NYC new grad

[waficus]

Hello everyone,

I am a new RN as of July in New York City. I got my Associates Degree in May and began my RN-to-BSN program online to graduate next August.

I absolutely went to nursing school to become an OR nurse. My school's mandatory clinical time only included one half day in the OR and I knew I wanted to gain as much experience as I possibly could in the OR so that would not be enough. I decided to request to go into the OR on my only day off, every Friday, and accumulated over 200 hours in the course of a year in the Operating Room, observing and assisting. This experience re-affirmed my passion for this field.

Since graduation I have been applying to Periop positions. The Periop positions tell me to get Med-Surg experience. However, the Med-Surg jobs are few and far between, and want me to have my BSN.

All the periop-101 classes require me to be employed by the hospital in order to take them.

I applied for one RN periop fellowship at NSLIJ who also wanted a BSN.

Again, I will finish my BSN in August. In the meantime, I feel like I am in a powerless position and want to begin my career so badly.

Does anyone know of any other OR fellowships in the area? It doesn't have to be NYC proper, LI or NJ or Westchester is fine also.

Any other advice for how I can get myself out there??

Thank you!!!!

Jessica

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Have you joined AORN? Sometimes it's not about what you know but who you know, and attending the local chapter meetings would let you network with some of those responsible for hiring new OR hires. Also, are you looking only at positions posted as periop101? While not every facility provides that exact course, they will provide orientation. Try looking into any posted OR positions, and if they don't specifically require OR experience, apply if you meet the other criteria.

[waficus]

I am apart of AORN and regularly attend meetings.

I am not only looking at Periop101 positions by any means. I am applying to any OR jobs I find, whether or not they want experience.

[A&Ox6, MSN, RN]

Hi Waficus,

I think that it may be helpful to follow the typical advice. Look for any job, and when you have your BSN you can narrow the search. Keep attending AORN meetings. They're a wonderful opportunity to network.

[Dyoshirn]

Which online school are you attending? Coney Island hospital seems pretty good with hiring. A old workmate got hired there as OR nurse with very little experience.