HELP! New Grad hired in OR!

[rnmm18]

Hello all nurses!!

I just graduated from nursing school in April and I just got hired as a new grad in the OR!! I know that there is a big learning curve but I'm determined to work ten times harder to make sure I can keep up and be the best nurse I can be. The job position I got hired under is PreOP and PACU nursing. The hospital I'll be working at requires you to learn all the positions a nurse can work in the OR; PreOP, PACU, Scrub nurse, circulator, etc.

If anyone could please give me some advice, things to know such as common medications, procedures, and complications you see working as OR nurse I would appreciate it more than you. If you have any suggestions on books to read to better my education that is specific for the OR please let me know as well. I've tried reading a lot of forums on here. I see for the PACU it's a lot about airway and pain management. What kind of procedures do you do in your hospital to maintain and stabilize airway? What is your protocol for pain management and is it always controlled? For PreOP we do phone interviews before surgery a week in advance. Can you walk me through how you do your phone interview, how you make sure you don't miss anything?

Anything and everthing helps!!

Thank you so much in advance.

[WhoDatWhoDare, BSN, RN]

Did you get hired in to a ASC? I'm in a large level 1 trauma center, and we don't orient or train new RNs into preop or PACU..

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

We don't take new grads into our pre/post unit or PACU. I would bet this is indeed an ASC or office surgery setup. OP, I hope that they will be providing a thorough orientation as OR is indeed one of the specialties that requires a long orientation. They also should train you to one role (pre, PACU, or OR [scrub and circulate make sense to do at the same time]) at a time and give you time to get comfortable before learning another role.

[NurseDusty]

My advice is to fully engage yourself into work this first year because learning all those areas is going to be a lot. I hope they give you a long, good orientation throughout this process because there is a lot to learn in each area and if they aren't thorough then you will only know a little about everything. Before you start you can look up youtube videos on the surgeries you will be working on.

All areas are about patient safety.

Start on the AORN website and good luck!