Nursing Student Wondering About O.R.

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Hi, I am a student curious about OR nursing. I will be starting my nursing classes in May, but I was just wondering if any OR nurses would be kind enough to let us know what it entails, and if you recommend the OR for new grads??? Thanks for your input!!

just bumping for some of the known OR nurses like marielpn and stevierae to see.

I would highly suggest spending a day shadowing an RN in the OR for the day. You will get much more insight than any of us can give you here. Days can vary, temperments can vary, no two days are ever the same. And that goes for whether you are working in a private clinic with plastic surgeons or open heart surgery. No two days are alike on the med-surg floors, either.

Unfortunately, most nursing programs today spend very little time in the OR. My best suggestion is to try and spend a day or two visiting a few different types of facilities.

Good luck with your schooling............. :wink2:

Specializes in Med-Surg.

isn't there an OR specialty forum here that you could post this in to get the input of nurses who work there on a regular basis?

I have worked OR on a regular basis for over 20 years. :wink2:

For my transition experience I had a 96 hour internship in an OR and I loved it! It's a completely different realm and I decided that I want to keep honing my other nursing skills right out of school, but I may find myself back there later on.

Some hospitals over the summer will train you to be a surgical tech, where you learn to scrub cases. Check it out. A lot of nursing students do that and hire into the OR and already intimately know a few services!

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
I would highly suggest spending a day shadowing an RN in the OR for the day. You will get much more insight than any of us can give you here. Days can vary, temperments can vary, no two days are ever the same. And that goes for whether you are working in a private clinic with plastic surgeons or open heart surgery. No two days are alike on the med-surg floors, either.

Unfortunately, most nursing programs today spend very little time in the OR. My best suggestion is to try and spend a day or two visiting a few different types of facilities.

Good luck with your schooling............. :wink2:

And if you contact the OR supervisor, they might arrange it so that you can observe. We've has a few students that did this for extra time in the OR.

As for recommending it for new grads, i think it really depends on the OR. Some hire new grads, some don't. I went to the OR right after graduation, and have no regrets. :)

In my second quarter of nursing school we were able to spend 2 days in the OR. I loved it! I know it's not the type of information you were looking for, but just thought I'd share. I always thought I wanted to go into OB, but now I'm rethinking that decision.

The cool thing about OB is that you can be the nurse on C-sections at some hospitals so you can technically do both! That's the coolest thing about nursing, actually, that you can move around and there is a professional understanding that it is heathy and beneficial to the nurse to move around into different areas...so, essentially, you don't have to make any choices!

I think that working in the OR is great, but I don't know if I would recommend it straight out of nursing school. I feel that working on a nursing unit for 1-2 years prior to OR training helps you develop critical thinking skills. I worked on an ortho unit before I went to the OR and I'm so glad that I had the experience to witness and participate in a code. It made me better prepared in the OR. Sometimes the situations are very stressful and the anesthesiologists and surgeons can be very short with the room staff. Everyone is different, however, and you may feel comfortable with that type of situation. Whatever you decide to do, good luck!! :)

Specializes in surgical, emergency.

A student in OR?? SURE!!, why not!!!

In our OR, the students really are not allowed to do anything but watch, but I think we try to give the students a good look at what we do and why, which I think is important.

For the first time, I am going to have a senior student working with me for her transitions class. 140 hours I think. The best part is that she will be getting some hands on.....preps, foley's and IV's (oh my!!)

I'll try to let you all know how it's going as the days go on.

Frankly.....I'm not real sure about fresh new grads coming to work in the OR.

Never say never of course.....and the OR is ALWAYS looking for good nurses, but I'm not sure that's the place for a brand new nurse.

I pride myself in my floor expericence, before going to surgery. I think that some of my decision making is based on those years. I think too...that it's easier for me to recieve and give report to the floor, knowing where I came from.

My daughter is about to graduate from RN school.. :balloons: , and while I think she could eventually make a great OR nurse, I think she should work the floors/ICU/ED to get some more experience first.

But where I work,,students are always welcomed!!!

Mike

Specializes in Med-Surg.
I have worked OR on a regular basis for over 20 years. :wink2:

LOL, I simply meant that she might have better luck getting lots of input if it were posted in a special forum for OR nurses rather than a forum frequented more by students :D

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