I started the periop 101 program at my hospital in Feb 2016 (this year) as a new grad nurse.
The few months I have been working there have been extremely tough. I am hoping to find someone who started out in a similar situation in the OR and made it through orientation in one piece.
The hospital started going through some major changes as soon as I was hired (new director, the OR educator switched roles to a management position leaving the educator spot empty, we switched to a new medical record system, and had Joint Commission and CMS come by all since I started in Feb). On top of this, there has been very little structure in my orientation process.
I am constantly with new preceptors and am usually working with surgeons I have never worked with or only worked with once before. I am a very introverted person and this puts a lot of stress on me on top of all of the learning expected of me. I find myself shutting down on some days and have been told I'm "quiet" several times which doesn't help. I have no problem speaking up if there is a patient safety issue, but it seems like the OR is very cliquey and I am not interested in making best friends with anyone there.
I am trying to figure out if my stress level is normal for just starting in the OR or if the OR might not be the best fit for me and my personality. I am at the hospital 5 days a week and at least 2 days out of every week I come home crying just to release all of the stress! Management is incredibly busy and unavailable to discuss my feelings which is why I am turning here.
PS- I signed a 2-year contract worth $15,000 if broken.
Does anyone have a similar story or any advice?!?!
