failing in the OR

shodobe · Feb 17, 2008

Your co-workers might be right in that you are being a little hard on yourself. Just forgetting the correct size on something isn't the end of the world. Seasoned OR nurses tend to forget more than that sometimes. I find myself leaving the room to fetch something only to stop in a room and suddenly I can't remember what I went to get! As I have always said before 6 months just gives you a "feel" for the OR, it doesn't make you superOR nurses! As time goes on you will get more and more confortable in day to day cases. There are some new OR nurses who feel pretty good after 6 months and others sometimes take longer. It doesn't make them any less competent. I think what you need to do is at the end of each day reflect back on all the cases, go through your mind what went well and what didn't. Adjust what you might have slipped on and think what you might have done different. OR nursing is different than a majority of other nursing jobs because of the diversity of cases and patients. Situations change daily and that Carotid you did last week that went so well, the one today was a total disaster! Oh well, you just adjust. Just hang in there and try to get as much feedback from surgeons and your co-workers, that's what their there for. Good luck!

umakemesmile · Feb 18, 2008

HI there...
Well I've been in the OR for about 6 months and tho i have learned quite a bit i still struggle with not feeling comfortable let alone confident in the room. I have yet to really be on my own tho i do start and end cases alone and for the majority of the time during surgery i am left. However I just dont feel as tho the OR is right for me. I am relatively new to nursing and prior to the OR i worked in rehab. Vastly different than the OR. If i stay the last 6 months and hope it gets better so i can get a year in and then leave. Or should i just leave now? There are days when i feel i cant do anything right and days where i feel i did ok. When i make minor misjudgments as far as getting the wrong inch of cast padding i feel like a total idiot. Nurses say im too hard on myself, and i need to be more assertive in the rooms. So i dont know if its just me feeling like i cant do the job or what. I wonder if i should just pack it in. I like some of the surgeries... yet i do miss the pt. care, i am more comfortable starting IV's then prepping... any advise would be helpful. Thanks for reading.
Deb

Those feelings are normal. Learning the OR takes time. Do you have a good staff that supports you or are you left to figure things out on your own? I once left a job after 3mos. because the staff was not supportive in helping me learn the ropes of their facility.(and other things) It was just not right for me.

Where I currently work we all help newbies where we can. Just being supportive can make or break someone's experience. There are still days I go home feeling bad because of a stupid mistake I did. It happens to everyone. Talking it out with someone does wonders.

Do you get to start IV's on occasion? We start IV's on all our sedation pt.'s and ped's on occasion just to keep our skills up.

I admit the OR is different than floor nursing, we don't have the same kind of pt. contact.

Are you a structured kind of person who like's a routine?(That's not meant as a negative) Or are you someone who like's the challenge of not knowing what's going to happen next? From my experience I have found the OR to be a challenging job, and I like that. Not knowing if a case will run smoothly or turn sour and trying to be ready for the unexpected. I have worked the floor too, but found the OR to be my niche.

I hope this helps you and wish you good luck!

RacheloneRN · Feb 19, 2008

I'm a new OR intern too, I am also the type of person who is too hard on myself. The OR is a totally different type of place. I see nurses come who have been in the OR for 10 years come in with the wrong things all the time too. I think one of the big differences between a new and an experienced OR nurse is that the new nurses are timid and afraid to make mistakes, and experienced nurses are able to quickly correct their mistakes.

I don't know if this was any help, but as a new OR nurse, I understand how you feel, I think if you don't feel comfortable alone, you should ask to have a preceptor for a little longer, until you feel you can safely practice alone.

Good luck.

Squaw · Feb 21, 2008

Sorry to smile at your post but I have felt this way so many times. I have been in the OR for about 14 months but because I am the superuser for the OR Electronical chart I have only been in the rooms for about 7 months. I am finally feeling comfortable but I find that I am improving and still learning every day. Don't give up just take time at the end of the day to review what it is that you did both good and bad for the day's events. Good Luck!!! (message me if you want to chat)