From Med/surg to OR?

[moliuchick, RN]

Hi, I am a new grad and will start my Med/surg internship in September. I always have my mind set on OR nursing but the hospital that I applied for does not have an OR position opened for new grad.

My question is will it be difficult for a 2-yr experience Med/surg nurse (I am planning to commit at least 2 year on the med/surg floor) to be hired as a OR intern? Do they usually hire the ICU nurses first before considering the Med/Surg nurses?

My med/surg floor as I was told have a lot of post surgery patient and I will need to do a lot of pain management. Do you think this experience will help with the OR application in the future?

Thanks.:uhoh21:

[suzanne4, RN]

Having experience in other areas doesn't suggest that one area will be better than another. Working two years on the floor will not realy make a difference once you go to the OR. Many things are quite different, it is a complete skill set of its own.

Pain management in the OR is handled by anesthesia, unless it is a case where they are doing procedural sedation and anesthesia staff is not used.

But this is a different type of pain management than is done on the floors. It requires constant monitoring, etc.

[grimmy, RN]

there are a few topic headings that have been posted previously that address your question. yes, it definitely is possible to make the transition from med/surg to the or, but my best advice is to find a hospital with a program dedicated to that end. or is an entirely different ballgame. sure, the foundation is the same, but the technical know-how is ratcheted up several notches, and the learning curve is extremely steep. where i work we have an rn to or program and a new grad to or program. i have heard from the rn's that the or is paced very fast, and the relationships with team members take on an importance they never anticipated. of course, your mileage may vary depending upon facility. we are a very large teaching facility. yes - you can do it - just make sure you're going to get the best education to the or you can find.

[shodobe]

I have always had an opinion that having a few years in any direct care area is a plus for working in the OR. There are alot that still think anyone fresh out of school can go into the OR without a problem. I strongly disagree. I can't count enough times over 28 years where you could pick out a new grad over a seasoned, not necessarily in the OR, nurse. There are too many little things that experience picks up that has nothing to do with the OR. Now, after saying that, I do agree that there are newbies that would do just fine in the OR without previous floor nursing, but these are far and few between. I would never discourage anyone from following their dream, especially if given the oppurtunity to do so. It is very, very hard to find somewhere that will train you from scratch save for the larger facilities that have programs designed for this. Unfortunately these are also far and few. I woul go for it and at every oppurtunity apply for the OR position everytime it comes up. I remember a few years ago I had looked at working closer to home at a local hospital onl to be told that the OR nurses there usually quit when their funeral was over! They stay a very long time! Good luck. Mike

[moliuchick, RN]

I have always had an opinion that having a few years in any direct care area is a plus for working in the OR. There are alot that still think anyone fresh out of school can go into the OR without a problem. I strongly disagree. I can't count enough times over 28 years where you could pick out a new grad over a seasoned, not necessarily in the OR, nurse. There are too many little things that experience picks up that has nothing to do with the OR. Now, after saying that, I do agree that there are newbies that would do just fine in the OR without previous floor nursing, but these are far and few between. I would never discourage anyone from following their dream, especially if given the oppurtunity to do so. It is very, very hard to find somewhere that will train you from scratch save for the larger facilities that have programs designed for this. Unfortunately these are also far and few. I woul go for it and at every oppurtunity apply for the OR position everytime it comes up. I remember a few years ago I had looked at working closer to home at a local hospital onl to be told that the OR nurses there usually quit when their funeral was over! They stay a very long time! Good luck. Mike

Thank you Mike for your encouragement. I feel better working in Med/surg now and I will probably apply for a bigger hospital when I work on the med/surg floor for 2 years. I know some really good hospitals that they have OR internships.

Thanks for you information again.