New Grad..Interview for an OR Position, HELP!

[charmbee]

so I'm a recent grad, I have an interview for an OR Position at a hospital. I just want to know what should I expect? and what do they expect from me? I would never thought in a million yrs that I'll be working in the OR (PACU yes..) .. But thats the beauty in nursing, you can try everything until you find your niche.

What are the pros & cons in the OR? Salary?

Did anybody start in the OR right after nursing school?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Pros:

-one patient at a time

-pretty much guaranteed a lunch and a break, unless the brown stuff is really hitting the fan

-develop good teamwork

-call (extra $)

-a variety (I can do neuro, general, vascular, ortho, uro, all in one 8 hour shift)

-closed unit, so no floating to other floors

Cons:

-some people in the OR have, shall we say, unique personalities

-when things go bad, they go really bad really quick

-call (means no making plans that night)

-nobody seems to leave the OR, so seniority isn't something that you can move up in

If you do a search, you will find other threads like this, with many responses already.

Salary: Varies greatly depending on location. Most hospitals do not pay additional for working in an OR. (If you know of one, let me know where.) Can be paid more than med/surg because of on call/call back time. Call time can vary from

New grads: Depends on the hospital. One place I looked at said only with 1 year med/surg experience. Two, including the one I work at, take new grads. My orientation was six months with a preceptor assigned just to me and in the room plus three months with a resource person who assisted all new periop class grads. I've never regretted going straight into the OR.