why did you choose perioperative nursing?

[rncoco]

hi all! i would just like to know what made you guys decide that you want to become a perioperative nurse. how did you know that this is the speciality for you? :)

[4_Sq]

Post grad course became available, paid for by employer, I thought why not, and here I am some years later...

1) Love the staffing levels

2) Love the technical aspects

3) Love the team work

4) Love the challenges

5) Love helping patients through their surgery

6) Love 2 teach

7) LOVE THE OR:clown:

[MsLeylaBar]

I wasn't planning on it.

I was a nurse manager at an LTC-Rehab Unit and found an ad in the paper from the Level 1 Trauma Center in the city looking for experienced RN's who wanted to try OR nursing.

I applied, was one of the 6 who got the job and years later, I am still an OR nurse and will probably be until the end of my nursing career.

I had 6 months of training and during those 6 months, I was loving every minute of it.

The ability to work 1:1 with a patient is extremely nice. OR is just fun for me. The camaraderie and teamwork shared among OR staff is just awesome.

I was also fortunate enough to have a thorough orientation and we were never counted as OR staff until after we finished our 6 months.

[fusionfire32]

lets see.

i started off as a floor nurse in a medical ward. did not enjoy it at all because there was no real challenge for me just very repetitive. 2 months in and i was looking for something different. the last place i wanted to be was the or because as a student i found it very boring to just observe. never really got involved. anyway, i applied to three jobs, er, nicu and or. got offered jobs in all three and i was very confused. the only thing that motivated me to be in the or was the hours. very few weekends and flexibility in days. started in the or 4 months later and after 4 years, i think i will retire as an or nurse. i just love it. found my niche. get to do things differently than others.

[DeLynn, RN]

-One patient

-everyday is different

-allways learning new things

-cutting edge technology

-One patient

[rncoco]

do you guys not feel that the procedures are repetitive? for example, having memorized what to do in a certain surgical operation?

[cdsga]

I agree with DeLynn-even if you do the same type of surgery repetitively you still have unique situations based on the patient. It is a field where you cannot become complacent. Each case is like a new stage performance. You have to know your lines, your marks, but you can't phone it in. Stage fright occurs and should occur in every case to keep you focused and be able to perform improv if needed. Experience teaches you everything here. You don't want mistakes, you want to be efficient, and timing is everything.