I got a job! *happy dance*

[ChristineAdrianaRN, BSN, RN]

I wrote this post, and I got that job (not the one in the original post, but the pediatric job)!

I'm stoked.

It is for both circulator and scrub and the orientation is a year (!!!) and I won't have any one preceptor. They just match me up with who's on that day. I think this will be good in a lot of ways because I will learn different perspectives. But I have a feeling it will be crazy at first. All I can do is absorb as much as I can, and ask questions and try not to annoy them with too many of them (maybe write them down to ask the educator later or something so as to not overwhelm the nurse on the job). However, this is a teaching hospital, and one of the only ones that takes experienced nurses without OR experience and new grads, so they are used to teaching. That is good.

I specifically asked about Periop 101 and the educator said that she's training a girl on it now and the girl didn't feel like it was helpful (apparently because there's a lot of observation, and she'd rather spend that time learning hands-on). I would still like to take Periop 101 because I think it would help me...I learn well with lecture and taking notes and the like, but now I'm not so sure. The educator said if I wanted to take it, they'd spring the money for it ($1200, eeep), but with a price tag like that, I want to make sure it's worth it. What was your experience with it?

I'm definitely going to buy a couple notebooks (one to just scribble down information as they are rambling it off and teaching it to me, and another to make an organized notebook of each case - a la canesdukegirl's advice =]).

Silly question, but, uh, do you need your stethoscope?? My dad just bought me a really nice Littmann cardiology scope for my birthday and got it engraved and everything, sucks if I will have no need for it. =(

I'm always the one with the cute scrub tops and fancy jewelry (they don't seem to be too strict on my floor) but I realize that will all go away with this job. =( So I'm looking online at cute scrub hats/bouffants. LOL. The girls at the OR all had cute shoes (most them somehow complemented the scrub color they had to wear) but I love my Danskos, so the hat is all I got! Does long hair (nipple length, hehe, and thick) fit up in the surgical caps, or do I have to wear the bouffant thingy? Any websites that sell them or anything (scrubs and beyond does not) shoot them my way. =] The OR scrubs are purple. FAVORITECOLORYESSSS.

I love how these are the things I'm thinking about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thinking seriously about the job too - my biggest fear is that I'm going to miss that direct patient care/seeing them when they are awake. The OR manager brought that up specifically in the interview, and yeah, I had already thought about that. I think I will miss that a bit. But there are downsides and upsides to every job (for example, there are some patients I would rather be sedated!). And the upsides definitely outweigh the downsides with this job, so I am going to stay positive.

Any other advice you want to shoot the newbie would always be appreciated. =]

[UVAnurse9]

Congrats! You sound just like me...I'm going to be starting the same kind of job (new to the OR / new grad) in August. I'm really excited about the big stuff (learning a bunch of new skills/info/procedures) as well as the small stuff (cute scrub caps...ps - etsy.com has cute ones :)). I hope you have a great experience!...when do you start?

[ChristineAdrianaRN, BSN, RN]

Thanks, you too! I start July 11. *gasp* etsy.com DOES have cute ones...thanks!

[Guest717236]

:ancong!:

Congratulations to both of you on your new OR jobs!

Keep us posted, would love to hear about your journey in

the OR specialty!

[SkipBeat]

Congratulations!! I also start in July, but I will be going through a peri-op 101 course. I hope we can compare notes on our 1st year of training. Also from what I've seen posted before I don't think you will need the stethoscope. Sorry. I think anesthesia handles the assessment and even report to the next department. I say frame that baby and put it over your mantle. lol

[daVinciNurse]

Congratulations!! If I may suggest one thing....please ask your educator if for the first month or so you can be paired with just one (or 2) nurses, to learn the basics of how things flow in the OR....getting a pt to the OR, positioned, starting a case, ending a case, helping anesthesia, transferring pt into PACU, and of course learning the ropes with documentation--is it paper? or computer? If you will be on orientation a full year (I had a 9-12 month window of orientation--finished in about 10.5 months), there will be time to learn the specialty specific stuff once you have the basics under control. But you will find every nurse does thing a bit differently, for the same end result. So if you can work primarily with one or two nurses and really feel good about the flow of things, then you can focus on specialty stuff. Others on here may disagree, but I found new OR nurses seemed to do better when they had some consistency up front to learn the basics. Once you know the basics, you will need to be paired with many nurses to learn all the specialties. Good luck!

[nicenrse]

Thanks, you too! I start July 11. *gasp* etsy.com DOES have cute ones...thanks!

OMG I start my OR orientation July 11th also!!!!! Im so excited and nervous! my orientation will be 6 months! Good luck to all of us OR newbies!!!!!:clpty:

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Congrats girl! You won't regret going into OR nursing. Sorry to say that the steth is not used at all by the nurses in the OR. Anesthesia does all of that.

I must warn you that the first couple of months are going to be difficult. Read up on sterile technique using Berry and Kohn's Operating Room Technique. You will find a wealth of information in this text. Your educator should have a text available to you.

It is also a good idea to join AORN so that you can read the journals. It is VERY helpful. If you choose to go on and get your CNOR certification, being a member cuts the cost of the exam heavily.

So happy for you!

[Scrubby]

Congrats on getting into such an awesome specialty.

I have long hair as well and I wear Greenscrubs Super tie caps. Lots to choose from their website and they aren't that bouffant type.

I'd recommend the periop course because it will help you learn the basics. I'm not from the US but we have similar courses here in Australia for introducing perioperative nursing. I've seen a lot of new grads struggle in the OR when they haven't done a periop course because they want to learn all the technical stuff on scrubbing for major cases, but don't know basic stuff.

I also found that Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery was a great reference book during my first for year as an OR nurse and even now I still refer to it if I'm unfamiliar with a procedure.

Good luck with it all :)

[redraider1977]

New grad starting internship Monday and PSYCHED!!!!!!!

[NurseSnarky]

Congratulations!

I agree...Alexander's is a good reference and a great help. Kimkaps.com has the cutest hats. Danskos are the best IMHO for the OR. Looking cute will fade into the background before you know it though...lol! And buy some compression socks (Nursemates are my favorite). I don't like hose or hose like socks although some will wear the hose like socks with regular socks. But buy something nonetheless...you'll need it!

I also agree to request someone to be your preceptor in the beginning and not rotate around. For one each person doesn't know what you're learned so far and you take more time IMO just answering whether you've learned this or that from so and so. I was shuffled around where I work now, but they tried to keep it to two (sometimes three) different people. And even then I was with the same person for three to four days in a row...so that helped.