New grad OR nurse?

[shiaubrey]

Hello!!

i am looking for advice! I am graduating in May with my RN, I’ve applied to many positions, I have gotten an offer from the OR. It’s always peaked my interest since my rotation in school, but I didn’t consider it as something I would want to do as a “Career “ . My passions is pediatrics. But I know with the hospital here, there number of people hired as new graduates is extremely slim in the peds department. The hospital does offer the choice of team preference after orientation in OR is completed. They have a neonatal and pediatric surgical team that I would love to get in on and see cases. My questions are:

What’s it like to be OR nurse?

if I don’t like it after my probationary period, would it be hard to go to another unit or specialty with only have the experience in OR? That is my biggest concern, if I were to apply to another unit a year or two down the road, will it hinder me in getting a job with only OR experience? *** everyone says you lose your skills being in the OR.

Whats the schedule like?

looking for as much advice and guidance as possible!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

@shiaubrey, have you found the OR nursing forum here at AN? There's actually some very lengthy threads that talk about schedules (and there is an amazing variety of them, based on the work setting and staffing practices).

I would say, however, that if the OR isn't somewhere that you see yourself long term, it may not be the best fit. First, it takes a very long time to orient someone with no OR experience since it isn't a specialty where you do more than observe for a day or so (and you're usually watching the surgery, not the nurse). Likely, the probationary period will come to an end before the orientation- our orientation is 4-6 months, whereas the probationary period is 90 days. It also takes at least a year to begin feeling comfortable in the OR (and many other nursing specialties if not all of them).

As for "losing skills", you will actually gain others as well- unique positioning requiring serious consideration of how to protect a patient's skin, gaining a patient's trust in a matter of 5 minutes or less (you won't spend a shift with the same conscious patient), and so much more. I have also worked with nurses who have successfully transitioned to other specialties- ICU, ER, med/surg, hospice, NP roles, and more. It's more about yourself and what you make yourself capable of rather than how "hard" it is to change specialties.

[Sour Lemon]

1 hour ago, shiaubrey said:

everyone says you lose your skills being in the OR.

As a new graduate, you will have no skills to lose. I would hesitate to start in OR if it's not something you ultimately want, though. As far as how difficult it might be to switch, a lot depends on the job market in your area.

[shiaubrey]

The hospital that I would be taking the job at is level one trauma center and a teaching hospital. I like OR, I am just torn on how I will feel about it long term. Neonatal was my first choice and I interviewed with them but they only had 5 spots open for new grads and they had over 100 people interview so I knew my chances were slim. I loved my OR rotation and getting to see what all the nurse did and collaborate with surgeons, I just didn’t know if a few years down the road , I wanted to try out something like floor nursing, if I would be hindered or looked at as if I didn’t have any experience enough to qualify for a job on a floor.