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Discussion

Perioperative Internship Program Worthwhile?

I am a nursing student that has worked a lot in surgical units as a CNA/MA. It's definitely my dream to be a scrub nurse or a RNFA. I've actually circulated in a smaller surgery clinic and while it was not the worst, I don't want to be a full time circulating nurse.

In the Seattle area, there's an interesting Peri-Op nursing internship program that lasts 16 weeks. It states that you'll be trained in a specialization which is very attractive. One downside is that you are required to be on call towards the end of the internship.

Here are my two questions:

1. I know it depends on which hospital, but it seems that many hospitals train their OR Nurses how to scrub. Is it worthwhile to do an internship program knowing that I will be more attractive as a scrub nurse in the end?

2. Based on what I'm seeing, most places are only looking for surgical nurses to be circulating only. Is this a general trend? Are most hospitals moving towards circulating only?

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    Based on my limited experience (work in OR in two hospitals and training in a 3rd that is affiliated with one of the others) it seems true that the trend is toward circulating only. Maybe this is related to the trend toward wanting certified surgical techs who have been through a formal surgical tech program rather than just OJT.

    My first OR job was an OR nurse internship and they told me that learning to scrub had been part of the program but wasn’t any longer. My current job told me I’d have an opportunity to learn to scrub when I was hired, but I’ve been there 15 months and I’ve never seen a circulator getting to learn how to scrub.  

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    13 minutes ago, Silver_Rik said:

    it seems true that the trend is toward circulating only. Maybe this is related to the trend toward wanting certified surgical techs who have been through a formal surgical tech program rather than just OJT.

    This is likely going to be influenced by so many factors. The employer I recently left had only taught nurses to circulate and heavily relied on STs. However, they can't find STs to hire and have no choice but to teach the nurses to scrub. Which gives them more flexibility in staffing and is a satisfier for the nurses. My current employer is far higher ratio of RN to ST and all nurses learn to scrub in orientation.

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