New to the OR...

[flashpoint]

I've been an LPN for 11 years...am also a paramedic. I was chatting with the OR Manager one day and he somehow convinced me to cross-train to scrub in OR (I do med-surg and ER now). I'm excited, but nervous and I haven't been in the OR since nursing school! So...what should I expect? :-)

[shodobe]

I don't know exactly where, "third rock from the sun, is but you know you won't be able to use you OR experience anywhere but that particular hospital. Most facilities require certification to work and you can only get that through a school setting. I think it is great though that the OR manger thinks enough about you to ask you to do this. I also think that if and when you decide to go to a credentialed school the OR experience will be immeasurable. Hook up with one of the more "seasoned" OR nurses and soak up everything said and done. Good luck, Mike

[flashpoint]

Very few of the hospitals around here require formal credentialing. The closest place around here to get the "formal" education is about six hours from here, so there's not much way that they could. Small town, rural America is a long way from the big city. We are the only hospital for 75 miles in either direction, so it shouldn't be an issue at all.

[tennurse267]

While it may be different for you, when I first started in the OR it was horrible. I had about 8 years of floor nursing experience before going to the OR but once back there I was expected to "prove myself". I had no idea what I was doing but was a fast learner. I went home on more than one night and cried, wondering what I had done...no one was nice or talked to me. After 4 years and in my 3rd OR, I don't have any problems. I learned to stand up for myself and grow a back bone. They say nurses eat their young...this was certainly true of the OR. Hope your experience is much better.

[Circl8r]

Just remember that the OR is a totally different world than any place else in the hospital. The sterile technique that you learned in the ER is far more strict, and I can guarantee you'll contaminate something :) Not to worry though, we've all done it.

Look to the OR nurses, they are a wealth of valuable information. You will learn more from them than you can imagine. Look at every day as a learning experience.

Good luck to you )

edited to remove a duplicate post