Money $ or Happiness :-) Please OR Nurses. I need advice. Should I Leave the ED?

Specialties Operating Room

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I'm a Nurse of 4 years, my whole career as an ED Nurse at a private hospital (level 2 center) in midtown manhattan NYC (1 hour drive to get there), now making around 83K yearly after 4 yrs of service. If I went to days, my pay would be around 77,600K/yearly. I work 13 (12hr night) shifts a month. May not seem like much in the scheme of things, but it's tiring and i've been feeling burnt out.

The situation/dilemma.

Now I was offered a position as an OR Nurse in an Operating room in a municipal city hospital (trauma level 1) 4 miles from my home in brooklyn (10 minute drive to get there), making around 67-70k/yearly. A 7-10k pay cut to work. Working 5 (8 hours shift) 3p-11p, alternating weekends. The nurse manager told me, I'll receive a minimum of "A YEAR of training" before I'm on my own.

I don't know what to do. I understand sometimes it's very difficult to transfer to other specialties. I think especially the OR is difficult to get into, because hospitals don't want to train. Maybe this is a misconception I have about transferring and being trained to the OR.

Should I take the leap, hence taking a pay cut.

Should I take the leap because in the future I will be more marketable, hence will probably be able to make more money later on in my career.

One other aspect. I'm intending on perusing my BSN as well, a brick and mater nursing program that offers an online track that's fairly inexpensive, around 10k for the whole program to graduate.

Benefits - Pvt vs Municipal

Pvt hospital pay 18 credits a year( No cap on cost)

Municipal city hospital pays 1500/year towards tuition reimbursement.

Any insight or advice anyone.

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

I would take the OR job closer to home. Once you have been trained, and start taking some call and working OT on your own I doubt there will be much, if any, difference in pay. In fact, you may be making more.

You will also have more time to study without all that commuting. Working 3-11p you will be able to sleep a little later, be refreshed and get a few serious hours of study in before you go in for your shift. Just because your course is on-line don't think it will be an easy ride. On-line courses are tough and you need to be disciplined with your study to get through them.

Going back to your commute, have you calcuated how much you will save by not driving an hour to work? I really think at the end of the day there will be very little in it money-wise.

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Thank you TakeTwoAspirin. I am going to look at that.. I believe the commute I'm paying about 4000/yearly for gas.

Do you believe I'll be more marketable being experienced in two specialities?

I do think i'll have more time to study. But for the year of training, I think my shift will be days. From what the Nurse manager explained to me.

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Do you guys believe that having two specialities under your experience hat will make one more marketable. I know that I'm not unhappy in the ED, just a little burnt out, and I feel a little tired. Change is sometimes good. I feel like this OR opportunity may not come again.. so I'm a little worried that If i don't take it I'd be passing up a great opportunity to learn and be trained.

What do you guys think.

I will always work per-diem in the ED, so not to loose my skills.

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

I switched from the ED to the OR 2 years ago after 10 years in the ED. It was the best thing I have done in nursing. I feel more refreshed when I finish my shift then I did in the ED. Taking care of only 1 patient at a time is nice. The pace in the OR is much nicer then the ED. You can run your butt off in the OR but its not the whole shift every day.

As far as communiting you also have to figure in the wear & tear on your vehicle. If you have to replace it 1 -2 years earlier by communiting you need to figure that in to your overall cost. Also there is the insurance cost of only communting 10 minutes vs 60.

1 thing that does suffer in the OR is your assessment skills since you do not use them to the same extend as the ED.

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I would take the OR job if your interested in it. I am facing the same kind of choice. Money, Better hours, more experience, drive time, more time for my personal life...... lol how do you decide?? good luck!

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Specializes in Paramedic,ER, House Supervisor, OR, CVOR.

I'm a previous ER Nurse and am very glad things worked out that I don't have to do that any more. Working 3 to 11 is no fun though. Am doing it on a travel contract right now and can't wait to be done. The only nice thing is No on call, when you work "off shifts". If I never had to take call again it would be a blessing. Only down side to OR in my mind.

Working ER does some what prepare you for some of the things in the OR but not all. Having a commitment for a years training is a lot. Are they expecting you to get CNOR during that time too? Good luck, keep us posted on what happens.

Rod

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Specializes in OR.

Wow, the chance of having a combo of these two specialties is fantastic.. talk about a marketable nurse.. I say, take it, you can then do ICU specialty if you get tired of OR.

What did I say about "Travelling All Over The World"

Enjoy!!:yeah:

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

I don't really consider the ICU or ED a really "marketable" specialty and the reason why is this, most grads want to either, for the guys work in the ER and the gals either L&D or ICU. This is because no one wants to really work M/S. So these areas are saturated and the need goes down. Hospitals really love the fact the can pick the cream of the crop and ignore the rest. Now, I might be a bit biased but I have found over the years most grads avoid the OR because they think it is too hard. Yes, it is challenging and can be a bit stressful at times, but you aren't tripping over all the applicants. Working an ED in mid-town Manhatten can be and is very stressful I can imagine and something thatbeing younger I would have loved doing. So the best way to see what hospitals are looking for is to do a wide search throughout the country and look at hospital websites and see nursing openings and qualifications. The funny thing is you don't see alot of openings in the OR, why you ask? This is because a majority of nurses that go into OR nursing remain there for their entire careers and don't jump around like other specialties. They really like what they do.

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Specializes in EMT, ER, Homehealth, OR.

I really do not think having the ER experience will matter after you have been in the OR for 2 years as far as being marketable.

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Take the OR. You will have lots of training before you're on your own. I think I had 9 or 10 months training. The first year was tough. I've been in the OR for 5 years and I'm thinking about going to ED. LOL! I Only because I don't want to be stuck in OR the rest of my career. I'm getting kind of bored with it and need a change; however, I do like the OR most days. Also you can make lots of money with taking call especially if you join the heart team or transplant team. Those people take a TON of call. Good luck!

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