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Hello @QqGgKk! I thought I’d add my two cents in addition to @MrsMig’s comment since I’m almost 5 months into my OR orientation! I completed my AORN Periop 101 course (I too did all the modules) and will take a final exam later this month. While I enjoyed the course in general, I find the best way to learn the OR is by far just being in it and practicing the skills there. I am a little nervous to take the final exam because of course it will be “by the book,” which I need to study more LOL but overall the course material was manageable. In terms of preceptors- I have a main/assigned preceptor, but I am often with different people due to differences in my assigned preceptor’s schedule and what cases are going on each day. I am learning to scrub and circulate- to date I have mainly been scrubbed, and I have done very little formal circulating (I think my hospital figured it would be best to start circulating after completion of the Periop course). Right now I can scrub GYN, general, cysto, vascular, podiatry, and plastics, and so far this is fine with me because I love scrubbing! I highly recommend learning to do both if you can. I don’t have FORMAL complaints about my preceptors, but I will say that being with different people can somewhat complicate things. I mirror my skills/set up based off of who I was with at any given day, which someone else can find incorrect at a later date LOL I just take this for what it is & know that I will be able to do my own thing once I’m off orientation! Communication is KEY- please tell your preceptors upfront what you do and do not feel comfortable doing within any given case (I.e. draping...I initially found this skill challenging). I find that some won’t listen to you regardless LOL but at least that information was communicated upfront, and they usually just end up helping me more than I’d like (which is of course better than not at all). I hope this information helps!

Haha of course, & pretty much same! OR, peds & NICU Good luck!

Ughhh! If you don't mind me asking, what units did you select?

Wow, ironic you commented when you did- I received a rejection email a few minutes afterward LOL I'm kind of disheartened I was not even offered a first-round interview, but previous comments on here lead me to believe that some units only hire maybe 1-2 people, & the majority are internal candidates. Let me know if you hear/have any luck!

Does anyone have experience applying to Main Line Health’s Nurse Residency Program? My application was waitlisted, so I am curious if this happened to anyone else who was then later given the opportunity to interview? I am just wondering if there’s still a chance I could be offered an interview, or if being waitlisted realistically means no. Thanks in advance for your help!

Thank you for letting me know! That's what I was hoping to hear : )

Has anyone applied to the Main Line Health nurse residency that was posted with the deadline of September 18, 2020? Curious to see if anyone has heard anything from them either way, about an interview (or not). Thanks!

Thank you so much for your responses! Your input is exactly what I needed, advice from the other side/different perspectives. I can completely understand why facilities have such agreements, and I can imagine it is a morale killer for tenured OR nurses to see so many come and go. I am for sure going through this contract with a fine-tooth comb, it’s potentially worth a lot if I were to leave before my commitment is up, regardless if I quit or they fire me! (It is set up to have a certain amount of forgiveness per month) I agree @amoLucia, that’s not too shabby, especially for a new graduate! I feel lucky to have a job at all, and I am excited about the offer : )

I was recently offered an OR fellowship position in which I will do the Periop 101 program (AORN curriculum) over 6 months. I have to sign a 2 year commitment contract with the hospital to account for the cost of the program. I am very interested in working in the OR, and I consider myself very lucky to be offered this position. I also completely understand why they contract the nurses in this program because the cost of training is expensive. I get the reasoning and this is not an issue! I was just wondering if anyone who has done a similar program/been contracted for 2 years had any hesitancy signing the agreement? If you did sign one, did you have any regrets doing so? Again, it’s not I don’t want to take this offer, it’s just a little daunting being contracted as a new grad who has little experience. Thank you for your help!

I just came across this while looking for OR forums since I'll be starting a OR fellowship program soon...this is awesome, thanks so much for sharing!! Seems to be many pros to the OR...now I'm curious, if you don't mind me asking, does he like working in the OR!?

OMG no way! I think there’s at least 2 OR fellowship programs in PA that are hiring right now so maybe ours is not the same, but I can tell you that the pay for my program is not good, & very low in comparison to the area of PA where I currently live. I was offered the rate they “start all GNs at” & there was no wiggle room. I too am concerned about the pay & received considerably higher offers elsewhere, but I see this program as a fantastic opportunity for me!

Thank you @Rose_Queenand @RickyRescueRN for your responses, I appreciate it SO much! This was SUPER helpful, @RickyRescueRN ! You are right that I am excited and would like to have more information at hand now, but knowing that in your case nothing was announced until closer to the program start puts me at ease a little. Thank you for painting a picture of what orientation/residency could look like, and for the book recommendation! I will look into it. Thank you again!!

Hi everyone! I am starting an OR fellowship at a large Pennsylvania network hospital in November. I feel that some of the program details are still a little vague; the job posting isn’t super thorough, and most of the information I’ve gleaned has come from reviewing other OR fellowship webpage’s that have more information. I was also very focused on my responses during the interview, so afterward my recall wasn’t the best…oops! Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here can tell me the “typical” format of a 6-month Periop Program!? We will be following AORN’s curriculum, and I take it that one day a week we will be in the classroom. Is the 6-month program typically inclusive of orientation? Also, because I am a new graduate nurse with no floor experience, can you possibly tell me how residency is incorporated into the program? What does residency entail for this kind of position? I know not every program is the same, but any insight you can provide based on your experience is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone!!! Sorry I’m late to this thread @brillecI am attending the Summer 2019 cohort too- I can’t wait to meet everyone, orientation is so soon now! I can’t answer your question about a Facebook group since I don’t have a Facebook lol sorry! @alyssawentz33 to answer your question, yes absolutely! I originally applied to the Spring 2019 cohort and didn’t get in, so I reapplied to Summer 2019 (the one starting at the end of April) and got in! I did well in my remaining pre-reqs during that time, which surely helped my chances. My advice is to 100% not give up and to reapply, you can do it! Best of luck!

Hi guys!!! Sorry I am late here but I too got into Holy Family Summer 2019; I will be attending and I cannot wait to meet everyone at orientation. So soon now! @FellowNurse220 where are you from? I live in Abington so not too far from Holy Family. Can’t answer your question about a Facebook page since I don’t have one lol sorry!