OR nurse internship program

[SQueenRN]

I've been a bedside RN since January 2009 and I will be starting the Periop 101 program at my hospital on July 11th. I am sooooooo excited, I can't wait to start this new journey!

I will be one of 4 nurses doing this OR Nurse Internship Program (ORNIP) and it's the first time it's being done @ my hospital. I am nervous but so ready for this next chapter in my nursing career!

[littlemango]

We have some pretty awesome department educators who have actually spent time in the OR nurse role. The current format of Periop101 is online modules; I'm probably dating myself here, but when I took it, the format was PowerPoint slides. Between the educators, the mix of classroom time and hands on time that allows them to put things together, most orientees have no trouble grasping the information.

Will I be able to access these modules from home to review after the workday is over? Or does the PeriOp101 course offer physical material with the same content from the modules?

Just like with any other new grad/student who asks whether to start in a specialty or in med/surg, you'll find a wealth of differing opinions. I'm of the opinion that med/surg is a specialty in its own right (and it even has its own certification!) that to state every nurse must start there is a bit of disservice to recognizing it as a specialty in its own right. Not every nurse has what it takes to be a med/surg nurse- I know I for sure don't, and had I been forced to start there, I probably would have ended up leaving nursing due to burnout.

I currently work on a medsurg unit as a tech where although I don't mind it one bit for now, I can foresee burnout working as a nurse and have spoken to some of the newer nurses who are already feeling it. So I'd like to avoid this as much as possible and jump right into OR nursing, if I can. And if I had the chance to choose between the two- OR, all the way.