How do you get a job that requires experience if you don't have experience?

[Megsd]

This is kind of a silly question. I am still in nursing school but exploring my career options. One area that interests me is the OR. I have plans over my winter break to observe in the OR if possible to get a better idea of what nurses do there.

Every so often I browse the open positions at the local hospital I will be working for (I'm in a stipend program with them so I owe them two years of employment anyway) just to see what's available. I currently see 2 openings in the OR. But the job description says "must have at least 1 year OR experience."

So... if it takes OR experience to get a job in the OR, how do you actually get OR experience? This seems kind of like a catch 22.

Any clarification would be appreciated. :) Thanks!

[RNperdiem, RN]

Go ahead and apply for OR. See if you can find what is available for preceptorship at your hospital. If you are in a big teaching hospital, there might be the option to train new grads. Some other hospitals run their nursing education departments on a shoestring-they simply don't hire new grads for specialty positions.

The only other reason I can think of is maybe the OR has just hired a great many new grads, and prefer to hire some experienced nurses to keep some senior nurses in the staffing mix.

[llg, PhD, RN]

If you still think OR may be for you after you have done your student experience there ... I strongly recommend scheduling a meeting with the manager there (or someone else "in the know") for some career advice. They will be able to tell you the best path towards an OR career in your particular area of the country.

For example: At my hospital, they run a 6 month training program for new OR nurses twice each year. In between those starting dates, they only hire people with previous OR experience. There may be a similar situation in your area. The only way you will find out if something like that is the case is to ask the people who actually know that hospital.

[madisonwirn]

With a nursing shortage sometimes they may overlook the experience when you apply! It doesn't hurt you to apply!!

[mamason]

This is kind of a silly question. I am still in nursing school but exploring my career options. One area that interests me is the OR. I have plans over my winter break to observe in the OR if possible to get a better idea of what nurses do there.

Every so often I browse the open positions at the local hospital I will be working for (I'm in a stipend program with them so I owe them two years of employment anyway) just to see what's available. I currently see 2 openings in the OR. But the job description says "must have at least 1 year OR experience."

So... if it takes OR experience to get a job in the OR, how do you actually get OR experience? This seems kind of like a catch 22.

Any clarification would be appreciated. :) Thanks!

You go in and interview and ask if they are willing to train you. Most places will.

[madisonwirn]

It actually would be helpful if you worked in another position after graduation. You need to learn the basics before going into a specality like the or. This is probably not what you want to hear but you will have plenty of time to move to the OR if you want later!

[short1978]

I have seen that with many departments. Frustrating I know....hopefully the dept at the hospital you want to work at can give you some pointers or tips on how to get some experience possibly through an internship or externship while you are still in school.