What it takes to be an OR nurse

ShariDCST · Jun 30, 2008

hey there. well, i have currently been working bedside with a ptaient load of 7 for the last 11 months, and now its time for me to start looking at my options. i dont think bedside nursing is for me and am interested in seeing what else is out there. this job is my first ever, i value the experience i have had, never would have thought this is what nursing would be like when i was in school. its been good but hard, and i know i dont love bedside, i just try and get through it.
anyways, main question here... what does it take to be an or nurse? what is a typical day like? do you work for a hospital or a doctor? any info would be great to help me make a decision. no building it up to be what its not, i want the good, the bad, and the ugly.

well - if you want to get a glimpse of or life as it is - not as we wish it could be - go read the post here entitled "circulating." it's got about everything listed that one should know about being a good one, and it's been tagged as a "sticky" i believe, so it shouldn't be hard to find - it's highlighted in purple.

for the rest, a fairly thick skin, a huge portion of patience, the ability to multitask constantly, to deal with change from one minute to the next, to be kind to nervous patients who ask a million questions over and over, and to newbies and teach them once you learn your own job well, to be able to organize yourself and make instantaneous changes to that plan as it comes at you, to be able to go most of a day and not go pee when the schedule gets overloaded and breaks are few and far between, and faith in yourself - i'd start out with that! good luck!