OR travel nursing

KayceeCA · Jun 16, 2008

I've never been a travel nurse, but I've worked with several in the OR. I think your concerns are legitimate. The travel nurses I've worked with definitely had the problems you listed. One of the hardest parts of OR circulating is learning where everything is and what each surgeon wants. You can't know those things about a specific OR, no matter how much experience you have in other ORs. In my experience, traveling scrub nurses have been much more successful than traveling circulators. Usually the preference cards are kept up to date, and surgical instruments are basically the same from one facility to another, although the name may vary sometimes. But supply location and a surgeon's quirks can't be predicted, and those are major issues for the circulator.

MsLeylaBar · Jun 16, 2008

I was a traveler, did it for 5 years. I actually started after only 1 year of OR nursing.

If you are open to the adventure and is willing to adapt to any environment, then travel nursing is for you. Make sure also that your OR background is wide and diverse. My training was in a major trauma hospital and I did almost everything except cardiac as a circulator.

Yes, you are always "starting over"...learning how one OR works, the dynamics of the surgeons, management etc. But if you look at the other side, you never have to be involved in all the OR politics and the drama. You are just there to do your job for the specific contract and if you like it there, you can extend, if not---off you go to another place.

It's rewarding in a sense that you always see a different way of doing things, the difference between a big trauma hospital, a small community hospital, a surgicenter, anything. Sometimes, you get to an OR where they have good preference cards you can follow, sometimes there's not much to go by.

My advice if you want to go for it---go with an open mind, be flexible, be friendly and show the OR staff you are there to learn how their system works and be of help at all times.

It's not always going to be easy. I've been in OR's where the staff is not very friendly towards travelers, where you meet a shrug or a stare when you ask where something is kept. Be honest when you do your interview on your skills, what you can and cannot do and when you are put in a situation where you have never done a procedure before, put your foot down.

It's a great way to travel the country, you get paid for it. And you get to meet fellow travelers and great staff all over.

It was nice but sometimes after a few years the packing and looking for a new job constantly gets old, so I settled on a previous travel assignment and became staff.

forest2525 · Jun 18, 2008

thank you very much for your input!

forest2525 · Jun 18, 2008

Lots of thoughts and experiences to think about and consider! Very helpful. thank you!

rbs105, ADN, MSN, RN · Jun 29, 2008

msleylabar-

Thank you for your note-I have been an OR nurse for 2 years as a circulator. i don't know how to scrub although I am trying to get that experience. I currently work at a level 1 trauma center at night, so I do alot of trauma and transplant. I can do some cardiac (emergency) and pretty much any other traumas.

I would like to travel next year, but I am wondering if you can give advice on a few things. I don't know if they would take a traveler to work nights, so i would most likely be stuck on days doing elective cases. The funny thing is, with all my trauma experience, I don't know how well I can do 'scheduled' cases. My trauma training has made me diversified and flexible, but clueless on alot of regular stuff. Is the diversity appealing enough to hospitals for them to overlook that there are alot of elective cases i don't know how to do? I just wonder if that is going to help or hurt me.

I plan on getting CNOR certified and am trying to learn how to scrub in cardiac and general. Any thoughts or advice you have on what would be most helpful would be great. I plan on looking at travelling to other level 1 trauma centers. Thx

rbs105

MsLeylaBar · Jun 30, 2008

rbs105:

Scrubbing experience is always a good thing so grab those opportunities when you can.

As far as your working experience in regards to traveling assignments, I'm sure there are a lot of trauma hospitals out there who would welcome you. If you are not comfortable doing elective cases, there are a bunch of swing shift and evening assignments out there too. There's not really many night shift assignments out there, that's probably because once people get those jobs they don't leave. Heh. Night owls.

If you get an assignment like 11am-7 pm or 11A-11pm , then you would start just doing breaks and such and possibly finish cases in the evening and do some traumas and such.

What do you mean clueless with regular stuff? Have you done Ortho much? Or Neuro? Those specialties would also make you very marketable too. You haven't mentioned it but since you are in a trauma hospital, I'm sure you've done the fractures and subdural hematomas right?

Anyway, good luck with everything, with the skills you have, I'm sure you won't have a hard time finding a travel assignment in the future.

rbs105, ADN, MSN, RN · Jun 30, 2008

Thank you-

Yes, I have done mainly fractures in Ortho and emergency crani's and spines for neuro, all the belly stuff (laparascopic, open stuff, perf'd bowels, all that), vascular (cold legs, AAA), all organ transplants-including multi visceral and SOME cardiac. I think I am pretty flexible, but can't put in an AV fistula, VP shunt or things like that!

I did agency work at a sports medicine hospital, so i can do elbows, shoulders, etc. I have the attitude of basically I will try anything-as long as I have a good scrub tech who can direct me.

Thanks for your input!

rbs105

socialjustice · Mar 22, 2012

As an OR traveler do you end up working assigned lines or is it mostly the add-on cases? I hope to get an eve shift so I think that this will leave me with add-on's which would be better I think than taking over a line that usually has a regular crew.

I know this post is old but are there are RN's that were supervisors in the OR and are now traveling?