Med-surg or OR? Need advice ASAP.

[Axmann, RN, BSN, NREMT-B]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

I just passed my boards in October. I accepted a full-time position on a med-surg floor (solid organ transplant) on nights. Thing is, I was a bit leery because she manager had more than one position on nights and she seemed visibly uncomfortable when I asked her what the turnover rate was.

I want to be in ER eventually, but would also like to do some time in the OR as well, since both interest me and I did clinicals in the OR and liked it.

I was all ready to start in January, and then lo and behold, the hospital where I'd prefer to work at calls to give me an interview for a full-time OR position. Key here is that I like the OR, but I don't like circulating. I prefer scrubbing, and they already have CSTs who do that. I might do a good amount of scrubbing on orientation but I feel like the actual position would probably be mostly circulating.

So I'm in a dilemma. Do I take the "iffy" med-surg position I've already accepted (so I can transfer elsewhere if I want with that experience), or take the OR position which I don't know how the scrubbing/circulating is split up (which might not give me the core nursing experience?)

[SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN]

I would do the OR. Turnover rate is very important since it essentially tells you how happy the nurses are working there. When I interview if a manager seems reluctant to tell me turnover rates, I usually look elsewhere.

[Palliative Care, DNP]

Red flag on the multiple positions open on med/surg & high turn over rate. I would go with the hospital you prefer and OR.

[AliNajaCat]

Yep, OR it is. But be sure the other place will never, never be attractive to you, because if you accepted the job there and then go back and say, "Never mind," they'll never look at you again.

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

Have you been offered the OR position?

[RNperdiem, RN]

If you have been offered the OR position take it. It is much more difficult to find a hospital willing to train a new nurse for the extensive orientation required for the OR, than it is to find a night shift med-surg job.

What is so bad about circulating anyway?

[Axmann, RN, BSN, NREMT-B]

[accidental doublepost]

[Axmann, RN, BSN, NREMT-B]

Yep, OR it is. But be sure the other place will never, never be attractive to you, because if you accepted the job there and then go back and say, "Never mind," they'll never look at you again.

I have not.

Another issue is that I would like to go to the ED eventually and I'm not sure whether OR experience would be transferrable to the ER.

Would reneging on accepting the job offer really cause the hospital to never look at my applications again?

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

OR won't prepare you for the ED like good ole med-surg.

Also, you haven't even been offered the OR position yet. Don't count your chickens before they hatch....

[purplegal]

First, wait and see if you are even offered the OR position. When, and if you are, that is when you will really be in the dilemma.

If you are, you may want to consider that you already know there is a part of the job you don't like, which is circulating. You also mention that the part you do prefer, scrubbing, is primarily done by others. It's possible that even if you do want to go into OR, this wouldn't be the position. However, if you do get the offer, and choose to accept, be prepared to do any and all aspects of the job, not just the parts you enjoy.

Also, I would have to think that Med-Surg would actually be a better stepping stone into the ER than the OR would. Although I don't know much about OR nursing, when I think about my clinicals, I remember it being vastly different from the other areas we were in. If your ultimate goal is to be in the ER, the Med-Surg job may be the better choice.

If you don't like the hospital you accepted the job at, is it possible to get a Med-Surg job at the other one? Also just because the turnover rate is high doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad job. It could mean that they just hire a lot of people who never had any intention on staying longer. However, if it does turn out to not be such a good unit, you can just stay until your commitment is up and you would still gain some experience.

[Axmann, RN, BSN, NREMT-B]

Would it be extremely bad form to break a two-year commitment.

[AliNajaCat]

Would it be extremely bad form to break a two-year commitment.

Oh, yeah. Extremely. There are multiple threads on AN about doing that, and the likely consequences. Breaking a contract for anything is a verrrry bad idea, and a 2-year commitment, once signed, is a contract.