penny77

thanks for the advice! I'm starting off on an antenatal, high risk pregnancy unit and was wondering if there was any contraindication to palpating the abdomen of a women with PPROM or placenta abruptio.. I actually have yet to see a nurse using Leopold's maneuver. Most of them just ask the mother where the heart is normally heard, like what was suggested in the other comments.

Hello all, I'm new to labor and delivery and would like to know if you guys can share any tips on finding the fetal heart using the doppler? Are there any locations on the abdomen that you find easier to spot the heart depending on the GA of the baby? Any tricks on finding the FHR with mother's who are overweight or have an anterior placenta? thanks in advance!

What is your take on flipping sterile items onto sterile fields? I avoid is as much as possible however the culture in our OR is to flip almost everything, including instruments.. How is this practice viewed in your OR?

Hi, So I have about half a year's experience in the OR and it's been a steep learning curve! Currently I'm trying to hone my skills as a scrub nurse and am experiencing a bit of difficulty as I do not scrub regularly and as often as I presume would be ideal to develop consistency. I was wondering if any of you could share some tips on how to organize my table? For example, what is your system of placing the small items on your table (sutures, needles, clips, ties, syringes..) where do like to you place your sponge, drapes, pharmacy.. how do you place items on your mayo stand, or in your pan. I hate that feeling of panic when you can't locate an instrument you know you have on your table! Please share all your valuable insight! Thanks, Pen

hmm. good suggestion, maybe i will try to take a few overtime shifts on another unit.

I'm hoping that I can still get those opportunities :) I was an OR nursing student and my experience was that basic care (hygiene) was often delegated to orderlies, meds were given only by RT or anesthesia, and anesthesia was responsible for the pre-op assessment. I will still take the opportunity to be as involved as possible and ask questions. I guess the OR nursing experience will differ from hospital to hospital... oh and glad to hear those nurses transitioned well!

hmm.. i apologize if my post came off offensively to OR nurses. You could simply have responded "don't worry, you won't lose any skills or knowledge because you will still be performing them, and exposed to them in the OR." much more effective and constructive, no?

thank you for that :) I thought of this while I was writing the original post, that I won't know what I'll want in years to come.. I guess I am looking for some comfort that the transition will not be too "rough" should I decide to pursue a different path.

Hello everyone! I'm a relatively new grad of '08 with 6 months experience on an orthopedics floor. I will soon be starting a new job in the OR at a pediatric hospital. While I am truly excited to start in this field of nursing, part of me is still hoping that somewhere in the future, be it 3, 5, 10 years.. i may have the opportunity to work again with "conscious" patients, perhaps on the floor or otherwise. I know there are parts of nursing, such as the patient contact, that I will surely miss. That being said.. How do you suggest I keep my skills and knowledge updated? Did any of you working in a specialty such as the OR switch to another area of nursing and find it difficult to cope? How did you work through it? Thanks for the suggestions! oh in case anyone can benefit, this is an excellent site that provides all the recent findings in studies regarding healthcare practices. --> http://www.uptodate.com/home/clinicians/index.html

Thank you for your informative response :) I have more hope for being a good OR nurse despite being "quiet and soft-spoken'

My mom came here in the late 70's with one of her friends... at the time it wasn't necessary for her to pass another board exam (she only took the one in the phils) she had to take a french test. I will ask her for more details when she's home! I just know that she tells me how difficult the french was for her, but she still managed to pass on her first try! It is a hard language to learn.. I won't lie! but there are many people who come from abroad. Australia, the US who don't speak french and they eventually learn. When you come here, you will have to take the Quebec nursing exam plus a french test. I'm not sure.. but there might be a test that you can take within Canada but outside Quebec.. maybe in Ontario? If you pass that exam, you might be able to work in Quebec as well.. I'm not so sure about that because some rules have been changing lately. The main difference betwee these two exams is the format. The quebec exam is made of 2 parts, one is practical and one is written. In the practical, you have actors who will simulate a situation (ex: patient will have angina.. what do you do?) and an evaluator will be present to see how you respond. The second part is 3 hours of written short answer questions. The other exam that you can take to be licensed outside of quebec is purely multiple choice. You can read this arcticle here -- > http://www.montrealgazette.com/Health/Nursing+grads+pick+choose/1578788/story.html It was printed not long ago in the newspaper.. and will give you an idea of how nurses are in demand here. I didn't answer ur question fully, but if you have any specifics just let me know :)

Thanks to everyone who posted! I really took what each of you suggested, and along with my own personal reasoning... chose hospital B! I got offered a job at their peds hospital in the OR. so it works out perfectly! I get a fresh new start.. Thanks again!

thank you for your input! Today, I had a tour of the peds OR unit, and by the end of it.. I was sold! Really kind and patient Nurse manager and Nurse Educator.. The orientation sounds very organized. i was surprised that there are only 5 theatres.. and majority of the cases are quite short

Hi, Just wanted to give you some hope.. My mom is a filipino nurse and she managed to pass the french exam (her french is not that great)! you can do it! maybe while u are a caregiver here, you can take french classes on the side.. I also believe that nursing jobs have not been really affected in Montreal. There are still many job opportunities and hospitals interviewing. GOOD LUCK!

hey! I answered this exact question just today on another person's thread..my answer is here: https://allnurses.com/operating-room-nursing/job-interview-for-390525.html GOOD LUCK!