MsLeylaBar

There is a book called Instrumentation for the Operating Room by Shirley Brooks Tighe. It has a lot of pictures of the instruments. If you know anyone in the sterile processing department, they also have a lot of instrument catalogs there, and usually a new one comes out yearly so maybe they could give you the old one.

I've worked in both teaching and private hospitals and yes, I really prefer the teaching ones because there are plenty of help. Wherever you work, please don't compromise the patient's safety. I would usually ask my surgical tech to either get the stretcher or stay at the patient's bedside while I get the stretcher or bed. Patient safety is way more important than fast turnovers and if management doesn't recognize that then you are working in the wrong place. I've worked in a private OR too where turn overs were 5-15 minutes but then everyone who were free came to help clean and turn over the room as soon as you get the stretcher in so there were plenty of help for patient transfer. Can you talk to your manager about your concerns?

Here's a few threads about this- https://allnurses.com/operating-room-nursing/lose-nursing-skills-340492.html https://allnurses.com/canadian-nurses/need-advice-662985.html https://allnurses.com/operating-room-nursing/fulltime-prn-elsewhere-660895.html

There are no openings in the OR in your area? In my opinion, it's really okay to go into the OR right away and not waste your time in other specialties. If you wish to do other specialties first, it really doesn't matter which.

I don't know if your courses will be credited. Why don't you contact the community colleges around Seattle and ask. Getting into nursing school here is very competitive so you might not get in right away. In the mean time, check which ones are credited and which prereqs do you need to take again.

The hospital will have to invest in supplying all kinds of bins. A green committee was established in our OR probably 2 years ago and these people initiated everything from tracking down how much the OR saves while doing this, to doing a trial in 2 OR rooms at a time and then going all out. There's really some serious what we jokingly call "hippie green nazi" people in our OR who reprimands you when you throw something in the wrong bin. Anyway, we all got used to it, your OR rooms will get crowded with so many different kinds of bins. Anything that you get from opening a certain supply to the field that you normally would just throw in the garbage, you have to sort out, anything recyclable you throw in the blue bin. We also have a separate blue bin for any paper that has patient info on it so it goes to the shredder. There also 2 kinds of bins that anesthesia has established to throw vials of medications. I can't remember all medications but anything with Epi, we have to throw it in the black bin. There is also a separate one for just the blue wraps. In the OR lounge, there's a blue bin for recyclables, there's a green bin for stuff that go to compost. It sounds crazy but people get used to it. It becomes second nature.

I work in a pediatric OR so 75% of us nurses, surgeons and techs wear bright colored hats with all kinds of designs. The patients and families love our hats. I know there are some people who don't change their hats on a daily basis but no one is acting as hat police. I'm crazy about hats so I could probably go for 30 days without wearing the same one.

I buy my glasses from here, there's a variety to choose from and they are cheap. http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/anti-fog-safety-glasses.html

I think you made the right decision. It is always a big plus if you know how to circulate or scrub many procedures especially that you are planning to become a travel nurse. That only makes you marketable. Don't worry about leaving a nice comfy job. I know how it is but you got to do what you need to do. And if the new job sucks when it comes to people, environment, just bear it for at least a year. :)

We do timeouts in our facility the way GadgetRN said. The surgeon is responsible for initiating it. Everyone in the room stops and gather around the patient. We actually all introduce ourselves first and state our roles before reading the patient's armband and comparing it to the consent. We are a teaching facility so we always have so many different kinds of students or observers in our OR. We discuss the consent, laterality, look at xray, mark on the patient, what equipment we need, antibiotics needed, anesthesia plans, DVT prophylaxis, where the patient is going after surgery, recovery room or ICU direct etc.

Is that their norm at that hospital? That is certainly going too fast. I would understand if there were just so short of staff that day that they would pull you out of orientation but that is so unfair to you. You deserve many more weeks of orientation.

I wasn't planning on it. I was a nurse manager at an LTC-Rehab Unit and found an ad in the paper from the Level 1 Trauma Center in the city looking for experienced RN's who wanted to try OR nursing. I applied, was one of the 6 who got the job and years later, I am still an OR nurse and will probably be until the end of my nursing career. I had 6 months of training and during those 6 months, I was loving every minute of it. The ability to work 1:1 with a patient is extremely nice. OR is just fun for me. The camaraderie and teamwork shared among OR staff is just awesome. I was also fortunate enough to have a thorough orientation and we were never counted as OR staff until after we finished our 6 months.

Only thing that would help squeaking would be to wear shoe covers. I like fitflops. They are so comfortable. I use the goghs. http://www.soleprovisionsshop.com/Articles.asp?ID=142

"They don't have to wear their patient ID bracelet" Wow, really? That's a safety issue. They are really allowed to get into the OR without it? I used to work in an adult OR but have been doing Peds for about 6 years now. I understand that there are children really fuzzy and doesn't want anything to do with their ID bracelet, but our preop nurses must be very persuasive because not having a patient ID bracelet is a total No-No in our facility. We make it sound fun too. A lot of kids bring their favorite stuffed animal with them to the OR, and on we make sure to have the patient ID bracelet on the stuffed toy and that usually persuades a fuzzy kid to have it on them too, because "Snuggles" didn't mind having it on. It's funny sometimes on kids that are frequent flyers, when it is time to check their bracelet, we usually say it loud, full name, date of birth and medical record number, we find out these kids have even memorized their own medical record numbers. Kind of tragic. Back to the topic, I must admit I miss doing some adult cases like total knees and hips but I don't miss doing any of those gynecologic and prostate procedures. I love peds. Yes, we do get silly at times to help them get to sleep, we sing lullabies, we tell silly jokes, we hold their little hands. I have taken care of a one day old premature baby the size of my palm, as well as the 21 year old who has been coming in to our peds hospital since they have been babies, undergoing numerous procedures. I also find that a lot of pediatric surgeons are just awesome, and I also work a lot with the neurosurgeons who I think are the best. Some new staff who have worked at other hospitals cannot believe they are neurosurgeons, because they are so nice. Haha.

Msancheeze, I PM'd you.

Sorry, I can't seem to find any tab to delete the post. But yeah, I just want our staffing back to what it used to be.

Our OR needs a couple of nurses, 1 year current experience needed though. Sorry new grads. Seattle area.

Congratulations!!! Any tips? I'm thinking of taking the exam next year. What books did you use?

Just try it, maybe you will like it. I am used to big, long cases and that's the way I like it. When I was a travel nurse, one assigment was in a surgery center and my 1st day, I have never felt so tired in my life. It was just non stop in and out of the room with all these little cases. It's boring in a way that it is always the same little case day in and day out, a bunch of tonsils, hernias, breast biopsies, knee scopes etc....but I think it is hard work too. But of course, there's the no weekend, no call advantage.

Our OR morning huddle starts at 0700 so most of us come to work around 6:45-6:55 to change in the locker room. Same with the off shift staff, they come in ready to work at 0900 and 1100. We always get a 15 min break in the morning, breaks start at 0900, lunches start at 1100 for 30 min, pm breaks start at 1400 and for those who work 12 hour shifts like 7a-7pm staff, they get another break around 4-5 pm for another 15 min. The only time we don't get a break is if we got overlooked and if you call the charge nurse then they correct it and would send someone. This is a medium size OR. We have a union.It states in our contract that we always get a break after every 4 hours of work. I realize that in other places that breaks are rare. In response to Argo, I have worked in the OR for many years too and I also love where I work but I do care whether I get a break or not. This is reality for us here. We get our breaks, our turn over times are between 10-20 mins..maybe half hour for spines or cranis, when would you have time to grab something to eat. You are preparing for the next case, seeing the patient, opening for the case. Yes, you can go to the bathroom but eat? Do you just grab a protein bar? Eat a half a sandwhich?

i have 3 questions: 1 - how to gain more experience in the or as a nursing student? my workplace has employed many new grads before in the or, most of them did like a 3 month clinical option on their last year of nursing school. is there anything like that on your nursing program? that would be the best way. 2 - will getting a certificate as a surgical assistant will boost the chances? what would a surgical assistant do? we have surgical technicians or scrub techs, that's usually 1 year of school. is that what you are thinking? if you are in nursing school, don't bother with that. 3 - is there any test that i can study and take as a new grad to become an or nurse ? the best way is just to find a hospital who hires new grads for the or or accepts internships.

A lot of US Hospitals utilize surgical technicians so they do the scrubbing. It really depends on what hospital you will be working at, and how many surgical techs they have. In my OR, the RN's only get to scrub when techs are short. The circulating duties you described are pretty much the same here. Not much difference between public and private hospitals, I don't think. Just from personal experience, public hospitals tend to be teaching hospitals so there are residents and students and surgeries take much longer because of the teaching aspect. I like teaching hospitals better, it is a nice environment and there's always a lot of people to help you. Private hospitals, the more surgeries they do, the more revenue, so it's really fast paced. Breaks are the same, some ORs may not have morning breaks but you get 45 min for lunch.

I don't think OR's are hiring LPNS nowadays, not in my area anyway. In my OR, I know 3 LPNS but they have been working here for 20+ something years, one is working as a surgical tech so I'm guessing she's had some kind of on the job training many years ago. Two LPNS are working as anesthesia techs.

Hospital provided and laundered scrubs for us. We are allowed to wear cloth hats and we don't have to wear bonnets over them.

I'd say go for it. Med-Surg is not for everyone. I would never go back to doing Med-Surg ever, at least you have 6 months under your belt now and you know what its like working in the floors now. A perioperative program in your area is a great opportunity. You must have seen some posts here from new nurses and they don't even have a free perioperative program near their area and they are thinking of paying to get into one. Don't tell your boss just yet. :) Best of luck to you.