Has anyone not liked/enjoyed being an OR nurse? Once training/working in it

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Has anyone ever left bedside and go to OR and then realizing they want to go back? Or once they go OR they never go back? I got accepted to an OR training program. I am excited and nervous for it. I am not sure if I have what it takes but excited to learn and do something different from bedside. Although, i am a new grad nurse... I have only been a bedside nurse for a few months and decided to interview for another hospital for their OR training program. I feel like this is such a special and wonderful opportunity. It is for scrubbing and circulating. I am afraid I won't be any good and will not like it and regret my decision to leave bedside prematurely. I already accepted the OR offer and signed papers. I have not put in my resignation yet. If you ask me why I left beside early, I just realized I could not probably do this forever or maybe it's my current hospital. My current hospital has no contract. Other fellow nurses that started with me left before me for better hospital. I am leaving for the specialty and for a diff hospital. Before I applied I didn't like my current job, but now I've grown accustomed to it and do enjoy the work. I am afraid of the decisions and actions I am taking. I don't wanna burn bridges with either hospitals. I wanna take this opportunity as I already agreed to it, and excited.. but afraid of what I am actually agreeing to. I am not sure what's gonna happen. They say OR has better hours.. is this true?? The hospital I got hired is M-F, and on call weekends

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Generally, there are two types of nurses when it comes to the OR: those who never leave, and those who can't wait to get out. In the OR I used to be a staff nurse in (I'm now the unit educator), we had some serious seniority. We're talking nurses who started in the OR before I was born (no, not telling you the number of decades that's been). Then we have had a few who started our orientation program who came to realize that it just wasn't for them. As soon as they were out of the one year post orientation completion obligation, you could almost see the skid marks they left behind while running to a new department.

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Thanks for your input! Is it easy to transition from OR back the floor after? Worried about losing my bed side skills.

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Working in the OR currently and thinking of a change.

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Generally, there are two types of nurses when it comes to the OR: those who never leave, and those who can't wait to get out.

No offense, but that can be said of any nursing specialty and department. Even med/surg.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
No offense, but that can be said of any nursing specialty and department. Even med/surg.

Perhaps. However, looking at my facility in particular, the turnover rates in med/surg, ICU, and ER are atrocious- the average length of experience is maybe 3 years. The ICUs especially are used as stepping stones to CRNA school. The OR? Well, our turnover rate is less than a quarter of the rest of the facility and our average experience is more like 15 years.

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