paigec

You are just graduating from high school? Your first step it to go to nursing school and get your BSN. That is the qualification for most CRNA schools. Forget LPN that is just wasting your time. After you graduate get an ICU job because you must have at least 1 year of critical care experience. Then think about applying to a CRNA program.

I went to the OR straight out of nursing school. During nursing school we were all able to choose a specialty like your senior preceptorship and I chose OR along with 2 other students. They actually trained me to scrub in the gynecology surgery service. After school I applied for a job in the OR and was accepted along with the other 2 students. We went through 6 months of orientation and I believe had to work 18 months or so to "pay" them back for our training. I worked at another hospital that had training programs for nurses from other backgrounds. They would train them for 6 months or so and then they too would be obligated to work for a certain period of time to "pay" for their training. I haven't worked for 7 years now because I'm staying home with my children for now but back then several hospitals in our area had training programs for OR nurses because they were in such demand. Check with the hospitals in your area if you haven't already to see if they have such programs. Here is where my dilema comes in. I luvvvv the OR and have been thinking about becoming a nurse anesthetist. OR nurse experience doesn't count as the critical care experience necessary to get into those programs and now I am having trouble even getting a floor nursing job because I don't have that kind of patient care experience. Just thought I'd share because it seems I have backed myself into a corner for now. It's a shame because of all people I have been in the OR and know that it is the environment that I want to be in so I will have to leave it for a time to hopefully be able to get back to it. Good luck.

It's not a master's degree but there is always the CNOR.

Our patients are always put to sleep before putting Foleys in.

I can't think of anything to help you prepare in advance of your orientation. Yes, you will run into some nasty personalities but I expect that it is that way on the floor as well. My advice to you with regards to that is just listen to them and do things the way they want them done as long as you are in their specialty/service. I had the displeasure of working with a couple of them and seen others being completely ripped apart. I don't know if it is a power thing or whether they feel threatened or what the deal is. Oh yeah and surgeons are not always sunshine and flowers either. Some are really nice and some are really nasty. Unfortunately the nasty ones always seem to come to mind. You kind of have to be a people pleaser with some of the nasty ones and then they aren't so nasty any more. Anyway...good luck to you. You seem to have your head in the right place already. I know you will enjoy it. Just remember you run the show when orientation is over.

I have 5 years OR experience and have been at 2 hospitals. I was able to circulate and scrub at both hospitals. If I were not able to scrub I don't think that I would have done it for that long. I love scrubbing in. In my opinion scrubbing in makes you a good circulating nurse as well because you have knowledge of the instrumentation and other items that are used on the field. Two years is plenty of time to feel comfortable as a circulating nurse but if there are certain specialties that you are never placed in then you will not feel comfortable with them. You don't sound happy doing what you are doing. If you don't love it them try something else. What about PACU?

The Circulating RN is the person who interviews the patient before the surgery, they are responsible for positioning the patient, obtaining all meds to be used on the surgical field, they are responsible for all documentation which is done on the computer these days, they make sure that counts of all necessary surgical instruments and sponges etc. are done, they give report to the PACU etc. etc. etc.

Emily, I am so excited that you are thinking about the OR. I was an OR nurse while I was working and loved it. The OR is such an exciting place to be. I think that ultimately you should consider becoming an RN. In the OR you can circulate and scrub. There is always a need for OR nurses. I think that if the OR is something that you are already interested in then you will fall in love with it if you become a surgical tech. Do what interests you, but think ahead too. Being a surgical tech is kind of a dead end, being a RN is not. Good Luck!