New grad interested in operating room nursing

Specialties Operating Room

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I am currently in nursing school and this summer I had the opportunity to shadow/assist circulating nurses in the cardiovascular OR for 4 weeks. I absolutely loved my time there and couldn't imagine myself being a nurse in any other setting. I would like to become an OR nurse when I graduate, however I have heard that it is better to begin with med/surg in order to gain direct patient care experience before moving to the OR. Should I move straight to the OR upon graduating or go the med/surg route first? Thanks in advance for any advice! Also, I would love to hear from some current OR nurses about how they started out.

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Hi, Nicole. That is really cool that you had a chance to shadow a circulating nurse in the cardiovascular OR for 4 weeks. I'm not a nurse, but level 1 trauma hospitals in my area (large metro) require 1 year med/surg before you can apply for an OR new-grad residency; this is unique to perioperative nursing and not a requirement for the other specialty residencies. This may not be the norm, though, and vary by city. Good luck!

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Specializes in Neuro.

You definitely can't just "move" into OR nursing you need at least 1 year experience in med-surg and med-surg also usually requires 1 year experience as a nurse in general.

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Ok thank you for your advice! They did just hire two new grads for the OR at the hospital I'm working at, and that's why I asked this question. They are doing a 1 year internship prior to beginning in the OR. I do believe it would be best to start in another area of nursing first so that I have more OR options in the future. So where would you guys recommend starting out if I eventually want to be in the OR?

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There is a residency program where I live for new grads in the OR. Some classmates just applied directly to the OR and got in.

I would go ahead and apply, because it's gonna be different everywhere.

I think the OR is going to be completely different. Even experienced nurses go through a very long orientation.

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

It is very common for nurses to go straight into the OR once they graduate in the same way that it is common for new grads to go into the other specialties. I went straight into the OR as a new grad, and so did many of the OR nurses I have worked with over the years.

You can go directly into any specialty you want to as a new grad so long as you find a program that will accept you. While we are on the subject, MedSurg is also a specialty in it's own right. In my entire career, I have never worked MedSurg.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Whether you need med surg experience will depend on the facility. My facility will take new grads into our orientation program. Nurses with experience in another specialty receive an identical orientation, and depending on hire dates will even be in the exact same classes. Can you learn on med surg? Yes. Will what you learn transfer to the OR? Not necessarily since the OR is such a specialized area. (And my feelings on med surg being regarded as a starting point rather than recognized as the specialty it is is a thread in its own right.) If the OR is what interests you, go ahead and apply for positions where you meet the required standards.

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I completely agree with what you are saying about med/surg being completely different and a specialty on its own. That's why I was very surprised when people were telling me I needed to start there instead of going straight into the OR. It's very reassuring to hear from you guys that there are many programs that will accept new grads into the OR. Thank you guys so much!

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As others have stated, it depends on the facility.

At my last 2 hospitals, they both had internship/residency programs that even newly graduated RN's could apply for. I am one of those who started out in the OR and have not spent any time in other areas. Some of the "skills" that are predominantly performed by nurses and learned/honed in a MEDSURG setting, such as starting IV's, are also dependent on the facility. At my first hospital, it was a teaching hospital, so there were always Anesthesia residents. They started the IV's when necessary. At my current facility, we get to do it when needed. I appreciate the opportunity to keep that skill sharpened. I don't think I "hurt" my career by not starting off on a MEDSURG floor. So much of what we do in the OR doesn't translate to what MEDSURG does, and vice versa.

I think it's awesome that you got 4 weeks of OR time. I only had 1 day during my MEDSURG clinicals, and that was with me following an anesthesiologist. This was an interesting day, so I could only imagine how much more I'd have been itching to apply for an OR position when I graduated.

Good luck and stay focused on graduation. This career and our patients are worth the hard work.

-WhoDatWhoDare

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Nurses who became OR nurses that weren't lucky enough to get straight into an orientation program.

Worked as a med/surg CNA, became friendly with some OR orderly's, got on the job training to work as an OR orderly, went to nursing school then straight into OR.

Worked med/surg, transferred into the GI clinic which was under the OR umbrella, talked to the OR charge nurse about learning OR and was able to transfer in.

Worked med/surg, transferred to out patient surgery as a pre op/post op RN. The OR supervisor asked any pre op/post op RN's if they would like to be trained to work OR.

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Specializes in Only the O.R. and proud of it!.

It is much more common today than just 10 years ago that the OR is both able and willing to accept a new grad to the department. As an OR nurse (lifelong) i encourage all student nurses preparing to graduate to apply to the OR if that is where you find your main point of interest.

As a matter of fact, from my 18 years in the OR I have noticed that experienced nurses from non-procedural areas that transfer to the OR have a more difficult time in the transition. One main reason is the experienced and expert RN hates to be the newbie and hates to start over feeling like they are new grads yet again. When the experienced RN sticks with the OR and becomes an expert in perioperative nursing they do very well and thrive. But the same can be said for the new Grad.

Management journal articles have shown proof that in order to be an expert at one thing, one must work 10,000 hours at that one thing. That's 5 years of full time work to truly be an expert.

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You definitely can't just "move" into OR nursing you need at least 1 year experience in med-surg and med-surg also usually requires 1 year experience as a nurse in general.

This isn't necessarily true. My manager hires new grads all the time with no problem.

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