interested in periop/OR nursing?

shortsteph12 · Feb 22, 2004

I really enjoyed my experience in the operating room, we only got 2 days but I had an oppurtunity to watch 5 surgeries. The DR's seem to respect the operating room nurses. I am not sure what I want to do, I am interested in LD but the operating room would be interesting also. I dont graduate till next May so I want to see how my other clinicals go

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 22, 2004

I've spent a couple of days in the OR and fell in love with it.

sox04 · Feb 23, 2004

Christy,

I read your post and feel exactly the same way. I will also be graduating in May, and I really want to do OR. I am also trying to decide if I need to med-surg first. It seems like every person I talk to tells me exactly the opposite of what the last person told me. So it seems like I change my mind every day. I think right now I am going with the last piece of advice that I got, which was "How many operating rooms are there in a hospital? How many med-surg floors are there? So basically, it seems that it would be less often that we would be given a job offer for OR than for a med surg floor, and then if OR isnt for us, then switch, otherwise, we'll be happy and who cares about working on a floor? Also, the nurses I was talking to at clinical on thursday were saying that if we know what we want to do, and don't want to work on a floor we will be miserable doing it. So I think I've decided I'm just going to skip med-surg, and if I decide afterwards that I need that experience, then it's not like I won't be able to find a job doing that. I also wish that we had an OR rotation in clinical. I was in the CVOR last week as a part of our critical care roatation and I got to watch open heart surgery! It was so cool! Well, I'd be interested to hear what you decide on! :)

maire, ASN, RN · Feb 23, 2004

If anything was going to compete with my love for mother-baby nursing, it would be the OR! My first day in there I was HOOKED.

However, unless my dream job happens to fall in my lap, I plan on doing some med-surg time after graduation. I actually like med-surg. I must be one of the weird ones. :)

christySN · Feb 23, 2004

What you said makes so much sense. If I have the opportunity to do the Periop Internship I should go for it because there will be med/surg jobs available if the OR does not work out. Thanks for your insight!

RNKITTY04 · Feb 23, 2004

I graduate this August and am going directly into the OR. I have been an OR tech for the past 10 years and this is definatly my comfort zone. The only negative thing about going directly into the OR from school is I do think you will eventually lose some of your skills and if you want to transfer out of the OR someday it might be a little more difficult. But Im in it for life, the OR is awesome, especially if your not big on patient/family contact (me me me) :rotfl: Good luck to all.

christySN · Feb 23, 2004

The periop RN internship program consists of 2 weeks of theory and basic skills, one month clinical in preop, one month clinical in OR, one month clinical post-op (PACU) then you choose your area of interest and receive 3 months of orientation with a preceptor in that area. During this time your paid the same as any other new RN. Does sound similar to your training programs? Is this enough training to start working and prepare you to take call?

mitchsmom · Feb 23, 2004

I'm also interested in OR. I think if anything happened to my plans of L&D and nurse-midwife (who often acts as first assists in surgery, at least in some areas I know) I would consider OR. I have observed a couple of c-sections but that's it so far.

AmyLiz · Feb 24, 2004

I'm interested in the OR as well. Haven't yet started my nursing program, so that may change, but the OR was always one of my interests. That & ICU.