Confused about OR nursing

[clever gretel]

Hello everybody! I guess I'll just jump right in to my question and hopefully I don't sound stupid, but what exactly does an OR nurse do?

I have been a nurse for 9 months and I work in a level III NICU. I enjoy it but I don't always feel that it is the #1 perfect job for me. I have been thinking about trying something different, just finding my "niche" but I am a little lost as to the specific tasks that nurses perform in certain settings that I am not familiar with. My hospital has some openings in the pediatric OR, and while that sounds interesting to me, I am wondering what I could expect to do.

I spoke with another nurse on my unit who did some OR nursing and he warned me that if I go to OR I will have very little actual patient contact and will basically be fetching things for the surgeon and doing sponge counts. I cant help thinking there is more to it than that. But I don't want to apply unless I know what is involved and whether it sounds like something I would enjoy and that would help me continue to learn and grow as a nurse.

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks sooo much.

[gonetolunch]

I would go to that unit on my own time and talk with the unit manager, nurses working in the peds. OR, etc. You might be able to shadow one of the nurses for a shift or at least a few hours. All departments need nurses so I imagine they would be receptive to your inquiries.

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

I spoke with another nurse on my unit who did some OR nursing and he warned me that if I go to OR I will have very little actual patient contact and will basically be fetching things for the surgeon and doing sponge counts. .

and this is a bad thing????

[nickola]

and this is a bad thing????

I worked OR for 2 yrs, and what I learned about OR nurses is they LIKE the limited contact w/the patients- and for a while I did too. You have to be on your toes, and anticipate the needs of the surgeon/scrub person. You will learn the anatomy like no other specialty, and those who love it, really LOVE it. It's also more technical than bedside nursing, and you only have to focus on one patient at a time. It can be fascinating, and OR nurses are in great demand. There are some great OR courses out there for RNs who want to learn to circulate & scrub. Good luck!!

[nickola]

one of the first cases I saw while taking my OR course was a carotid endarterectomy-- I couldn't eat a french fry for weeks w/out picturing plaque forming......

[clever gretel]

I didn't mean it was a bad thing at all! I guess I just meant that the nurse who was telling me about OR said that I might feel like I was losing my skills. I actually think it sounds very exciting and challenging. I think he just felt that I might miss all the patient contact; IVs, blood draws, etc. I did speak with somebody about shadowing and i will be doing that on Monday! I am excited, I will post my thoughts on here after Monday. Thanks for your replies!

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

Hi clever gretal- i was being sarcastic.For me limited pt care would be an excellent job. It wouldnt bother me at all to lose my skills for that. I dont have the opportunity to go to the or where I work now. So i am stuck on a floor and despise it. I hope you shadowing turns into a great experience- sounds like you will like it! Good Luck!

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

You may not use your med/surg skills all that much...but you will gain plenty others. I actually enjoy interacting with patients and you have to be able to put patients at ease pre-op, but we DON'T have to deal with pushy/obnoxious families, which is fricken' awesome.