OR to Cath Lab

[Silver_Rik, ASN, RN]

How difficult would it be for an OR circulator (2 years experience) to transfer to Cath Lab?  How much orientation would they need to be able to work as a Cath lab nurse? 
 

I’ve only visited the Cath lab at my hospital  once, but the set up appears identical to our endovascular surgical suite and we even used the Cath lab to do endovascular procedures while that OR was being remodeled.

[KSmedic, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Some things will be very natural to you (sterile fields/procedures/etc.). However, if your only background is OR, it might be a steep hill for you to be managing a pt without anesthesia around. Pts in the Cath lab are your responsibility, so you have to be watching and managing them aggressively. It can be done, but having some background in MS/tele, CCU/ICU, ED, or something like that is a big help. You might just need a longer orientation period to get used to having this responsibility.