MamaCheese

There is a huge learning curve in the OR but once you have a reasonable level of comfort in there (usually takes about 1 year) then it's a great place to work. Most people who go to work in the OR never leave. That has to tell you something right t...

Our facility is unionized so we get the same pay as any other RN in our hospital according to the wage scale. Ditto what others said about the OT and call. I can always pick up extra hours or call if I need to make some extra $$$.

We've been using one for almost a year now. On the front is an area for either the floor or admitting RN's to fill out, the surgeon, anesthesia, and the holding area RN. Under that is an area for a pre-block time-out. Under that is a large STOP sign....

You can try to find a OR Nurse Residency program sponsored by a local hospital or take the AORN Periop 101 program through a local college/university. The college course is pricey and you'll be paying out of pocket, the hopital sponsored program is p...

We pull our meds before each case. Our Pyxis is in our core so it just takes an extra minute to get what we need. Our management would go nuts if they saw meds outside of rooms pulled with the cases.

If you're not having trouble with the modules I wouldn't worry about it. I thought the whole course and final were far easier than NCLEX. Good luck:)

We're staffed 24/7 and our shifts are pretty equally divided between 8s, 10s and 12s.

We use the same drape as Argo, the absorbable floor mats, and puddle suckers. But in the end there is always a mess. The drape works well but like Argo said if they don't do a good job of keeping the pouch open you get a lot of fluid flowing right ...

Is the community college course the AORN Periop 101? Does it give you clinical hours in the OR? If so, it should give you an advantage when applying for OR positions. Hiring someone with no OR experience is a pretty big risk for hospitals. The orient...

Check out the post from IsseyM in this thread: https://allnurses.com/operating-room-nursing/circulating-222321.html Much of it may not make sense now but it will soon. Other than that just take it one day at a time. I was precepted by different peopl...

Until you've seen a bead of sweat roll off someone's forehead and onto the surgical field I don't think you can fully appreciate the need to keep the heat down in the room.

I'm not saying you have to, I'm saying it will increase your chances of being hired into an OR. I don't know of any hospitals that will hire an inexperienced OR nurse unless they themselves are offering the program or you've already done a Periop pro...

I was able to observe for two days during nursing school. I loved it!!! I was lucky enough to get into a periop residency program at my hospital about 2 years after I graduated. No regrets!!!

Usually only if they are offering an in-house periop/residency program which redies you to work in their OR. The other route you can take is enrolling in a Periop program at a university. That route is time consuming and pricey but it will probably...

I address all the residents by thier first name and all attendings by Dr. even if told to do otherwise.

I would have done exactly what she did. We do an old fashioned betadine scrub and paint on open wounds. Why is it that such educated people can be such doofuses?

Our scrubs are on racks outside the locker rooms. They come in standard unisex sizes. I'm tall and have to wear the waist rolled and at my hips so they'll be long enough for me. They look like clown pants on most of the girls but nobody cares what...

We never get pulled from the OR to float anywhere. I cannot even imagine it I've been away from floor nursing for 3 years now and it would be a stretch for me to even try floor nursing now. Most of our OR nurses have not done floor nursing for 20+ y...

Hearts get clipped on the floor just prior to coming to the holding area and everyone else gets clipped in the OR at our facitlity.

Wow. I'd find myself in the unemployment line pretty quickly if I tried that where I work.

I :redbeathe my job too!! It was utterly and completely overwhelming for a long time but once it clicks it's amazing. I was precepted by many different people. Everyone has their own spin on how things are done so I simply took it all in and combined...

We are a 19 room OR and are staffed 24/7. We have another larger trauma center in town so we staff lightly on the evening and overnight shift since we see very little trauma. We staff about a dozen or so 3-11 people and just one tech and nurse on o...

Not all ORs are like that. Sounds like a very toxic environment in which I wouldn't stay for any amount of money. We have a few people in our OR that I consider to have toxic personalities. I steer clear of them and do my job with my head held high a...

Short surgeries for me. I like the constant motion and speed of the cases and turnovers. Cataracts get boring though so I'd rather do them just 2 or 3 days a week and mix it up with some ortho or general. The perfect balance is a room with 6 or 8 sho...

Wow, that's a little harsh. Should we shave our arms and eyebrows too? Beards are alllowed in our OR's as long as they are fully covered. We have a disposable hood with long ties that wrap around. If these are worn with a hat and mask the beard is...