RN vs Surgical Technologist

Junebugfairy · Sep 17, 2009

even as a surgical tech you will have to go through the normal 2 year adn programs, although simply having experience as a surg tech could add points to your application.

i would guess that the big fuss is this.. for those of us who really want to be nurses, being a surgical tech is not enough. it does not offer what we desire as far as autonomy, patient care, etc..

a surgical tech is not a nurse, and i have wanted to be a nurse since i was 5, so a surgical tech program would just not cut it for me.

flightnurse2b, LPN · Sep 17, 2009

your best bet to transition quicker to an RN would be to go the LPN route. you'll already be a nurse that way and have a strong foundation in nursing care and knowledge. a surgical tech program is a completely different area and there are no surgical tech-RN bridge programs that i know of (i used to live in the durham area) so you are still looking at the 2 year ADN program.

SunnyAndrsn · Sep 17, 2009

your best bet to transition quicker to an RN would be to go the LPN route. you'll already be a nurse that way and have a strong foundation in nursing care and knowledge. a surgical tech program is a completely different area and there are no surgical tech-RN bridge programs that i know of (i used to live in the durham area) so you are still looking at the 2 year ADN program.

I agree with this. I know you've already said you don't want to be an LPN and the schools are hard to get into in your area, however if you do eventually want to be an RN, get on the wait list now, regardless of what your current career path is. Find out if there are any pre-reqs that you can take through your current school.

I'm not sure what the RN vs. Surg. tech fuss is about either...can you elaborate a bit?

CharlieT · Sep 17, 2009

An RN is not a surg tech and a surg tech is not an RN. Different skill sets. Surg tech school does not take as long and therefore does not pay as well as the RN. I don't understand what you mean by the RN vs. tech thing. Both are trained, professional, respectable members of the health care team, just different. Once you have the LPN, it is a quicker transition to RN(one year vs. two). If you are dead set against the LPN, then the surg tech will give you some experience in the health care field, but you will still be about two years away from the RN. The surg tech or the LPN will give you the chance to make a few $$ while building resume, and perhaps some extra money towards school. I also recommend that you get in touch with the RN program of your choice and find out what general education classes that you can go ahead and take while waiting to take nursing classes. It is possible that you could take some higher gen. ed. classes than your surg tech program requires in order to use them for both the surg tech program and the RN program. These are classes like biology, chemistry, anatomy, math, computers, etc. I went ahead and took a higher biology(bio101 vs.bio100) class than required for my RN, and later I can use it towards my BSN. Any courses that you have under your belt will remove some of your workload when you start nursing classes, which is a GOOD thing. Good luck with your educational goals.

Crux1024 · Sep 17, 2009

I really want to work in the medical field but I do not want to start out as a CNA or LPN. Can someone please give me some feedback on how I should transition here and also what the big fuss is about?
Thanks!

Big fuss as in? Arguing or Power trips?

Its the same thing you'll find in any work place. Coworkers irking each other and sometimes stepping on toes. Not so much a big fuss as it is just personal issues.

As someone said, an RN is not a ST and an ST is not an RN. If your ultimate goal is RN then LPN would be the easiest route. HOWEVER, I was an ST for 6.5 years before graduating RN school and I must say, it was an awesome experience in the OR, Ive gotten to do things people can only dream about (or things that make people nauseaous).

Even now as an RN, my ST experience was/is very valuable and it made a difference that my NS teachers noticed (the confidence, and willingness to do "technical" procedures, as well as my knowledge with wounds, dressings and colostomies among other things). Also, ST programs are also sometimes not as long as an RN program (theyre not always 2 yrs..my ST program was just 11 months, which was the big draw for me when I was 19.) The LPN's that were in the transition course, also had perks to their practice such as comfort level with direct patient care and other skills depending on their general area of practice.

The issue with a technical/votech ST school is that your general ed credits will most likely NOt transfer over. I had to redo all classes once in NS.

Either way, BOTH have wonderful experience, with LPN being the quicker way, but ST being the more scenic!! (IMHO)

Good Luck.

DoGoodThenGo · Sep 19, 2009

What is the big deal when it comes to RN's and Surgical Technologist? I have heard many stories about RN's vs. Surg Techs and vice versa that did not seem so pleasant. I am currently in a Surg Tech program but ultimately I want to transition into an RN. I chose the Surg Tech program because it seemed easier to get into and there was no waiting list. There are no RN programs in my area that would allow me to get into without a waiting list and would take longer than 2 years to complete,except for Watts School of Nursing( heard they were very selective)and they have a waiting list as well. So I guess I will stick with the Surg Tech program for now.
I really want to work in the medical field but I do not want to start out as a CNA or LPN. Can someone please give me some feedback on how I should transition here and also what the big fuss is about?
Thanks!

One does not "transition" from being a surgical tech to an RN anymore than a nursing assistant moves from one to the other. Should you become a ST and then decide to go on to become a RN, your previous experiences and education will help in the same way it helps CNA's but you do not get any extra Brownie points or credits. In some hosptials surgical techs only act as "scrub nurses", while only RNs can be circulating nurses. Indeed some functions of a circulating nurse require one to have a RN license.If there is any "tension" or what not you have seen, heard of,and or felt between scrub techs and RNs it could be out of the fact many hospitals are trying to replace an all RN OR staff with techs in certian functions. Just for the record, scrub techs have been around in one form or another since about the time of WWII. Due to the shortage of nurses at that time "medics" as they were then known were given addtional training and brought in to mainly to circulate, and also to scrub. As the years went on gradually RNs took over circulating totally, and STs only scrubbed. There is a very real problem with using scrub techs in hosptials as scrub nurses, and leaving only RNs to circulate. Many well seasoned OR nurses, who did both roles are reaching retirement age and or retiring. With them goes a great source of information and potential training for future OR nurses who may never get a chance to scrub in. AORN recommends "young" OR nurses get in there and scrub now and then.You can find out more at the AORN's website.

Crux1024 · Sep 19, 2009

There is a very real problem with using scrub techs in hosptials as scrub nurses, and leaving only RNs to circulate. Many well seasoned OR nurses, who did both roles are reaching retirement age and or retiring. With them goes a great source of information and potential training for future OR nurses who may never get a chance to scrub in. AORN recommends "young" OR nurses get in there and scrub now and then.You can find out more at the AORN's website.

Im sorry...the problem is what exactly?

ST's get as much schooling as nurses in many schools across the country. Many nursing programs dont even get OR time, or its a few days @ most. Nurses scrubbing "now and then" are no where near as trained or as knowledeable as an ST who has been in their position for years. Who do you think trains nurses as they come through externships or when they get (@ my hosp. anyways) their 1 week of scrubbing through an OR residency program? The ST's. Nurses circulate d/t the legal liabilitiies regarding paperwork, imo. Otherwise, an ST could function as a circulator with no problem. The patient monitoring is done by the CRNA/Anesthesiologist who will call the shots if it comes down to a code.

Your entire post had a haughty undertone. And people wonder why so many "Unlicensed Assistive Personnel" (What AORN likes to call ST's despite the extensive, focused training) have an issues with nurses who have attitudes such as yourself.

If I somehow misread/misinterpreted what you wrote, im sorry, It could be that its 4am and Im tired of doing these chart checks. :yawn: