ltpbrt
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Long time lurker, first time poster. I’m a 2nd degree new BSN grad questioning my choice to come to the OR. Before and during school I knew that hospital floor nursing was not for me. My interest had always been public/community health but I was discouraged from going directly into that field after graduation from all sides. I also knew very early on that I want to go on to advanced practice sooner rather than later. The OR caught my interest during clinicals as an exciting alternative to working on the floor where I could gain some nursing experience. I shadowed several times before being hired to circulate at a very large university level 1 trauma center (with a guaranteed 6 month orientation and 2 year contract). I loved the idea of 1-1 patient care and having a front row seat to things many people and even some nurses never get to see but that make such a difference to the patient and their family. We had several weeks of classes and OR days and now are in rooms all day every day, but the excitement and rush I felt walking into the OR at the beginning has turned to pure dread. Our program gives us a new preceptor each day and even though they are all skilled and very helpful, this makes every day feel like day 1, not to mention rarely getting to see the same case twice as we are currently “case chasing.” Each afternoon my preceptors tell me that I did a great job and that I won’t have any problems being out on my own. The issue is that at this point I don’t even think I WANT to run a room on my own. I find circulating to be very mentally and physically challenging but I don’t ever see myself finding joy or personal accomplishment in it. I get to speak to my patient for about 15 minutes max and then never see or hear from them again. I find myself wanting to know about their PMH and treatment plan but have actually been discouraged from looking into these by preceptors. My job is to keep them safe in the OR while also managing to get the scrub person/attending/residents everything they need (no small task!). I really believe that I need more opportunities for hands-on patient care and clinical practice. My mental health is starting to take a major hit and I’ve been physically sick several times with stress and anxiety over possibly making such a huge mistake right out of school. I know the OR has a steep learning curve and I can’t expect to feel anywhere close to confident for a year or two. I also know people say “you either love it or you hate it”. My question is, what if you hate it? Should I cut my losses and apply for jobs in the field I had originally wanted? Is this as black or white as I think or is there a gray area I’m not seeing? Any advice is much appreciated.
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i'm currently over halfway through the one year right now and i decided to make an account here just so i could hopefully add another perspective on the program. i remember checking these forums before starting last year and being terrfied based on what i saw! in my experience so far, it's not as bad as some reviewers on here want you to believe. i'm not sure if they didn't pass a class or felt slighted in some way by an instructor, but i think some of what they wrote is pretty unfair. maybe things have changed between their experience and mine. in each section there were quite a few students that did not make it through the first session BUT it is one of the most difficult 8 weeks in the entire program and from what i witnessed, some people were not ready to be there yet. from the first day, you must be fully committed to succeeding. bellarmine does not have the admission requirements that some other programs have and it is really up to the individual to decide if he or she can make it. i would not choose any other program. for me personally, the dizzying pace is exciting and i can't imagine doing 2 or 3 years of nursing school. but again, everyone is different! let me know if you have any more questions and i can try to answer!