e19xx

I love it too! well I work @ a hospital but all the patients we have are 99% chronic (w/ a dash of pretty stable medicine inpatients). HUGE difference from working @ an acute hospital.

Ah yes. When I was doing the course & talking to people who were already working there, some people have said they don't really like it because they miss the action from having more acute pts and practicing their skills. Some days I feel it can be repetitive & get bored when there's too much down time, but I can't imagine working in med surg until I retire. Dialysis allows me to have a healthy work-life balance & I feel so much happier after I changed to this specialty.

The way they do the “on the job training” at the hospital where I live is getting us to do the periop 101 course online modules! And a few classes in person. Then being buddied with an OR nurse. The format seems similar to what a separate college periop program would do so that’s why I’m kind of hesitant on paying out of my own pocket for a college periop program ?

Someone also told me the same thing! That it would give me a competitive edge and that it’s worth it to take the separate periop program w/ my own money. And! Because of “on call money” the program pretty much would pay for itself down the road. The hospitals in my city do consider hiring ppl w/ no periop experience but of course would rather give it to someone who does. How long did it take for you to get comfortable in the OR after you finished your training? And do you see yourself doing it long term til retirement? Thank you btw for the response!

I do! But it’s not a big trauma hospital compared to the other ones we have in the city.

I highly recommend trying to get in touch w/ that unit’s manager and/or educator and request a shadow shift. That’s what I did when I was curious about dialysis & wanted to know about their routines, populations, patient ratio, etc. I also believe that by doing this, it really shows initiative & kinda gets your foot in the door should you decide to work in that area. They’re more likely to remember your name because you’ve already been in contact with them before. During my shadow shift I got to see their daily routine, how busy it is, the patient population, how well the staff work together, etc. Reading forums on this site helps as well!

When I first graduated out of nursing school, I loved it! ... For a short while. I worked at one of the biggest hospitals in the city so I saw a lot of cool things & there were many learning opportunities. I worked as a medsurg float for 2 years (floated to ER, ortho, neuro, plastics, GI/GU, spinal rehab, ICU to care for ward ready pts, vascular, and medicine) then in neuro for 3 years after that. As the years went by I became more and more exhausted & stressed b/c of the work overload, the night shifts, and constantly being understaffed. I grew to hate nursing because of it & was starting to regret getting into nursing. Only reason I stayed as long as I did in medsurg is b/c of the staff I worked with (they became like my 2nd family who I absolutely loved) BUT I soon realized it’s not worth staying if it affects your mental & physical health. However, the beauty of nursing is there are so many different areas you can work in. I changed specialties & got a position in dialysis. Had to take a 9 week course (which was a breeze honestly) and I’m 1000000% happier now & have fallen in love with nursing again. The hours are better — I do 8 hr shifts, but 12s are available as well. Don’t have to work Sundays. Don’t have to work Xmas & New Years. We’re never understaffed. I have maximum of 3 patients at a time (compared to the 6-7 in medsurg). I never have to stay past my shift. I realize I’m replying to this post 2 years after you posted it. How’s nursing school going for you? How are you liking it?

Thanks for the response! Do you find that the 10 week program is enough time for a nurse with no OR experience to feel competent enough to work on her own in the OR? I was actually looking into Foothills for the periop program & was interested in inquiring but I believe they only accept nurses w/ Alberta licenses in the program ?

Hi guys, Currently love where I work b/c of how close it is from my house & the hours are really good. However, the OR has always been my dream, which I’m still planning to pursue down the road (likely in a few years). I’m from Canada & found several colleges that offer periop programs, which have been approved by ORNAC (Operating Room Nurses of Canada). The length of study ranges from 10 weeks to 6 months, depending on the college. There’s no college in my city that offers a periop program so I’d have to apply to a college in a diff city & do all of the theory online. I will likely have to travel to a diff city for the college’s lab portion then do a practicum placement in my city. I don’t mind doing the schooling nor having to travel to a different city to do the lab portion as I don’t have kids & I’m single. What I do mind is the tuition fee for the course (ex: $5k for one of the colleges). I am likely able to get some of that tuition reimbursed through an education fund that my employers offer, but the max I can request is $750. Has anyone taken a periop program at a college before (doesn’t have to be in Canada)? If so, how was the experience? And was it worth paying the few thousands of dollars to do the course? Is it better to just keep applying for OR jobs and just hope I get offered on the job training? Thanks in advance if anyone can help a girl out!!

That's awesome! I work in a hospital dialysis too and sounds pretty much like what your unit is like. I'm glad you're in a better work environment ?

The people you work with really does make a difference in your day!! I was lucky enough to have colleagues that are very supportive & helpful ? All the nurses, health care aides, housekeeping, and transport communicate with each other so well that things gets done smoothly & in a timely manner (majority of the time). I've only been a dialysis nurse for a few months but I'm 10000000% happier now compared to when I used to work in MedSurg. I love dialysis because where I work . . . Sundays off! (jk we have to work 1 Sunday a year only because we have to make up for the fact that there's no dialysis on Christmas & New Years) Speaking of which, Christmas & New Years off every year No on call It's fairly routine ...although some people might not like this & love the chaos / the rush. I used to like it too but it burns you out SO QUICK. I was always exhausted & wanted to cry at times from all the stress. A busy day in dialysis is 1000000x better than a busy day in medsurg Really get to know the patients (majority of our patients are outpatient and chronic) I don't get anxious I come home feeling accomplished (I don't stress out anymore about what task I didn't get to do during a shift b/c everything actually gets done) Less patients to juggle. The most I've juggled at a time is 3. If I work a day shift (0730-1530), I put on 3 patients for AM & then have 1 patient for MIDS til the end of my shift. If it's an evening shift (1530-2330), I start by taking over 1 patient from MIDS til their end of treatment, then put on 3 for EVE. Very rarely do we need to change a patient because they're independent and a lot of them can't void anymore No running around between rooms juggling 48294 different tasks Better hours (we have 8 hour and 12 hour positions available) There's opportunity to move up (home hemo, PD, vascular nurse, educator, charge nurse) Hopefully it's something you can still love but if not, I'm sure you'll find an area that you'll feel right at home in!

Sorry to hear you aren't enjoying the job any more ? The people you work with definitely makes or breaks the experience & I feel like if you had more supportive colleagues you'd really enjoy dialysis! I've only been a dialysis nurse for a few months but loving it so far ? It was such a breath of fresh air being able to learn something TOTALLY new, be out of your comfort zone, and develop a new skill set. I came across your original post ("Take job in dialysis or OR?") and was in the same dilemma as you a few months ago cuz I was really torn between the two as well. Even though I would have rather gone to the OR, I was offered a job in dialysis AND accepted that offer before the OR manager ever contacted me for an interview. I was desperate to leave my surgical floor (it was very stressful) and took the first offer I got, so I did the dialysis course over a course of 3 months. So interesting to hear the similarities in the routines between our training & workplaces, as well as the differences in the roles on a typical day. What exactly are PCTs and their roles/responsibilities/tasks? We have HCAs (health care aides) where I work and from what I've been reading on these posts, it sounds like PCTs have a lot more responsibility than HCAs. We don't have PCTs here! Also, why do the shifts start so early for you guys? Our day shifts for the nurses start at 0730h every day, and the patients arrive at 0800h for their treatments. Hope you are able to find a job you can be happy with (whether it's dialysis, psych, or some other area)! That's the beauty of nursing tho --if you aren't happy with a certain area, you can venture a different one ? Have you revisited the idea of trying the OR?