Dove87

I also towel roll on the back table, but on the mayo I have all my instruments with the curves up. I have had nurses say it is easier to pick up if the curve is down and vise versa. It's a personal choice really. Aubgurl makes a good point about the puncturing possibility, as well I find it easier to see the instrument tips if the are up instead of down.

Pre-admission surgical screening for elective procedures, PAR, endoscopy, surgical floor on the ward

I am also new to the OR and am also experiencing similar hazing and the unfortunate expected OR culture behavior. I knew going into this, that the OR would require me to have a thick skin, expect that not everyone is going to like you, and that it would be a completely different working environment than bedside nursing. However, I just feel that some people really take some kind of sick pleasure in watching you struggle and leading you astray purposly just to humiliate you. I just don't get why, never have I experiecned this kind of behavior - is it that they have such low self esteem that the only way to feel any satisfaction in life is to belittle and have some control over an inexperienced person? "Nurses eat their young" is at a whole new level in the OR....It's just been difficult when I come to work eager to learn, ask questions, and have a positive attitude that it is met with such hostility at times. It's been very hard to get used to as I am a people pleaser and love to help the team get the job done. As a new OR nurse, I feel that when I step back to absorb what is going on or when I don't know how to best help the situation, it is seen as my being disinterested and slacking off. It's not the case though, I just lack the experience to know what to do in certain situations....Sometimes I feel like you're expected to know things that you have never seen before and be able to do it flawlessly. It's a hard working environment but I am not giving up. I have tried to surround myself with the people in the OR who are supportive, understand that the transition is a steep learning curve, but these people are a select bunch. These are the days where I really feel my anxiety lessen, my preformance is improved and my confidence builds. God bless these nurses. For the hazing nurses, yes, I understand that it takes a lot of time and patience to help new OR nurses become efficient and an asset to the OR, but it still does not give the right to create a toxic working environment. Instead of the hazing why not help me so that I can be helpful faster!

Love: General, Plastics, Ortho Hate: Urology, Gyne A lot of the love/hate has to do with the team (surgeons and nurses), you always can tell when you are going to have a good day or a bad day based on the team...

One of my biggest pet peeves! I just find chronic lateness so rude and inconsiderate to the nurses who have just finished a loooong, grueling night shift especially, and all we want to do is give report and go home. On our unit, we had a chronic late nurse who would show up and would never have a good explanation to why she was late (she lived 10 min away too). It was also this same nurse who would constantly not have her written reports completed before the next shift came on. Some nurses just don't get the concept of prioroties and time management - two huge skills that nurses need!!!! (She is transferring this week after 3 years on this ward) :yelclap:

Hi everyone, just reading through some posts and I am happy with how many people who have entered the OR have found their passion and really do love their job. It has me thinking about how different floors and specialites require their own skill set and also have their own daily routine practises. For all you OR nurses out there, I am curious in knowing what skills that you used to do a lot on the floor, that you aren't doing on a daily basis (or never again!) in the OR. As well, probably for all the OR nurses who entered OR nursing with little floor nursing expereince, what nursing skills have you never preformed that may surprise other nurses?

Graduated May 2011, passed the boards in June 2011, got hired in September 2011. It definately was not easy. I was able to get an interview by writing an email to the nurse supervisor on the ward that I had preceptored on before graduating. She then passed on my resume to the manager and I was able to get an interview. Tough job market right now, it's all about networking and who you know, seems like that's the only way to get a job these days...

I am a new RN with 4 months experience in a per diem role and I have already been thrown into the role of charge nurse on a busy med-surg ward when staffing is always an issue on several occasions. The first time it happened, I laughed and said, "are you kidding me, I work per diem, haven't been on this ward in ages and you want ME to be charge!?" Escaped it that time, then on one night shift I decided I could handle it given there were students that helped out with my assignment. It went ok, but honestly it is so unsafe to be putting a per diem nurse with little experience in charge especially when there are regular nurses working who should be taking on that role. I am going to go to my manager and ask about what the policy is for per diem nurses being in charge. It is so not right. The last time I was "in charge," staffing was calling me constantly, I had a heavy patient load, running around trying to solve other nurses's issues, and wouldn't you know it, the regular nurse with a student didn't take the role of charge nurse.....getting my one year then I am out!

I remember having to hang a loading dose of IV vancomycin for one of my patients. It was to be run over 90 min, though I like to run it longer than that given it is so irritating to veins...so I made sure the IV was patent, hung it, came back after 45 min and unfortunatey I could tell that the IV had gone interstitial. His arm was a bit puffy and red, looked painful though the patient denied any discomfort. I immediatley discontinued the IV, started it on the other arm and ran the rest through without problem. Though I have to wonder, given that this was the loading dose, would this scew the next vanco draws? I was assured from collegues that it shouldn't as most had infused. Poor guy, I hope that the swelling and redness goes down HATE PIV Vancomycin!!

I am from Canada, and yes casual, per diem and prn are all the same thing. I was hired to pick up sick calls, vacation relief time and any other vacancies that come up, therefore I get called non stop. There were no set hours that the manager expected me to take, but the manager said that I wouldn't have to worry about not getting called to work. Boy was she right! It's working out well so far, but I am not always taking shifts (avoiding phone calls all together), when I need a break. I work pretty much 3-4 shifts a week which works well for me.

I am a new grad and have recently been hired for a job floating between med/surg wards. I have been at this job for 3 months and have been picking up a lot of shifts, which is great. I typically get called twice a day to work the next day shift and then in the morning to work that night shift. There is never a shortage of work, it seems like I can work any day at any time. Is this typical for casuals? For all the other casual workers, what are your typical hours that you work? How many shifts are you taking per week?

I can relate to what you are feeling. I am a new grad myself and I have found the learning curve and the added responsibilites to be both great and also anxiety provoking. Some days I feel like the stupidest person on the floor - I'm thinking things like - "I should know this...." "Should I do this, do that?" "Where do I find this?" "Who do I call"...and how many times have I been stumped and have no idea what the next appropriate action should be. The list goes on. But I have found that surrounding myself with nurses who are willing to answer my so called "stupid questions" has gone a long way. Afterall, if you tell me something once, I will probably know what to do when a similar situation comes up. I think that seasoned nurses need to realize that so called routine ward policies that everyone supossebly knows, aren't always so routine for everyone. It all takes time, I can't wait for the day when I feel like the seasoned nurses do!!! hang in there :)

I am also a casual and I am liking the flexibility that it offers. I have been at this job for about 2 months now and I often get called 2 times a day to work that night or the next day. I find myself sometimes avoiding the phone call all together because it is too much. I consider myself very lucky to be able to obtain "full time" work as a casual, but as a downside I get no benefits. For me though, having the flexibilty at this point (I am young) outweighs having benefits right now. For those of you who are also casuals, what is your opinion on avoiding staffing phone calls....is it wrong to not pick up the phone? For me, working my 3-4 shifts a week that I have pre-booked is plenty for me as I do have another job. I just feel bad that I let the phone ring, does it look bad to the manager if I dont pick up the additional shifts?

I passed!!!!!*wineIm from BC, so happy! Hang in there everyone. Mine was in a large white envelope and had 2 papers in it, one congratualtions letter and a certificate stating i had successfully competed the CRNE.