Floor to the OR?

[Reaz]

Hi there!

Sorry this is long, but I need a place to vent my thoughts.

So I just graduated nursing school 6 months ago and started on a surgical/tele floor at a big, trauma one level hospital. I know I am new (2 months now) and still have no idea what I am doing, but I do not like it AT ALL. I got the vibe in nursing school that bedside nursing was not for me. If I wanted to do anything at the bedside, I wanted ICU because I am a very detail oriented person who wanted to focus more attention on a smaller number of patients. However, I was talked into starting on a floor by a couple people so I could gain the basic nursing skills first. Well, I do not like it. I feel like I am running around, passing meds constantly, only focusing on tasks that need to get done versus actually understanding the patients story and plan. I think I am a really smart person, but I feel like an idiot on the floor. I make stupid mistakes, I feel like my preceptor thinks I am dumb (she is not encouraging in the slightest), and sometimes I leave feeling so defeated. Again, I know I am new and a lot of my feelings are normal as a new grad, however I really do not see myself enjoying this. I DREAD going to work.

OR is my PASSION. I have always been interested in the OR, since even before school. I don't know what it is, but I walk into an OR and I am just in the greatest mood. The reason I did not do OR nursing was because I immediately gravitated towards CRNA, and you need ICU experience for that, so I was planning to do ICU for 2-3 years, then go to school. However, I really do not even know if I want to do any bedside nursing at this point. The thought of staying at the bedside for that long makes me sad. The long hours, the weekends, the holidays, that really does bother me with bedside nursing too. I enjoy having every full weekend to myself to decompress from work, to see my friends/family, and forget about all that stress, and then relive it again during the normal work hours like everyone else does. In Chicago as a bedside nurse, you work every other weekend, every other holiday, thats it. The only thing that was pushing me towards CRNA was the money, and at this point, I have learned first hand that my happiness is more important than money. So now I am thinking about being an OR nurse. One. Patient. At. A time. Heck yes. I feel like you are a part of a team putting in all of your effort to focus on one patient at a time, and I love that. I know there is call, but depending on what the call schedule is like, I can probably deal with it. A M-F job with occasional weekends on call sounds like a dream to me.

My concern- I have heard that OR nursing is boring or just all documentation. Is this true?

Can you please tell me your experiences while working in the OR, or making the transition from the floor to the OR? Also, what is your call schedule like? I know all are different, but I want to get an idea as to what it can be. I live in Chicago, so a lot of big trauma 1 teaching hospitals, which means probably more call shifts.

Last thing. Is it too soon to transfer from the floor to the OR in the same hospital after only 6 months? I know it isn't that much experience, but I am so excited when I think about being in the OR. Waiting a year will be very hard.

[INFP-tj]

Hi! Brand new here. I hope I’m not infringing on the other person’s thread?? It was a great question and mine is similar because I feel the same as she does but...

I’ve been an LVN for a long time hesitating to get my RN because I’ve never liked any of my jobs from SNF, LTAC to Home Health. When I worked at an LTAC the OR staff was way nicer than most of the other staff and way happier! I love the idea of having one patient at a time. I hate how the floor makes you feel stupid because it is so chaotic, you are bound to forget something and can’t ever give your patients the time they deserve. I don’t like juggling tons of patients. I’m also very reserved until I feel comfortable around co-workers. I love the idea of working in a smaller team oriented group of people rather than with tons of different with many competing to look better than the other and with a dog eat dog attitude.

I feel like getting my RN and getting into the OR is the only way I’d want to even stay in nursing at this point. I’ve been told I’m not aggressive enough to be a nurse and too nice. I can’t disagree, I have a difficult time standing up for myself and with conflict. I’ve never understood how terrible some nurses treat others. So should I even bother? I would love to hear what you all think...Will I just be unhappy anywhere I go?

[FurBabyMom, MSN, RN]

2 hours ago, INFP-tj said:

Hi! Brand new here. I hope I’m not infringing on the other person’s thread?? It was a great question and mine is similar because I feel the same as she does but...

I’ve been an LVN for a long time hesitating to get my RN because I’ve never liked any of my jobs from SNF, LTAC to Home Health. When I worked at an LTAC the OR staff was way nicer than most of the other staff and way happier! I love the idea of having one patient at a time. I hate how the floor makes you feel stupid because it is so chaotic, you are bound to forget something and can’t ever give your patients the time they deserve. I don’t like juggling tons of patients. I’m also very reserved until I feel comfortable around co-workers. I love the idea of working in a smaller team oriented group of people rather than with tons of different with many competing to look better than the other and with a dog eat dog attitude.

I feel like getting my RN and getting into the OR is the only way I’d want to even stay in nursing at this point. I’ve been told I’m not aggressive enough to be a nurse and too nice. I can’t disagree, I have a difficult time standing up for myself and with conflict. I’ve never understood how terrible some nurses treat others. So should I even bother? I would love to hear what you all think...Will I just be unhappy anywhere I go?

Welcome!

Don't let yourself not do or not try to do something because of someone else's assessment of you. Especially something like conflict management. That can be learned - there are lots of classes, tricks and tools surrounding communication. Everyone starts somewhere with that... There are some communication skills taught in most pre-licensure (RN) programs, regardless of associates or bachelor's degree. Most hospitals and health care systems have plenty of offerings surrounding this topic.

I'm an introvert (very much so) although my close coworkers do not see that side of me always anymore. Familiarity definitely helps too.

There are definitely interpersonal dynamics in the OR, and in some ways they are (sometimes, in some facilities) worse than elsewhere in health care. I say that because in some ways the "dysfunctional" folks can sometimes hide and hang out until retirement in the OR - there are not patient complaints to support disciplinary action, and the OR has historically been viewed as "off stage" (though this is changing!). Some surgeons and anesthesiologists (and some CRNAs even) have complexes about their "superiority". I've seen the complex from med students too... I work somewhere where, for the most part, everyone has to play nice in the sandbox, and the service line I work most with does not allow their students to be trolls to the staff. The good staff and providers recognize that it essentially takes a village and they play well with others.

I like having one patient at a time, but there is a difference between having one patient at a time for a six, eight or twelve hour case and having one patient at a time for six one hour cases. There are some logistics, planning, etc., we consider. Also, I work in a trauma center, so sometimes our schedule is "fluid" at best (but that's the nature of working where I work).

[Reaz, BSN]

On 7/13/2019 at 7:38 AM, INFP-tj said:

Hi! Brand new here. I hope I’m not infringing on the other person’s thread?? It was a great question and mine is similar because I feel the same as she does but...

I’ve been an LVN for a long time hesitating to get my RN because I’ve never liked any of my jobs from SNF, LTAC to Home Health. When I worked at an LTAC the OR staff was way nicer than most of the other staff and way happier! I love the idea of having one patient at a time. I hate how the floor makes you feel stupid because it is so chaotic, you are bound to forget something and can’t ever give your patients the time they deserve. I don’t like juggling tons of patients. I’m also very reserved until I feel comfortable around co-workers. I love the idea of working in a smaller team oriented group of people rather than with tons of different with many competing to look better than the other and with a dog eat dog attitude.

I feel like getting my RN and getting into the OR is the only way I’d want to even stay in nursing at this point. I’ve been told I’m not aggressive enough to be a nurse and too nice. I can’t disagree, I have a difficult time standing up for myself and with conflict. I’ve never understood how terrible some nurses treat others. So should I even bother? I would love to hear what you all think...Will I just be unhappy anywhere I go?

I think you should try the OR! It sounds like you’re own of those people who is just not interested in floor nursing, and trust me, there are a lot of them. I’ve been working for only 3 months now and I’ve talk to so many young nurses who are also considering new jobs because they are dissatisfied with their bedside nursing jobs. However, there are also many many nurses who love the floor and talk negatively about OR. Everyone has their own interests and that’s fine. I think for me too that if I didn’t have such a strong passion for the OR, then I would do something else besides nursing. I’m already thinking about going to PA SCHOOL, so there’s that...but now I’m on my journey to finding OR positions that will hire me after such a short period of time working. I may have to just suck it up and wait 6 months-year and try transferring within my hospital system. Good luck!! Also side note- you will deal with a lot of strong personalities in the OR. So even though there will be no mean patients/family members/other stressed nurses, there will be surgeons!! That you can just blame it on the fact that their stressed and in a high pressure situation though versus it being a personal thing.

[Xance]

This thread has seemingly become a thread to pick OR nurses brains for advice about the OR so I will chime in with my own spin on that question. I am technically a 'new-grad' RN, but my experience is definitely non-standard. I mostly have experience in field medicine in the Navy, and now I work on ships as an RN so I remain independent, and have worked on ships as an RN for about 7 months now. I can't see myself going from an environment where I operate independently into one where I am but one of many bedside nurses and that type of work and environment do not interest me. Like some of the posters, I was interested in the ER and ICU but hearing that the ICU is pretty much a higher acuity bedside position so I'm losing interest in that. I have read this thread and others talking very highly about the OR and I like the singular patient at a time as out on the ship I only deal with one patient at a time so multiple patients would bog me down as I'm used to giving only one person my attention at a time.

My question is this; given my brief history and interests I mentioned, in any OR RN's opinion would that be somewhere I might enjoy? I am not interested in CRNA as my ship job pays more than that and I wouldn't care to do a job I do not like. I want to work as an RN when I'm off the ship rotation and jumping into an OR does perk my interest. The OP started this thread as going from the floor to the OR, well I would be going from the sea to the OR (potentially) lol.

[Ljrf09]

I just came across this post. What did you end up doing in the end? Just curious!

[Reaz, BSN]

Ljrf09 said:

I just came across this post. What did you end up doing in the end? Just curious!

I work as a clinical specialist for a medical device company now! I am in the EP lab with doctors, helping them implant pacemakers/ICDs. I love it!