Please help...need advice!

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Hey guys...need advice! I am a new nurse who started out in the OR..I have had NO OR experience whatsoever in school or otherwise...not even a lecture on the OR. In the interview and on my contract with the hospital...I was promised all this wonderful six months of training and the Periop 101 class..so excited about my training and my new experience in the OR I accepted the job. Not only did I NOT get ANY education whatsoever but EVERYTHING I was learning I was trying to look up on my own at home or from a room. When I would ask for advice or questions in the OR rooms...the other circulators would tell me how great I am doing and would bad mouth me to the so called educator or would tell me that "this is not a teaching hospital"...So the educator unannouced pulled me aside 3 months later and told me "oh yeah by the way...I have heard from the other circulators that you have been prepping and positioning wrong the WHOLE time." I am thinking why didnt they tell me that RIGHT then and there that I was doing things wrong. No offense, but I think when it comes to patient safety that that was NOT a good idea or maybe its just me. I have TRIED to tell the "educator" about the issues and she said "this was NOT a teaching hospital and that all ORs are like this." In fact they had another new nurse to the OR with NO experience and they had her running a room BY HERSELF at 2 1/2months and would tell me that she could run a room at 2 months and that I should be able to. I have since left this place as I didnt feel like this was a good working environment and was not safe for practice. But now I am interviewing at other places...which are other ORs because that is my only experience but I am FRIGHTENED that ALL ORs are going to be like this. I tell you guys out of all the jobs I have done in my life that was the WORST experience of my entire life!!! But if all ORs are like this then maybe it is not for me. I do NOT like performing actions without knowing the WHY behind what I am doing...I do not think it is safe. But seriously is it just me...are all ORs like this...should I run away from the OR forever cause I NEVER want to go through this EVER again. Please help me guys!

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

I can tell you for a fact that ORs are not the same. At my previous hospital, you couldn't even get in unless you had experience that you paid for from some tech college.

The current facility I work for, just took a nurse that has 8 yrs day surgery experience and placed her in the OR. She just got off of preceptorship after 6 months of almost 1:1.

I think you did the right thing by quitting.

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I hope that not all OR experiences are the same...again I have job offers in other ORs and am so scared that history will repeat itself!

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Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.

I can see that hospital having many malpractice lawsuits in their future. SMH! this is preposterous.This is where most training should take place. The seriousness and nature of this floor. The circulators sound malicious, they should have been correcting you right when you made an error so you could learn. They cared more about making themselves look good and you look bad, does anyone there care about the patients? I wish you much luck in your next hospital experience. All ORs are not this way Im sure.

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Hey thanks...I knew I had to leave...anything had to be better than that.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

God sakes, how bad was that for you? No hospital I have worked at would EVER throw u into the OR (theatre) without training or nil experience - you just would not get in. It is too dangerous and you would unsterilise everything. You also need to know how to scrub and scout effectively - you start off with small operations and work your way up.

And I would have been shouting at them before I l left - 'What happened to my orientation?!' You were right to leave.

Try for other OR jobs but ask before applying re their orientation and ensure it is in ur contract.

Also apply to all the nursing agencies and other places like doctors offices, telemarketing, ur health department - think outside the square. Apply for everything, even if ur not qualified, and say you are willing to be TRAINED!

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Next time make sure you not only have the orientation verbally committed to, but ask to see their orientation manual and ask to talk to others who are relatively new to the unit and find out what they got. Ask how you will be evaluated, and if at the end of the orientation you don't feel you're ready, then what?

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