New Graduate in the OR

[CUtigress]

I am a BSN student graduating in May. I've been offered a position in the OR after graduation. I'm very excited about it, but haven't accepted the job yet. If I go into OR nursing as a new graduate, then decide to enter another clinical area such as ICU or oncology in several years...do you think I will still be hired with my lack of floor experience? Is it a good idea or a bad idea to start your nursing career in the OR?

[orrnlori, RN]

Well, you may be asking the wrong group of people. I think most of us love the OR and wouldn't want to work anywhere else. You do lose some skills in some OR's. I haven't started an IV in 5 years, that's okay, I can relearn it if I ever need to. And I'm one of those that doesn't think floor experience is the be-all and end-all of nursing. I don't really know the answer to your question. It could limit you, but really if you think about it, a floor nurse let's say working on an ortho floor would have no more real experience in oncology or ICU than would an OR nurse would they? There is no way you can know all there is to know in nursing. After all, the best ICU or ER nurse in the world couldn't come into the OR and do the job without training. I would research it fully if it really concerns you.