Perioperative new grad residencies

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Is there such a thing? I live in the Atlanta, GA area and would love to find one for when I graduate with my BSN in December. I am in the middle of a Perioperative Nursing class, and will have had 45 clinical hrs by the time I finish. Any help is appreciated!!;

Kelly

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There are. Be sure to apply to all, be flexible in location (if your personal life allows), practice interviews questions, and be aware that some require a mininum commitment and contract

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Not sure about the Atlanta area, but in the NYC/tristate there are about 5 for new grads that I know of after doing extensive research (and there are a lot more hospitals). That being said there are more available that require at least 1 year of experience.

I've found that when looking for nurse residency programs, look up the nursing education pages on any hospital you can think of because many times they don't show up on 3rd party websites (or have specific names so don't come up in google searches). Also a lot of them are only open for a very short amount of time, so definitely start looking/applying now because some have application deadlines as early as 6 months before.

Good luck!

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Not all facilities call them perioperative residencies. We don't, because we don't want ours confused with the additional facility wide nursing residency. If you see an open OR position, reach out to the HR contact and ask about info regarding orientation. My HR department has a flyer with the information about our orientation so that those who want to know can find out that information before applying.

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At VCU Health we take new grads into our program through an internship and utilize Periop 101 through AORN. Our new grads attend the hospital new grad residency as well.

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I was accepted into a new grad program for the OR myself. My biggest suggestion is finding some type of internship, applying as a CNA/transport within the OR, and meeting with the managers personally.

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Hi Kelly - I did the 'Nursing Residency - Perioperative Track' at Dartmouth-Hitchcock right out of school. It's a 9-month program and I will say, one of the best things I ever did! It's definitely intense, but you get thrown into a lot of 'fires' in a variety of high-acuity specialties with a safety net (usually a preceptor or experienced RN in that specialty). I scrubbed a lot of high-stakes cases and got to be 'on the team', but in a learning environment. I credit the program with enabling me to excel when I started my f/t job in the OR.

I can't imagine what it would have been like if I didn't have the residency program to start with. I've been offered to become a dedicated scrub nurse on our high-risk cardiac team and attribute that opportunity with knowing how to be an effective team member during the residency program. Best wishes!

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JackandJill123, I would love to find out more about your residency experience if possible. I just applied for an OR residency and I am awaiting an answer. My concern is I am doing grad school outside of this and I am wondering if the combination will be too much. My main question for you is, did you ever feel as a new RN they expected you to know something already that you didnt throughout this experience? I dont know if this is a common fear for every nurse. I have had limited nursing experience in long-term care as an LPN so this is a whole new adventure regardless where I land.

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Hi there - always happy to lend the insights I've picked up along the way of becoming a perioperative scrub nurse. I am so inspired by your dedication to further your education. I hope to follow. The lead FA on our hire-risk cardiac team is a DNP, ACNP, RNFA, CNOR, BSN. She is pretty young, but her accomplishments and technical excellence in cardiac surgery have won her the same respect as our attendings. She was an instructor during my nurse residency and one of the reasons I fell in love with the O.R. It may be corny, but I truly believe that having 'our plates full' is the only way to pursue what sets our souls on fire. It's such an amazing time to be a perioperative nurse.

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Hi Kelly -

I did the 12-week residency at Vanderbilt and like others on this thread, found it to be a foundation part of jumpstarting my career in the O.R. I don't want to sound arrogant, but definitely felt a step-above other nurses of the same age or experience that were trying to transition to the O.R. Ironically, like somebody else on this thread, I was hand-picked as a f/t scrub nurse for our cardiothoracic team - I enjoy it very much and it's brought a meaning to my life I never expected...and now couldn't live without.

Happy to help.

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Hello -

Please read my post below - more than happy to help. It's quite the journey and so glad to see that you are still going! O.R. Nursing (especially as a scrub) is far more rewarding than any nursing program would let you believe!

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