New OR nurse - what specialty should I start in?

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Specializes in ICU, Operating Room, CVOR.

I would like advice on what specialty I should pursue as a new OR nurse. After working as a floor nurse, I transferred to the Operating Room and began an OR Residency in February. I completed the AORN Peri-Op 101 course and have rotated through General (includes urology, gyn, and robotics), Ortho, Cardiovasc, and a dash of Neuro. I love Ortho and the team is fantastic, however the pace, variety and challenge of General appeals to me as well. Assuming I can choose either one, where is the best place to kick off my OR career? Does the floor nursing adage of "do a year on med/surg to get the basic skills..." apply to the General team in the OR? If I start in Ortho will my job prospects be limited when I run screaming away from my current hospital when my two year contract is up (ha-ha, if I can even get a job with only two years of experience)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Part of me says I would start in General because that's the basis for most surgery and especially if you want to move to another OR at some point, you'll do better if you have experience in General. Not all places have teams-in some, you have to be able to do everything. Having well rounded experience will make you marketable.However..... You may be OK joining a team right away if you think you'll be at this place a long time and Ortho skills are marketable in their own right, since many people are afraid to do Ortho cases, for some reason.

I love Ortho too-that's the team I'm on, but I had experience in other specialties before I joined. It's a tough call really because what if after a year or so, there's no opening in Ortho? I'm sorry, I'm probably not helping you very much, am I?:lol2:

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Specializes in ICU, Operating Room, CVOR.

SquirrelRN71,

Thanks for the reply, it's a tough call. In the spirit of being as marketable as possible, General may be the best option. In light of my OR's high turnover rate, history of lateral violence, and use of travelers, I'm willing to bet a spot on the Ortho team may open up again in the future. Also in light of those circumstances, I have no intention of staying any longer than I have to. Dare I say I plan on applying to other facilities when I reach the 1 year mark?? The metro area/hospital systems I woul like to apply to have specialized teams. How much experience on an Ortho team do I need before I'm considered a viable prospect to another facility?

In addition to my fondness of the musculoskeletal system and all that hardware, drilling, sawing, and cracking, I see a lot of growth potential in Ortho; an aging baby-boomer population getting knees/hips replaced amongst other surgeries and ortho specific surgical centers popping up.

It may come down to a coin toss. :)

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Specializes in OR.

Doesn't matter, just do what you love. If you dislike general, why waste your time specializing in it. You can easily be trained to circle anything really. I don't think specializing in Ortho would make you less marketable imo.

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Specializes in OR Hearts 10.

I went right into CV after only about 6 months in the OR. Get pulled to other services all the time, give breaks and lunches in just about any room. Go for want you want!!!!

Good luck

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

If you want more marketability the do a specialty. If you can figure these out I'm sure you could quickly adapt to any specialty with decent preference cards and some effort.

2 years is usually when your hired on and considered "experienced" some places want 3-5 but 2 is the norm. I rotate my nurses a little different and Have them all circulate all specialties throughout the month. It serves them and me well. I have nurses that are comfortable in any room and have vacation coverage for all of them too. They get to say they are experienced at most all specialties.

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Specializes in Vascular, Endovascular.

You should concentrate on a good skills base. Be able to keep the patient safe first and then decide the best avenue for you. Remember most places will have you taking OR call and that can involve a ruptured AAA or a femoral rodding!

Good Luck :)

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