Nursing Student Question

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 30, 2021

Honestly, those of us involved in hiring in the OR know that unless you come with OR experience, you won’t really know anything about OR nursing. Most hospitals don’t have volunteers or allow more than a single day for interviewees to shadow- it’s both a patient privacy thing and an infection control thing. You could look into a job as an OR aide (or whatever terminology a facility may use, but it may be hard to work that around your nursing school schedule.

Cinthia L · Mar 30, 2021

4 hours ago, Rose_Queen said:

Honestly, those of us involved in hiring in the OR know that unless you come with OR experience, you won’t really know anything about OR nursing. Most hospitals don’t have volunteers or allow more than a single day for interviewees to shadow- it’s both a patient privacy thing and an infection control thing. You could look into a job as an OR aide (or whatever terminology a facility may use, but it may be hard to work that around your nursing school schedule.

That makes so much sense. Thank you! I will look into that but you're probably right most jobs are hiring full time and I definitely can't do that. You said you're involved in the hiring in the OR, what would you look for in a new grad like me?

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 30, 2021

Someone who understands that it's going to be a steep learning curve and grasps that they don't know much. I'd much rather hear an interviewee tell me they don't know how to use a bovie rather than try to bluff their way through it. Demonstrates an eagerness to learn. Has a positive attitude. Discusses examples of good teamwork.

affurman, BSN, RN · Apr 1, 2021

As an OR charge who regularly sits in on interviews, I would rather have a new grad because you are a clean slate. I don’t care a bit about extra curricular activities or your GPA (I only say that because apparently a good number of schools are teaching to put it on the resume). If it really worries you, volunteer at health fairs doing vitals or at a free clinic in your area, or even at a Covid vaccine site as a watcher for reactions.It’ll get you some experience with patients and give you some good skills practice.

If you care about what you learn, you have a positive attitude and you care about your patients, I can teach you everything else in time. The only thing you really need to know ahead of time is that it takes a team to have successful outcome for the patient and at the end of the day, that patient is all that matters. Good luck in the remainder of school and landing a job, the OR can be a wonderful place to start a career.

Cinthia L · Apr 2, 2021

On 4/1/2021 at 12:26 PM, affurman said:

As an OR charge who regularly sits in on interviews, I would rather have a new grad because you are a clean slate. I don’t care a bit about extra curricular activities or your GPA (I only say that because apparently a good number of schools are teaching to put it on the resume). If it really worries you, volunteer at health fairs doing vitals or at a free clinic in your area, or even at a Covid vaccine site as a watcher for reactions.It’ll get you some experience with patients and give you some good skills practice.

If you care about what you learn, you have a positive attitude and you care about your patients, I can teach you everything else in time. The only thing you really need to know ahead of time is that it takes a team to have successful outcome for the patient and at the end of the day, that patient is all that matters. Good luck in the remainder of school and landing a job, the OR can be a wonderful place to start a career.

Thank you sooo much!! This made me feel so relieved. I really can't wait to start actually learning about the OR. I know that after nursing school I will have to be taught everything about the world of the OR since it's not something taught in nursing school. Although, I truly wished they did. But, thank you for sharing your thoughts I truly appreciate it.

Silver_Rik, ASN, RN · Apr 6, 2021

I applied for an anesthesia tech job before my last semester of school, but didn’t get it. I think they knew it wouldn’t be a good fit going into my busiest semester. After graduation the same hospital hired me as an OR RN circulator intern.

I agree with Rose_Queen that an ORA job might be a good way to get experience if you can work it in your schedule. At my first job new hire circulators who didn’t pass the NCLEX were used as ORAs until they passed. It’s a great way to learn the setup of the OR and different cases. That said, a nurse tech / CNA job on the floor is also valuable for patient care, safety, and communication skills.

The best suggestion I can give is find a hospital with a Periop 101 internship program for new OR nurses. I think this is the best way to get into the OR as a new grad.

Cinthia L · Apr 7, 2021

On 4/6/2021 at 12:33 PM, Silver_Rik said:

I applied for an anesthesia tech job before my last semester of school, but didn’t get it. I think they knew it wouldn’t be a good fit going into my busiest semester. After graduation the same hospital hired me as an OR RN circulator intern.

I agree with Rose_Queen that an ORA job might be a good way to get experience if you can work it in your schedule. At my first job new hire circulators who didn’t pass the NCLEX were used as ORAs until they passed. It’s a great way to learn the setup of the OR and different cases. That said, a nurse tech / CNA job on the floor is also valuable for patient care, safety, and communication skills.

The best suggestion I can give is find a hospital with a Periop 101 internship program for new OR nurses. I think this is the best way to get into the OR as a new grad.

That's great to know. All of the responses have been so motivating and I'm now looking forward to graduating. Thank you so much!

Ready4theOR · Apr 14, 2021

On 3/29/2021 at 10:51 PM, Cinthia L said:

Hi, my name is Cinthia I'm actually an S1 nursing student at Texas Woman's University and I've been stressing out about not having any extracurriculars when graduating. So, I wanted to reach out to other OR nurses to hear about any advice on what kind of extracurriculars I could do that would look good on my resume and during interviews when I apply for jobs in the OR? I would really love to work in the OR as soon as I get my degree but I'm afraid that I will have a difficult time since I will be a new grad. I was thinking about calling the HR in nearby hospitals/clinics to see if they'd allow nursing students to shadow, volunteer, or even work (particularly in the OR). Is this something anyone else has done? What would you recommend?

Hi Cinthia! I stumbled upon your post and was surprised to read that you’re from TWU. I’m actually an S2 graduating this cohort in July. I landed a job in the OR residency here in Dallas. Let me know if you have any questions! Feel free to reach out to me. I definitely did not have big OR experiences, but made it in!