New grad surgery RN needs advice

[Ab2ayleene]

I graduated last May with my RN and my first hospital job is in surgery. It is so stressful and the atmosphere is so different than the med surge floors and ICU floors that we worked on in clinicals in nursing school. I've been here for about 2 and a half months now and I'm just wondering if there are any surgery (circulating) RNs out there with advice for me to make this easier.

[springchick1, ADN, RN]

I'm not a circulator but I am a scrub and one thing I tell neoprene that I train is to get a notebook and take notes. I would take each surgery (ACL, total knee, rotator cuff, etc) and wrote down the basics for each case. Then I would leave a few page so I could make doctor specific notes: Dr Jones likes this saw blade, Dr Smith wants this one. Dr. Johnson likes this anchor and Dr. Williams likes this one. I found it easier to do it this way because it is more organized to me. Some people like to make a notebook by doctors but I found I was flipping through it too much hunting for info.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

First of all, take a deep breath. The OR is a new environment to most nurses who choose to work there. Many will say it takes at least a year to feel comfortable.

So, to make your life easier:

1. Get a small, pocket-sized notebook in which you can take notes. Mine (that I don't refer to much anymore) had notes for surgeon specific details, such as Dr. X would sit to take down a mammary artery for a coronary artery bypass. Many of the notes I made weren't found on the preference cards.

2. If you know what cases you'll be doing the following day, try to get a copy of the preference cards the day before. This will give you the opportunity to go over them ahead of time and have any questions ready for your preceptor. (Yes, I know, homework sucks. Unfortunately, it doesn't end when we graduate!)

3. Understand that you will have good days and not so good days. Heck, with 8 years of OR experience, I still have not so good days. Learn what you can from the bad days, and then let them go. Focus on the good.

4. Be willing to learn- no matter how much experience you have! Don't restrict your learning to those of the same licensure or educational level- I have learned many things from surgical technologists, anesthesia technicians, and almost every other type of professional/allied health personnel you can find working in the OR. Also, surgery is a constantly changing field and OR nurses need to stay up to date.