Getting Early Experience

Those are good questions, Flea... I was similarly intrigued by the OR after my first experience there (I'm 1st semester,too). Unfortunately, I have no answers for you, but I look forward to reading your replies. Good luck to you!

As you know most places want 1 to 2 years experience before they will even talk to you. There are hospitals around the country that have programs that will give you training in the OR and all you give them back is 1 to 2 years work. In California there are a few places and I don't know about the rest of the country. The hospital that I work at, going on 28 years, has the reputation of trining it's own. I have been lucky in that respect that I was trained from scratch. We haven't hired an experienced nurse in years and in fact we just hired a newbie with no OR experience and he starts next week. It is very hard to find hospitals that will train you because they don't have the resources to do so. Look around and if you have the ability to travel to another location, do so if the OR is the choice for you. Good luck, Mike

I was just offered a job at a level 1 trauma center that trains it's own nurses, including new grads. I've been out of nursing 10 years and previously did NICU. I did not have to make a commitment to stay after training. There is also another hospital in it's group that recently had an ad for OR nurses that they would fully train through a local community college. If you live near a large city, try a university hospital or level 1 trauma center. When I started nursing, I wanted NICU badly enough that I had to commute 50 min to work, but it was worth it. The jobs are there, but you may have to be willing to relocate if necessary or make a long commute.

I know the hospital that I do some of my clinicals at has what's called an "OR Internship" and they hire new grads as well as RNs from other places in the hospital. The great thing about this internship is that you learn to circulate AND scrub, you have 6 months in the internship and learn 4 services (i.e. Ortho, Neuro, Vascular, Plastics, ENT for example) and then every 4 months you get 2 weeks to get oriented to another service. So, at the end of 2 years you should be oriented to each service.

Another option is to apply for nurse externships, (they often have these during the summer) at UM hospital, you learn to scrub a service and then are a surgical tech for the whole summer, and many students work throughout the year for like, a shift a week. Unfortunately I was in a 20 month accelerated second career program so I wasn't able to do anything like that over the summer, but it would be a great opportunity!

Hope this helps at all.

Thanks to those of you who responded. I appreciate your suggestions! I am glad to know some facilities welcome new grads.

Thanks!

Flea

Our hospital has hired new grads. We also have a nurse extern/intern program. We hire around 4 nursing students each year. They work in the OR around thier nursing school scedule. Sometimes on the weekends or on days they do not have class or clinicals. I had one of the students work with me every saturday for over two years. She scrubbed during the summer months. She graduated this spring and am happy to say that she is one of the best OR RNs on our staff! I wish that this type of program was offered in more places. It affords the students quite an oportunity to lean every aspect of the OR....from sterilization, to anesthesia assistant,to scrubbing, to circulating. Good luck in your persute. :)

I was hired right out of school into the OR at a university-affiliated, level 1 trauma center. The opportunities exist! Best of luck and success to you! :)

I was well on my way to pay my dues as a new grad in Med/Surg for 1-2 yrs. Instead, I am starting out in the OR. I was told that my life experience was a big consideration; 20 years as a hairstylist(can't beat those interpersonal skills). I also have a strong computer background (1yr. certificate ), and I sought the job opening assertively, even though I knew I was going against the odds! If I understand correctly, the odds of a new grad being successful in the OR is 50/50. Best of luck in reaching your dreams!

RN in WI

I was hired in July as a new graduate. I had no previous scrubbing or circulating experience. I have to say...it's definitely an eye opener and an extremely challenging area for me personally as a new graduate. I think having any type of previous experience in the OR, be it as a scrub tech or anything could only help you. Good luck! If it is where you want to be, I know you'll find a way to get there.:)

i did my transistion in nursing school in the or. then i was hired as a float, i worked only in the or and i bid and got a job there after just a few weeks. they train their own here. i have been in the or since graduating. i love working in the or. the only thing is the management in my hospital :angryfire ! back when i was a new nurse, i had 3 months circulating orientation and 3 months scrubbing orientation. now the newbies get all circulating orientation. i think that is a shame. be sure to ask about the response time to being on call. at first it was 20 minutes now it is 30 minutes. so a lot of nurses can't work in the or because they live too far away.

My advice to you is to contiunue your nursing degree plan and upon graduation, start looking for an OR nurse internship program... most of these will be found in larger cities and in the teaching hospitals. I live close to the Houston area and have a RN friend who's daughter was just accepted into a program at a large teaching Hospital. THere are many more, however. Most are approx year long programs and are the very best way to learn. I am the operating room charge nurse in my local hospital... and was lucky enough to get in years ago and trained here. However, those chances are small as the turn over rate in smaller town OR's is not that great. Hopefully, you live in or close to a larger metropolitan area that can offer you the career path you want. Just prior to your graduation date, start actively looking, call the humane resource departments of as many teaching hospitals as possible. persistence pays off... trained OR murses are always in demand.... GOOD LUCK.