Nscorpiored

Wow! This thread is 4 years old and I am coming up on my 4th year as a circulator time flies and the way my career has changed. Hopefully, you have been able to find a solution but I did want to add since going along further in my career. Several facilities allow or nurses to do float pool/per diem and there is no on call requirement (unless you sign up for them on your own).

Agreed! It's so much to learn and you have to hit the ground running it's unfair how they expect OR nurses to come in, know everything, and be comfortable doing it. I would say that is my blessing at my current staff position. It's a teaching facility even though my main service line is (neuro/ortho) I can do general/gynecology/robot/cysto/vascular or any given day/week That versatility helps a lot Good luck to you

Do you feel that you will pursue contracts solely for orthopaedics or trying again to work in an OR with various specialties

Is this a travel contract??? Because I enjoy Ortho/Neuro as I move further into my career I plan to more than likely do solely Orthopedic Surgery/OR PRN/Per Diem

Interesting because travel nurses have told me that you need to skilled in, of course, the basics, neuro/ortho/general/robotics/gynecology/cysto (I do all of these in rotation but my main service line is Neuro/Ortho) and CVOR Are you able to give breaks/lunches in various rooms to help with your skills? Also, ask to be placed in these different surgeries you will be surprised at what you pick up What exactly are the skills they are looking for because as another poster pointed out you are expected to be up and running but if your skill is ortho trauma/level 1 ... something tells me you can find a travel assignment

VERY! At my hospital the CRNA/AA/PA brings the patient back to the OR but only after the OR nurse has seen, interviewed, signed off on the patient. Those few minutes have helped me determine what type of anesthesia they need/want, implants, allergies not accounted for, if they understand the procedure and is there even a consent/H&P update It's imperative the OR nurse see their patient before coming back to the OR

Yeah I can see the dilemma Then I would say working in a surgery center would be best instead of an acute setting...because call is apart of OR life...and unless they are willing to work with you (my job I think gives me about 30 to 45 minutes to get work if called in) then I am not sure what other options you will have

Sorry you will have to take the advice of others and just do ambulatory/surgery centers (and even they sometimes have to do urgent/emergent cases)...the only other option I have heard of is if you have done a certain amount of years (25 years or more) or of a certain age (65 and up) But if you work in an acute setting there will be call/lates...at my hospital OR we must take lates during PeriOp 101 orientation...we are known as 4th and 5th lates so we don't always stay the full four hours after our 8 hours shift...but once off orientation we are expected to take 1st, 2nd, 3rd lates and be on call for holidays/weekends/and must be able to know how to work nights

Yes! They have cancelled all elective surgeries emergent/urgent only. We come in the morning and have more than 20 surgeries, by 730 am the surgeries are cut down to less than 10 Speaking for myself due to having previous nursing experience I have that to fall back on so I have been floated outside of the O.R. My director has to approve the hours, no overtime, 40 hours weekly, but also be available to take surgeries in the O.R. for learning (I am still in the PeriOp Orientation and have 8 weeks left for rotations) April has been a rough month and I suspect that May will not get any better. This will be routine for several months but I am hanging in there as best as I can

Well let me just update all of you because I didn't mean to quote myself LOL It's a lot of hard work but it's proven to be even harder since Covid-19 hit my orientation has been majorly effected On one hand, I am getting a well rounded orientation simply because everyday I come in I am placed in a room with up to 2 other nurses, we are sharing procedures, and in my case I am working even harder to improve on circulating the room (patient care, urgent vs. non urgent steps, prioritizing tasks, setting up the room, grabbing the proper equipment, proper set up for the bed, etc) It's true what the previous Perioperative group told me when I first cmae to my program that I will miss those days I could sit in a classroom all day and study from a computer Now I spend my mornings running/tired/and worrying whether or not I will get a full 8 hours of work/hands on experience My best advice is to hang in there There will be days where you feel like quitting, the environment of the OR will teach you to develop a thick skin (I am not saying let anyone push around), there will be days where you feel dumb and unsure of yourself but just remember that this all apart of the process This is the first time in my nursing career where I was not at the top of my game. I went from being rewarded/awarded, lauded for my work as a floor nurse and now I am not progressing as well as the others When someone gives you advice until you are out of the orientation process just nod and shake your head. While in the room, face-to-face, always after the procedure and away from prying eyes and ears, ask your preceptor for real and honest feedback Everyone will have a different approach to each surgery and response to various staff members, but keep in mind how you speak and your demeanor can determine how they evaluate and teach you Good luck and I will keep you all posted

Well it's official I passed the PeriOp 101 Final Exam and I am now looking forward to my rotations for the next 6 to 9 months. As for the final exam To the poster who said it wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be. I would have to agree to that statement a million times over. On the other hand, it does help to start studying, doing the modules, and going through your study guide (if you are given one) from the start of the program I waited too late but the questions on the exam do vary...You do need to know positioning patients (problems, what to expect)...Stages of pressure ulcers (had one question and it was obvious)...There were a lot of questions on sterility/disinfection/maintaining a sterile field, fire safety, preventing skin injury intraoperatively, knowing the different reasonings for specimens (cytology, routine, frozen, etc), documentation, assessment (PreOp, IntraO, and PostOp -- remember PACU is first looking for airway and respirations in phase 1), know the air exchanges for the OR (20 air exchanges) and know the humidity is 20% to 60%, know the areas that are unrestricted, semi-restricted, and restricted (those were matching questions), know the various types of anesthesia (those were matching questions as well), know what WHO/JACHO/IOM/CMS are responsible for (those were matching questions), how to treat a reverse Heparin (protamine), the stages of healing, to treat Malignant Hyperthermia (dantrolene), and yes you will need to know some information about sutures (nothing extreme on my test it was True/False), know that blunt needles are for cutting the liver/taper is for vascular anastomoses, and Keith needles are for cutting the skin (there are questions asking you to identify), and know the events that has to do with sterilization (eg, gas/temperature/time/steam/pressure/event related/not time limited) There is no such thing as over studying and pay close attention to the modules, have a review group with your nurse educator so that you can know what to focus on and don't stress The questions are straight forward and not as complicated as one would think Good luck!!!

Congratulations and my program started in October so in a matter of a month I will be taking the Periop 101 Final Exam...I am now on week 2 of didactic/computer modules...we are rotating in and out of the OR to learn instruments, scrubbing in and out, charting, and the dynamics of the OR in general It's a lot of work and studying especially the instruments...

My previous place of employment had a policy in place that nurses who have been in the OR for 25 years or more did not have to take call My present place of employment, the educators explained to me unless they are needed due to a shortage on the floor they also do not take call and the OR now has a dedicated weekend team to prevent so many on call nurses for the weekends Presently, the new rule for on call is that you either sign up for being on call or be assigned As a new operating room nurse going through the PeriOperative 101 program I don't have to worry about being on call until after orientation technically speaking we aren't considered staff until we are done which will be next year summer Me personally I am not crazy about being on call when my time comes on the other hand I have been told it's a great way to make money and my job does allow for days off during the week if need be for on call work over the weekend

I am finding that it does come in handy because it allows for you to learn at your own pace, it specifies in great details why you do what you do and the reasoning behind each aspect, in addition there is information and training you wouldn't receive if you were just thrown into a traditional preceptor/preceptee role On the other hand, you already have 4 years of Operating Room experience and I am not sure what you would need to learn or re-learn after having a substantial amount of years in surgical nursing Novices such as myself benefit because this is a new world to us and it does require a different type of training and education to truly understand the workings of being an Operating Room nurse

Look into Emory they do their PeriOperative 101 Nurse Residency around February/March, June/July, and September/October; Grady Memorial is Level 1 Trauma but I saw their job openings for the PeriOperative 101 Program listed around February/March (never got a call back from them either), and there is also Piedmont Atlanta Hospital (one of the higher paying hospitals) they do a Nurse Horizons Program with a 2 year commitment; and you can add Northside Hospital (doesn't pay as well) but they put out there Operating Room Nurse Residency in the past few months Hope that helps