op nurse has had a chance to review the whole case yet or not. We were often short CRNAs and Anesthesiologists so we always had new ones and some of them were really newbies that I had to intervene for because they were not competent in their critical care abilities. They work very long hours. Many of the OR nurses I worked with lacked critical care skills and knowledge. Even their most experienced nurses lacked these abilities unless they had previous experience. Just sharing what I saw ?. Every hospital is different in how it runs things. I did see many OR nurses move on to become NPs for the surgeons they worked with.

skydancer7, BSN, RN · Dec 23, 2019

I have been an OR nurse for most of the last 10 years. I started in the OR from day one. I was still able to branch out and try med-surg and clinic float pool and some other things, 7 years later, after having only OR experience. It sounds like you might love the OR and if you do, you won't have to worry about losing other skills. You can do OR until you retire, or you can branch out again later. Try finding a periop 101 program where they train you in the OR for 6 solid months. It's an excellent foundation. Having OR under your belt will mean you can always always find a job. I can't speak to ER; haven't worked there.

caughtupinthismoment, ADN, BSN · Jan 22, 2020

If you want CRNA, go ICU. Don’t waste time elsewhere unless you are doing it to get the most out of the situation, which from your post, doesn’t seem like you are. Just pick an end goal and keep your eyes on the prize. Do what it takes to get there and give no excuses in between. God speed.