OR to PACU for bedside experience???

[nurserrv]

Hello! I currently work in the OR. I was accepted as a new grad and had a year orientation which was awesome. I love my job because of the work itself, good hours, I'm involved in many ways (circ, scrub, precepting, etc). But I'm now kicking myself because I itch for floor experience everyday but I only want that experience so that I can be better in the OR because I really do love it. Most say once you work in OR you can't go back to the floor, and I guess it's worse for me because OR is all I know. But I was wondering if I could get some bedside PT care under my belt by learning pacu? Just to be familiar with actually administering meds, learning the pumps, assessing, airway management etc. What do you think?

[brownbook]

It would be very difficult simply because your bosses would need to take you off the OR schedule while you oriented to PACU. Few OR's have "extra" OR nurses at their beck and call to cover for you.

If they give you a few hours, or a few days, of orientation in PACU, well..... orientation costs money!

However it is not impossible, you can always talk to your manager about cross training.

Maybe if you don't work weekends, or have a few weekends a month you are not on call, you could get a per diem job doing floor nursing?

Or ask your manager if you can orient with the on call PACU nurse when they are called in for after hour cases? Still that would cost money!

Do you have ACLS?