I'm looking for thoughts/advice on starting out in the OR. I will be graduating this May and of all my clinical rotations I loved the OR the most. I've had some instructors tell me that starting a career in the OR as a new grad isn't advised because of losing nursing skills. But then others working in the field say just the opposite and it's a wonderful place to start if that's your passion. So many in my class know exactly where they want to work, but I'm struggling with finding that perfect fit. I know I'm not interested in a med-surg floor and the areas that I think I would enjoy would be an ICU, PACU or the OR.
Hi: I'm also a new grad who just got hired in a plastic surgery office as a pre-op and post-op nurse. Now this makes me nervous I never thought I'd be in this specialty but I always thought it was fascinating. I never like Med surge either. Should I be concerned about being so new out of school starting off in an office as the RN ,since hospitals have more of a training.
Hi..most instructors are going to give you the old line that new nurses shouldn't start out in a specialty, you'll lose skills, blah blah blah. I've known many new grads(myself included) that went right to the OR and are doing fine. I had previous experience as a scrub, but I have seen new grads with zero OR experience flourish.
If you know that you'll despise med/surg then why spend a year someplace where you'll be miserable? That is a one way road to Burnoutville, IMO. I'm a nerd, so I try to educate myself on things that we don't see so much in the OR. I'll pick a topic and read all I can on it. And you'll gain many new skills in the OR that you'd never get anywhere else. They may even teach you to scrub, which is fun.
Unfortunately, many instructors today know very little about the OR and you're lucky if you get an observation day in clinical or have it mentioned in lecture. So, it's nice to hear that people have an interest. Good luck!:nuke:
U will either love it or hate it. I personally LOVE IT!! I was a scrub tech for 7 years so I miss being actually "involved in the procedure" but I still like the opportunity to assist the surgeons when i can and i also get to help the CRNA's. And as far as your "nursing skills" go... you still have to be on your game. IV's infiltrate in OR probably quicker than on med-surg and I know from experience it's more challenging to start an IV in a patient whose arms are tucked bilaterally with a doctor on both sides than in a "comfy bed or on an ER stretcher". it is usually hard to get a job in an OR because there is less employee turn over in this area of nursing. The reason being if your meant to be an OR nurse you will retire in that area. Good luck!!!
mp2005
25 Posts
Hi: I'm also a new grad who just got hired in a plastic surgery office as a pre-op and post-op nurse. Now this makes me nervous I never thought I'd be in this specialty but I always thought it was fascinating. I never like Med surge either. Should I be concerned about being so new out of school starting off in an office as the RN ,since hospitals have more of a training.