OR orientee.. Feeling like an idiot

NurseLife329 · Nov 2, 2012

So I have been orienting in OR a little over a month and for the most part I feel I have gotten the hang of the general flow of things but almost everyday a tech will ask me to get them something and I either don't have a clue where it is in he enormous sterile hall or have no idea what they are talking about to begin with. Also when I am sometimes I see drs getting frustrated wig me being slow and I leave everyday feeling so discouraged and plain stupid.. Am I ever going to get this??!

I'm on my phone please excuse all the errors!

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 2, 2012

Take a deep breath and relax- what you're feeling is perfectly normal. It's not uncommon for a nurse to need a year or more to feel comfortable in the OR- that's why most places have such long orientations. So many nurses have very little to no exposure to the OR environment in nursing school, so they start out with absolutely no base knowledge to rely on (OR specific, not nursing in general).

Some recommendations: on days that are lighter with some downtime, spend time in the sterile processing department. This can help familiarize you with instruments; another option for those days would be to spend time in the sterile hall. One of the things we do with our orientees is a scavenger hunt. We tell them to go find something in the supply room, and we give them hints of hot or cold. It seems to stick better than to just say "here's this, remember where it is." This is during downtime, not during a case when it may be an item needed immediately.

I would also make sure your preceptor is doing a good job- helping you find things, come up with a routine that works for you in getting a case started, and is just generally supportive. If that's not happening, you may also need a new preceptor.

OR-RN2011 · Nov 8, 2012

It takes time. There is a huge learning curve in the OR. On days when you have down time stock rooms, help other nurses with opening their cases, break down cases and put away supplies that were not used. This helped me learn where things were without as much pressure. Talk to your preceptor and ask their suggestions. If they have been training for a while they will know what works. Ask your preceptor for their feed back on how you are doing. If they think you are on track relax if they give you constructive criticism work on those areas. It is a great job try to enjoy it.

flipflopsRN · Nov 27, 2012

Stocking rooms and restocking supplies in the sterile core are great ways to learn where stuff is. Also do outdates. Hang in there, it doesn't happen over night and no one was born knowing how to do their job. And knowing where something is isn't what makes you a good OR nurse. THere are plenty of people in my OR who have been around for years and don't necessarily remember where the schnickelfritzers are.