OR to critical care?

[Pitbullgirl]

Hi Everyone,

I just graduated in December with my BSN, and also worked for 2.5 years in my hospital's Level 1 ED as a tech. Because I wasn't 100% certain about pursuing a CRNA career, I decided to take a position the OR, and see firsthand what the environment is like and what the anesthesia providers do. Question: Do you think I've pigeon-holed myself in the OR, and will have problems getting a job in an ICU next year, assuming I decide CRNA is definitely what I want to do?

Before I accepted the position in the OR, the nurses in the ED told me they thought it would be perfectly fine to transfer to a critical care unit after 1-1.5 years in the OR, and I also got positive feedback from some of the hospitals in NC and FL, indicating I would be an excellent candidate for their ED or ICU--they would simply modify their new grad orientation for me.

My preceptor in the OR has been telling me that I won't be able to transfer to a different area. According to him, I will lose all my skills and will have a difficult time re-learning them for a unit. I don't think this is the case, but it did flame my concern for getting hired into a unit next year.

What do you all think? Did I make a big mistake in going to the OR first? Has anyone here worked in the OR, then moved to an ICU for the requisite experience? Thanks in advance for your thoughts; this board has been a great source of information.

[vadrn]

I don't think that you have pigeon holed your self at all. I'll have to disagree with your OR preceptor. You won't need the same skills in ICU that you gained for the OR and vice versa. Although you won't get the hemodynamical monitoring experience in the OR that you will get in the ICU, I think your experience in the OR will pay off in one way or another once you start anesthesia school. If anything it will at least give you a very good idea of what to expect as an SRNA\CRNA. I myself have not worked in the OR, but I can imagine it definitely won't hurt your future plans. I've got a friend that just finished his first year of CRNA school that was a surgical tech prior to going to nursing school, and his knowledge of the surgical procedures was invaluable to him when beginning his clinicals. Don't let your preceptor deter you. Get your time in the OR, transfer to a good MICU\SICU\CVICU setting and you should be fine.

[Miss Von]

Maybe I was blind to it all, but I never knew it was difficult to get hired into an ICU. However, to answer your question my friend worked in the OR for about 4 years before working in the ICU with me. She had been an ICU nurse for a little over a year and is going to CRNA school this fall. I believe OR experience is useful and also allowed you to see them in action. Transferring from any unit to the ICU should never be difficult even if it was psych. They have to take new grads...which I was so why not nurses who have skills in other specialties. Best of luck to you!

[rayman]

Had a friend in sicu that came there from the OR specifically to get experience to apply to na school. He has been a crna for about 3 years now. Good Luck.

[Pitbullgirl]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded to my post. The feedback, tips and general information I've learned from this board have been invaluable.

I don't plan on spending more than 1 year in the OR (unless, of course, I decide CRNA is not for me) before transferring to a CCU/MICU/SICU unit for the prerequisite experience. Because I don't plan on spending 200 years in the OR before transferring, I am confident I can learn or re-learn the skills I need to be a good ICU nurse. I would also go to a unit with a solid orientation.

I'm fortunate that my husband and I don't have children (although I do count our two rescue dogs), and he is an ED nurse who is happy to move wherever I can get into CRNA school. I just need to be careful who I talk to and maybe consider the source. Thanks again, you guys are great!