Ok, I've figured out that surgical nursing is not for me...

EMTtoRN · May 14, 2004

Well that is good to find out now!!!

PJMommy · May 14, 2004

Yeah...I saw the same thing when I did an OR rotation. PACU is more intense I think...more like very short term SICU. I have a friend who graduated with me and took an OR position because she liked the day hours. She hates it -- she's bored silly.

Carolanne · May 15, 2004

I felt the same way about med-surg too. Not my cup of tea. I felt like I was at a fast food restaurant and the stuff was flying around at a hectic pace. It literally took me almost two days after a clinical to clear my head from it. Just didn't feel like I belonged and didn't feel comfortable in that type of atmosphere. I know it's all very necessary things that have to be done, but you're right, not much time for bedside manner on that floor. Some people gobble it up, though, more power to 'em!!! :)

suzanne4, RN · May 15, 2004

there isn't enough nurse/patient interaction. They just run around the room getting supplies for the surg tech and surgeons and take inventory. At least this is what I've observed today in my surgical rotation. There seemed to be one nurse to do all the pre-op, one for intra-op and then one for post op. I might enjoy the pre-op or post-op, but I think I was expecting something different for surgical nursing. I greatly enjoyed taking care of the patient for the hours following surgery though. Has there been a rotation/unit that you know you will not go into when you graduate?

Wonder which hospital that you did your rotation at? I have worked OR at multiple hospitals in Michigan, from Ann Arbor to Detroit and I am definitely not the gopher when I work. And I have worked off shift where I am the pre-op as well as OR nurse. And help out in PACU after the cases.

Sorry that you had a bad experience............. :balloons:

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · May 15, 2004

Wonder which hospital that you did your rotation at? I have worked OR at multiple hospitals in Michigan, from Ann Arbor to Detroit and I am definitely not the gopher when I work. And I have worked off shift where I am the pre-op as well as OR nurse. And help out in PACU after the cases.
Sorry that you had a bad experience............. :balloons:

Suzanne, I wouldn't say it was a bad experience in any sense of the word. It's just not something I would want to do. Everyone was very nice and explained what was happening... It was St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids.

nurseunderwater · May 15, 2004

mine was...geriatrics. I think what I loved about the or were the nurses...same twisted sense of humor that i have...

shyne · May 16, 2004

I didn't really like the OR for those same reasons also. I guess it depends on the person though.

LauraLou · May 16, 2004

I am also not cut out for OR nursing, in fact I hated my experience there. The scrub techs and nurses made insulting remarks about the patients, including comments about their genitals and weight. I felt like I was in an auto repair shop not a hospital. There was about five minutes of patient contact, after that it was just passing supplies back and forth. Not something I would ever want to do.

RNKITTY04 · May 16, 2004

I guess to each their own huh? I can't think of any place I would rather be than the OR. If I had to work Med Surg I would quit nursing school right now and never look back, wayyyyy to much patient contact. I think thats the great thing about nursing though everyone can find their niche.

Good luck to all :)

Indy, LPN, LVN · May 16, 2004

I think you may be referring to the circulating nurse? That nurse isn't sterile, just clean with a mask; it's their job to get supplies, call transport/pathology/recovery etc. and get the sponge count right, plus put start and end times on the board, etc. There's more to it but that's what I remember so far. The circulating nurses I shadowed both told me they were overpriced waiters, jokingly.

Depending on the makeup of your particular hospital's OR, the scrub people can be any variety of "scrub techs" and/or scrub nurses. Some doctors have their own nurses for scrub or certain ones they like to use. Scrub techs in my area had to go to school to do that, so they're pretty good at it. Their sterile technique is awesome to watch, I wish mine was that natural.

Then there's the $100k/year nurse anesthetist, who usually stays out of the chatter and does patient care before, during and after the procedure. The requirements for nurse anesthetist school are pretty rigorous, or so I hear, with a nice waiting list.

-Indy

luckymichelle · May 16, 2004

I am also not cut out for OR nursing, in fact I hated my experience there. The scrub techs and nurses made insulting remarks about the patients, including comments about their genitals and weight. I felt like I was in an auto repair shop not a hospital. There was about five minutes of patient contact, after that it was just passing supplies back and forth. Not something I would ever want to do.

Lauralou - that sounds awful! What the heck? They made fun of people's genitals? OMG - nurses like that deserve a good swift kick in the pants! How horrible! I would've had to refrain myself from shaking them!