SkipBeat

A surgery center would not have a critical care unit to pick patients up from. Sound like you work in a facility with a weak nursing voice and bad management. There should be a policy that clearly specifies when to do a full instrument count, and there really should not be an argument if anyone wants to do a full count for any reason. Sound like you need to fly as soon as your contract is up.

Man........people are really racing to get on that high horse or ride the sarcasm train!! OP I think you should lay down your thoughts to your supervisor and let them know some changes will have to take place. It's not right that they swindled you into doing a different job than what you signed up for. If they are not willing to make changes there isn't anything you can do about them, but you don't have to stay there. I'm sure there is some employer who would appreciate a nurse like you.

My employer requires BLS, PALS and ACLS. They pay for for the course and your time to take it also. I'm not sure if they pay for CNOR but I know as of now they don't pay extra if you have it.

I would add for ENT the following: Tonsillectomy Adenoidectomy FESS/SMR/Septoplasty Hemi-Thyroidectomy Bilat. Myringotomy with tubes

I don't think it's a violation. Patients have their names, birthdays and account numbers on their bracelets.

I don't fault the OP on her opinion. It is part of the job to have to stay if it's in your contract, but nursing is job. I'm not altruistic and I don't work for free or for slave wages. If staying for a disaster is a part of the job, then I should be payed for my sacrifice, risk and dedication to get there. If I'm at work, I should be payed for every second I'm working or if I have to stay, sleeping. If I'm not getting paid, then that means I'm off the clock and should be free to go home. For those who say they hate those who go into nursing for the money, I say volunteer or donate all your wages to your employer to validate your statement. As much as it costs in time, money, and effort to become a nurse, you know you wouldn't work for free! I believe if a nurse is good at what she does and is competent, her motivation is irrelevant. It's more important for her to be skilled, with a professional demeanor. The only reason you shouldn't be a nurse if it shows you don't like it or if you're harming/killing your patients with incompetence. People need to stay in their lane when it comes to the personal motivations of others.

I think you are taking the proper steps. Just make sure you have in writing that the new shift will not work for you, and that you do not quit. If if comes down to it make them fire you. If you trust someone, have a witness come with you or someone from HR come with you.

I like the OR because you don't really get all extra crap that comes with people. You get to do your job without all the distraction of the family or the patient because they are asleep!! I love it.

Our ortho and general docs use chloroprep quite a bit. Haven't had any problems with it at all. I know it's important to let it dry completely before draping which will help with ioban sticking. Besides that, I haven't heard of any patients having allergic reactions to it.

I don't work at a facility where you have a uniform, but I do wear the provided OR scrubs. I think I'm in the minority but I like the idea of color coded scrub uniforms. At some facilities I've been to I've had a hard time figuring out who was who because everyone just wore what they wanted. I couldn't quickly figure out who was a nurse, practitioner, tech, assistant or housekeeping. People had badges, but they were sometimes under jackets or lab coats, turned around because they never stay flipped the right way, or you're squinting your eyes trying to see way down the hall what someone's badge says or what coloring it had on it. I think it would also help with security. I can walk in my nearest hospital now with a pair of scrubs on, blend in, piggy back through a security door and cause some mischief. Granted, uniforms can be copied also, but at least it's an added control. A little patient education could easily correct a knowledge deficit and direct patients to the needed personnel without you even saying a word. I also don't care about if the hospital will pay for them or not either. It's a tax write off if you do have to pay, and I'm at work to work, not look cute.

They have a school in delaware county PA. Here is the link. Delaware County Community College | Find yourself here.his school only excepts experienced operating room nurse first. So you will have to find a job as an OR RN.

I don't think it's the norm at places that are nice to work at. This usually happens when staff are stressed, underpaid, and overworked. It can also happen at places where management is terrible. I would learn what I can and get out.

I just say "Not enough."

My training experience was not that difficult, and not nearly as difficult as nursing school. Although I did not go through an official program, it was more so on the job training. There is a lot to to learn, and I'm still learning because I've only been an OR nurse about 5 months. I'm off orientation now and I think I'm doing quite well. I actually like my job way better than floor nursing. What you can expect is to learn a lot of positions, equipment, and the reasoning behind what's used and why. There will also be a fair amount of anatomy because you kind of have to know what they are doing in the surgery. If you get to scrub in your program expect to learn a fair amount of sterile technique, instruments and procedures. OR nursing is not "hard" but there is just a lot that you need to know. Just my 2 cents

Seems pretty typical to me. Usually there is only me and a tech scheduled in a room together for a case. Our surgery center has only 4 rooms and there may not be anyone in the hallway because staff are in a rooms doing cases. Running for something is not a big deal since you know ahead of time what the case is and any incidentals that may need to be handy. Also, I don't see why you couldn't just call out to the other department and ask on the phone for something. Although I think it's important to have the circulator in the room, I feel part of the reason you're there is to go get stuff because everyone else is scrubbed. It's an outpatient case, so pretty routine and you should be able to get prn's or extra supplies ahead of time. I would only see a problem if you needed and actual "assistant," to maybe hold retractors or cameras and there wasn't anyone available who was trained to scrub and assist.

Because we are a surgical center it's a monday through friday type place with no second or third shifts for the OR. All the OR nurses work M-F and since we are down to the bare minimum, I'm always circulating a room. I have talked with my manager about getting scrub experience, and she says to wait until we get more RNs. I can't blame her for that, we sometimes do not have anyone to cover lunches or breaks. I guess I will try to see if I can scrub in on some cases if my room gets done early and I don't have to give lunches or breaks. Thanks for the suggestions.

I have only been an OR nurse since June, but I think I have the basic hang of things now as far as circulating. In our facility we do a variety of cases such as general, ortho, gyn, and ent. Now that I feel comfortable to a certain extent, I'm wanting to learn more about scrubbing. Since our facility is so small, and we are short on nurses, most RNs do not scrub. I was wondering if anyone had any input on getting scrubbing experience through a course or anything else. Thanks

A NP and Anesthetist are two different career paths requiring two different education paths and licensing exams. If you become a NP first you will be able to prescribe meds if your state allows. CRNA's or nurse anesthetist do not prescribe meds outside the surgical setting. They only give meds during surgical procedures or post operatively in PACU. If you obtain both licenses you may only prescribe meds working in the role of a Nurse Practitioner. Becoming a nurse practitioner is not a way to further your career to an anesthetist. They are both master prepared nurses with neither being a higher level of education or further down the career path than the other.

I currently work in the OR and before that I worked med-surg. I believe your long term goals are what you would need to consider. In the OR you can use a DNP to assist surgeons in surgeries, round on patients, write scripts, and do general nurse practitioner stuff. The only difference is that you're trained and familiar with the OR. Also, depending on your surgeon's specialty, you probably will only treat your patients for things related to the surgery performed, such as coumadin dosing, pain meds, antibiotics and such. At least in our facility we have a medical doctor manage a patient's normal medical conditions like, HTN, diabetes, and cholesterol. Also I've noticed that most Drs have PA's in this role and not so many NP's. There are probably more opportunities to use the DNP outside the OR in a broader scope, so it really all depends on what you want to do.

I love being an Or nurse because there are no call bells! I used to hear that sound in my sleep.

Not sure if I would do it again or go to PA school. Nursing is a second degree for me and it would have taken me the same amount of time to complete PA school so...who knows. I guess I could have ended up in the OR either way.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

Well we are a very small hospital and short staffed. One of the girls I talked to said she had 2 1/2 months before they let her circulate on her own.

So I was thinking it has been six weeks since I started training in the OR. I got one day in the instrument room, and the rest of my days have been a mix between different specialties of Ortho, Gen, Gyn, and Ent. Because we only have 4 OR rooms it is not always possible to get me in the same types of surgeries in a row. So today was my first day circulating on my own. I did have another RN help set up, but she scrubbed in after the patient was settled. Everyone says I'm doing well, but I'm concerned things are moving so fast. Any thoughts?

Waitresses make pretty good money at upscale restaurants.