happylush

Well my first week of orientation is done, and for the most part I have just been watching and helping with a few minor things... I am feeling so overwhelmed right now.. its a totally different world! It feels like I may as well have not even gone to nursing school or worked on the floor for that matter, because nothing I have learned really seems like it applies to much right now other than my assessments of the patient.... How long does it take to learn all the different tools and body positions, prepping, etc? I feel so lost, yet I know it was just the end of my first week... They told me I will have atleast half a year to a full year of training before they will put me on my own... everyone else that has been there about a year seems to " get" it.... For those of you that are circulators, do you remember how long it took you to learn the basics? To feel somewhat comfortable in your job? To learn the basic tools and equipment, set ups, etc? Thanks in advance! I dont know if anyone else felt this exact way, but any advice/stories, etc would be helpful!

Ok Kind of a long story... for all you anesthetists out there.. what do you think happened to me? I had my wisdom teeth out about 2 years ago. I remember in the oral surgeon's office when I was out one of the nurses/assistants saying " her blood pressure is dropping' then I remember seeing a bunch of funky flashing colors in my head and my ears were ringing and then I was out again"... well I woke up and my shoes were off.. the oral surgeon wouldn't come and talk to me according to the assistant, and went into his office and slammed the door ( he has been known for his bad tempers).. she told me that everything went fine! Well I went to my dentist last week... I happened to notice up on the screen a pop up box that says " anesthetic allergy"... I dont recall ever having a local anesthetic reaction or the dentist would have told me... so I am wondering what could have happened in the oral surgeons office? If it was something really serious wouldn't they have to have told me for future reference? Why did I wake up with my shoes off? LOL Did I almost die in the oral surgeons chair or something? It's kind of scary... Im questioning if something bad happened, such as me getting combative? Did I puke on him? What are some common anesthetic allergies seen in oral surgeon's offices? I dont know what kind of anesthesia was used, other than I know for sure I got some nitrous by mask before I was out... Then again I went to have an appy a year ago and came out with no complications what-so ever..

Just be yourself! :) I was so nervous for mine... turned out they were super laid back and really nice! They were cracking jokes and I was giving it right back to them after awhile! :) They asked me certain questions as far as if I was good with power tools, how I feel about specific surgeons " yes they named names".. heh um.. I told them that teamwork is the utmost importance to me, and just because your floor is separated by "teams" you dont just not answer call lights because its not your team.. etc... I told them I like working in a smaller setting, and that the OR is always what I wanted to do! All in all, just be yourself. They are not going to expect you to know a whole heck of a lot, thats what orientation is for! They are more interested in you as a person and how you will fit in with the crew, etc... :) Good luck! Im sure you will do just fine!

Yeah, I almost had a dilemma happen however... I had accepted a position the week before on the floor im currently on, but switching from day/night to day/evening... typically at our hospital once you accept a position your stuck for 3 months before you can apply again... so when they called me, the human resources lady said it shouldnt be a problem as long as the new schedule hasnt been made yet.. which it hadn't... she said it also depends on the managers... well my manager told me that she was very happy for me and thinks Ill really like it there and do a great job.. she then said im not one of the ones she wanted to see go.. but she would talk to the new manager and see when they would need me.. etc... she then went to the desk and said " yeah Im pretty sure we will be losing you" ... and seemed sad... I then felt bad in a sense because I was working with a lot of great people... good thing is that I have to finish out this current schedule before I transfer, so I will have a little more time to spend with my current coworkers before moving on to the unknown! :) Anyone else ever accepted a job then turned it down later for something else? I just keep thinking in the back of my mind that somehow its going to go against me, even though ill probably be fine.

Well after my interview a month ago, it came and went and I hadnt heard anything.. the position I put in for was filled by someone with more senority... well then another one was posted, which was probably the person that got the full time, posting their 0.8, well that one came and went, in the meantime Im currently working day/nights on a surgical floor...wanted to get off the night shifts in a bad way so they had an opening for day/evening on my current floor and I put in for it and got it! That was last week.... Well yesterday human resources called and I thought they were just calling to let me know I got the day/evening job, when they offered me the OR job!!!! I was sooo excited and speechless! I had forgotten I applied because I thought there was no way I would ever get it.... hehe They have to work out the schedules with the 2 managers but they think Ill be starting maybe in sept.... :) I heard ill have about 9 months of training, and after that I will probably be learning how to scrub in! Im so excited.. Im also going back to school for my bachelors so I can go on and become a RN-FA ... my previous goal was to go to be an anesthetist, but changed my mind because I really like the surgical side, not the putting the patient to sleep monitoring vitals, etc.... It shall be interesting! They told me I need some tough skin to work down there and to not take anything personally... I know the stress level is a lot different than my floor nursing, but I think Im a good fast learner Anyone have advice for a brand new OR nurse? Any special books to get to help out with learning things? etc? Thanks in advance!

Our hospital requires 1 year of recent acute care experience! I had an interview about a month ago and forgot about it because positions kept getting filled etc... they called me yesterday and told me the job was mine! :) I worked on a surgical floor for a year and medical for half a year as an RN... Each place is different I guess...

Thanks everyone! :) The days seem to drag by when your waiting for impt news.. whether its good or bad, Im going to keep my chin up, knowing that someday I will get there, because thats my goal, and what I really want to do! I know that if they gave me a chance Id be grea, but I understand that there may be people out there with more experience, or with more knowledge than me at this time and im ok with that! Id be a little disappointed but ill just have to keep trying! :) Ill post on here as soon as I hear anything! :)

Well my interview is over and done with! It was with like 7 people, lol not 5! They asked me some really good questions, and I feel I asked them a lot of questions which I think they really liked, and it showed I was very interested! I basically was asked why I want to work in the OR, how good I am at multi tasking, how I deal with surgeons that are jerks, what I think the job entails, and if I am good with computers and power tools. I then was asked if I wanted a tour, which was awesome and then after the tour most of them had scattered about already back to work, but two that were still near the desk shook my hand again and thanked me for coming and I felt that it went well. Im not going to get my hopes up though, because chances are that someone with more senority or experience applied. All I can do is keep trying, and if they do call, what a nice suprise. I told them that I cant stress enough how impt teamwork really is to me, and without that, what do you have? I told them im also used to working with a small group of people and they become in a way like " family" and I like the smaller specialized settings... I made everyone laugh a few times and they seemed really nice.. if I dont get it atleast I know that they may remember me if/when I apply again! :) Ill keep my fingers crossed!

Hey everyone! I have a job interview for the OR next week. I am really nervous because its going to be with 5 people! :/ EEK! I have worked as a floor nurse .. medical for a year and now a surgical floor nurse for a year and a half... so I pretty much know how to care for a patient before and after surgery, and what to look for, etc.. and the OR has always had my interest... I know there are the scrub and circulating nurse... but does anyone know what kind of questions they may ask? For those of you working in the OR, what kind of questions do you think would be important to ask a person? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! :)

Thanks for your advice... I guess I will be waiting around and hoping for an opening after getting more med/surg experience, however what I have seen around the city I live, is you cant get in without perioperative experience, and my boyfriend is not really willing to move elsewhere... so maybe I will have to pick a different specialty... thanks for all your help though! I will keep trying!

Just wondering.. are there any online courses you can take to get more perioperative nursing knowledge, experience? If most places will not hire you unless you have perioperative experience, how do you get it in the first place?

Chronic alcoholics/druggies

Well our average at night is 6 patients for me, and 7 for my lpn.... and thats usually the max for us.... especially gets hard when you get one of them nights when everyone is awake, which was the case last nite.... :/ But... overall its not as bad as it sounds! You stay really busy, but its not as overwhelming atleast to me, as day shifts are....

I just started working night shifts last week, I rotate day/night and am a new RN just coming off orientation on a busy medical floor.... to tell you the truth, if your body can handle it, nights are not all that bad... atleast where I work! It takes awhile to get used to them but there are hardly ever any new orders to check, no doctors on the floors, most of the patients are asleep so the call lights arent going off ALL the time, however once and awhile we get a night where everyone seems like they are awake.... also, I found myself having more time to think about things........ bad part is Doctors dont like to be called at 3am unless there is a damn good reason and I have learned the hard way! HAHA!!! Anyhow, good luck! All the suggestions she gave above are what I would say... caffeine is a good friend, and get a few days off between days / night shifts..... so your body has time to adjust... good luck!

Hey everyone! Well it is the start of week #3 for me getting trained in, and all I can say is " what training?" our floor has been so busy, the RN's that are SUPPOSED to be my preceptors end up having to take 4 patients themselves, which leaves no time for me to get trained in...... I am being basically thrown in and its either sink or swim..... and so far I am staying afloat, but barely!!!! One day of my training there were 14 patients on our team, and our floor was short and RN, LPN and CNA..... try that for training!!!!! Didnt happen!!!! The staffing office seems to be utilizing me as an extra person, when I shouldnt really count because I dont know enough to really be totally on my own... and its very scary!!!!! I dont know what to do.... I have tried talking with the lady in charge of the education and she said she could maybe add on another week or so of training, but it wont get any better...... the staff is trying their best to help me but its so hard when we are so busy....... and under staffed!!!! I am thinking maybe applying at a dr's office/clinic would be the better way to go.. less stressful!!!!!! Anyone have any advice, or been in a similar situation? Each day I dread going to work because I know I wont be really learning a whole lot..... and the fact that we will be too busy.... etc... its depressing!!!!!!!