ER nurse wanting to switch to OR

Specialties Operating Room

Published

I originally went to nursing school to become a RN in the OR, however decided to take a job in ER right out of nursing school. I did so after receiving advice from a nursing mentor that it would be a good idea to work in another area of nursing first to make myself more marketable and I really like the ER in school. I have been enjoying working in the ER for 3 years now ,but feel that I am ready to go into perioperative nursing now.Does anybody have any advice on switching to OR nursing? Is it hard to obtain a position in the OR? I did take a perioperative class in nursing school but that was almost 4 years ago,so I don't know if that would really help me at all.In the course we did get the opportunity to work as circulation RN,scrub RN,preop,and recovery.Do you think that it would benefit me to mention that I took this class? Any advice would be appreciated.Thank you in advance.

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Specializes in OR, Med Surg.

I was a Med Surg nurse for only 2 years before I became an OR circulator. I could never imagine doing anything else! There are very few OR jobs posted as compared to other specialties because of higher retention. The class that you were in will definitely be worth mentioning on your resume and will be useful in helping you get an OR job. If you see an opportunity, Apply!

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I was a Med Surg nurse for only 2 years before I became an OR circulator. I could never imagine doing anything else! There are very few OR jobs posted as compared to other specialties because of higher retention. The class that you were in will definitely be worth mentioning on your resume and will be useful in helping you get an OR job. If you see an opportunity, Apply!

For privacy reasons I wouldn't use a picture of yourself as your avatar:)

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I would think being an ER nurse would give you advantage when applying for OR positions. While you don't have direct OR experience, you know how to multi-task, "switch gears", and work under pressure. If I were doing the hiring, I'd be happy to have a nurse with ER experience.

As far as the class you took 4 years ago, it certainly wouldn't hurt to mention it.

Good luck!!

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Thanks for the encouragement! I applied for a position in the OR at the hospital I work in ( fingers crossed)

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