Moving to the OR ...SUPER excited with a small side of nervousness

aymen09 · Mar 19, 2011

***throw**** opps stupid smart phone!

youhavemadeit · Mar 19, 2011

:confused:Hi Im having a hard time in the OR im scrubing since feb and was in training since nov.I find that there is a lot of angry and selfish personnalities (bi-polar ?!)Anyway,is it just me ? or am I rigth ?http://img.an-file.info/smilies/confused.gif

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 19, 2011

hey ya'll!!! :heartbeat I've been a nurse for 6 years and through these last six years I have been a med/surg telemetry and Cardiac telemetry nurse. I am getting way way way to burned out...and in all honesty its waaaaaaaaaaay to soon to be feeling burnt out! The only reason I have stayed on the Tele units is because its my comfort zone and I am terrified to step out of the box. It's to the point now though, where I need a challenge, I need to get out of my same ole routine and try something new! SoooOOooo I accepted a position in the OR and i am soooo very excited, but kinda nervous too!!! I have zip zero zilch experiance in the OR or PACU.
What I am wondering {after all my rambling :) }is if anyone has any kind of advice they could give me. Any books I should pick up. Anything in praticular I should buy. Whatever you have for me as a new OR nurse through at me! I would appreciate it!
I hope ya'll have a fantastic weekend
thanks:heartbeat

Join AORN- the Journal itself is worth the yearly fee, but membership also includes reduced rates on CE and the CNOR test. Before you rush out and buy any books, check with the unit educator to see if you'll be given one during orientation- my hospital provided a copy of Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery and the AORN Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Sometimes, if the hospital has a library, you could also get them there free instead of shelling out big bucks.

brownbook · Mar 19, 2011

I have only occasionally helped out in OR's giving IV conscious sedation for minor cases. I can't imagine any OR would put a new to OR nurse in as a circulating nurse or scrub nurse without A LOT of orientation.

OR nursing isn't necessarily harder than other nursing, just really different. A whole new vocabulary of different instruments. Even if you are not a scrub tech, you need to know what to get when they say "I need a tonsure straight tip clamp from sterile supply", (I made that instrument up.)

As for working PACU, it is more similar to bed side nursing. Connecting the patient to the monitor, watching for airway obstructing if they are obtunded from anesthesia and the chin lift head tilt. Giving anti-emetics and pain meds.

I think it is great to change, work different areas of nursing. I'm not trying to scare you away, just hope, assume, you will get a decent orientation.

NurseSnarky · Mar 19, 2011

I answered another thread today...and what I said there was forget the books. Just observe, listen, run your buns off, and make friends with your CS person (well everyone of course). OR nursing is about organization which is different than floor nursing. It's fast paced for sure. Prepping and positioning are sometimes tricky, so pay attention and if you need to ASK QUESTIONS! I have no issue with asking a doctor how he/she would like a prep done if I'm unsure, the procedure is new to me, or the doc is new, etc. And realize that surgeons are a very different breed. Some are as predictable as the sunrise and others will change their mind from one procedure to the next. So you have to be on your toes and ALWAYS be prepared for plan B. I always have extra meds, syringes, special gloves (those not stocked in the room that a doc I'm working with uses), extra of anything that rolls when opened...lol! Instruments...well those are tricky. I rely on my scrub techs to help me with those as I work in a facility that does not label instruments (ugh). Become familiar with the most common ones. Easy ones? Army/Navy! Pick-ups or forceps or needle drivers. Now suture is also complicated...again, your scrub is your greatest ally.

You are not expected to learn it all right away...learn in chunks. Get oriented to the rhythm of the OR. It can be like going to a foreign country. It's fun, but can be disorienting too. Get familiar with where things are! BIGGEST thing (that's where CS people are your friends. I always thank them when they help me, and I ask nicely). These are things a book will not teach you. And then learn to read preference cards. When you learn where things are, what they are, and what you need...you've done it. :) :yeah:

And it may take a little bit, but you'll have to work on putting your "OR ears on". It can be hard to hear with the nose of monitors, machines, music, chatter...so don't be afraid of "can you repeat that?" I will even say, "one more time" if I just cannot hear. If you don't know what to get...you'll look silly just standing there. And then don't be afraid to ask where it's at if you don't know or remember.

LAM2010, BSN · Mar 20, 2011

I borrowed the Alexander book from a family member - I read some of it. It didn't really help *much* but the stuff is good to know. So if you have to buy it yourself and don't have money to blow, like I don't...don't buy it yet. (My hospital has no library, won't buy me one, and my boss doesn't let people borrow hers - although she'd let me photocopy out of it...). You learn on the job.

I haven't joined the AORN yet but would love to. I need the money to do it and have just put off saving up and paying for it (haha, I am an OR nurse and can't afford anything.....long story....personal problem....) (*ahem*). You can still get some info off of their website without joining. And again, you could photocopy out of your boss's book.

Just jump on in there and do it! :) The learning curve is huge in the O.R. You should have about 6 to 9 months of orientation. What you do have going for you, being an experienced nurse, is the confidence of being in the hospital, having your hands on patients, communicating with the staff. Use that, while you learn all this new stuff.