shodobe

Lose your skills being an OR nurse! Are you nuts or heven't done this very long

I guess I'm a bit confused on this subject. I retired a few years ago after 42 years as an OR nurse. I could scrub everything that walked through the door. It is a disservice to anyone that gets pidgeoned holed as a one and done type OR nurse. Everyone should learn as much about all services so they can be a bit more marketable. If all you can do is open hearts or urology or ? your pretty much useless in all other aspects or OR nursing. The worse ones were open heart nurses because that was all they could do, didn't even know the basics of general surgery or ortho. I got good at everything and was comfortable in all situations. The problem now a days is hospitals don't want to taech anyone to scrub, only circ. What's with that? I did both and felt I could walk into any hospital in the country and fit right in. So my thoughts are, learn all you can about everything and don't limit yourself to one specialty, it won't help in the long run.

42 years as an OR nurse, now thankfully retired . My respect for the MAJORITY of techs has plummeted over the years. I remember a time where RNs scrubbed all cases and circulated and there was no such thing as a scrub tech. The ONLY reason they were ever brought into the OR was to save money and that was it! They are a one dimensional person who can only do one thing, scrub and not very well at times. They have to remember who is in charge of the room and that is the circulator, or has that pretty much gone down the drain? Get a back bone and exert yourself and stand up for what you know is right. Management will always look out for themselves and those who will kiss their backside and not for the staff who matter the most, THE NURSES

Been gone from here for a very long time. Just retired after almost 40 years in the OR. I run my room NOT some Tech. Simple for those out there who allows this to happen.

Stop letting us wear cloth ones even under a bouffant about a year or so ago. The director at that time stated that AORN recommendation was that cloth hats were not a good idea. Even though AORN would not come right out and state this was forbidden my director changed the department policy so she got her way. I keep my hair very short and the bouffant slides all over the place. I was willing to even wear the bouffant over my cloth but was told no.

Look in AORN Standards and you will find that yp\ou have event related issues here that as long as the package hasn't been dropped or has holes, etc... the item, as long as it doesn't have an expiration date, is sterile forever if need be. Most manufactuerers will have a hidden code to when the item was sterilized but I have never been told by any company how long the shelf life of an item is.There use to be many years ago the five year rule but it doesn't apply anymore because of the high cost of products. You don't want to be throwing out a $500 item just because it was made 5 years ago. Like I said go to the AORN Standards Manual for answers.

Problem is the call shouldn't be on a "volunter" rotation. It is a disaster in the making unless your hospital makes it mandatory. Administration probably doesn't say anything to avoid paying stand-by pay. Do you get pay for this volunter work?

At my hospital we don't do OJT in the OR but L&D does train their techs to scrub C/S. My director is trying to implement a program for all of the non-cert techs to take weekend classes so they can challenge the cert test.

Not all JWs abide by their beliefs because I have had a few over the years who sign the refusal but also state that if it was the difference between living and dying, give me the blood! So this is an issue that should be resolved BEFORE surgery and yes the surgeon isn't always right. PS this has only been a few over 37 years in the OR kind of like Holiday Catholics or Jack Mormons

The last time I checked, according to labor laws it is considered harrasment on your part if you question the person's excuse for calling off. They don't even have to tell you why, only they're not coming. We do have a max amount you can call off until discipline kicks in.

Your not going to get an answer from nurses who have less than 15 years or so because that draping is really old school. I use to work with a hand surgeon who always used this technique. Never, ever had an infection and I don't see a problem with this.

Don't know where you are located but the hospital has no backup plan if you were not able to go home due to severe weather or ?

So far the answers I would expect. keep them coming

I posted a topic like this last mar but got only one response. I was wondering how your hospital treats the on-call crew. Does your facility provide a sleep room or somewhere you could stay when on call and live just a little further away than the rules allow. Is it a big deal if you conk out on the couch in the break room if the weather is to bad to drive? I am trying to get an idea if your staying in the hospital while on-call is a big deal. Thanks

Your right, if there is a problem in sterility, counts and such I blame the circ because that room is their responsibilty. They have to keep and eye not only on the scrub but the surgeon and anesthesia.

The problem here is your getting advice from people who have never set foot in an OR and haven't a clue what goes on behind "The Door"! All of the answer above were correct and to the point. I've been at this for 38 years and still consider the best nurses in the hospital come from the OR. We all get a taste of floor nursing during school but that one or two days you get in the OR doesn't even come close to what the nurses deal with on a daily basis. I might not be up on some aspects of floor nursing because times change and so does floor nursing. But I could go and hold my own there, whereas they couldn't carry my scrubs. So your best bet would be to listen to OR nurses and not floor nurses.

After all these years I have come to the conclusion that there is more of a selection by employers on who they hire than there is a glut of nurses. Employers can be more selective on who they hire because they want to get the right person for the right position. This doesn't mean they have to have that BSN or tons of experience in other areas. They want people with some experience already, can you blame them? It cost money to train someone and if the nurse comes into the position already with some acute experience, good! I work the OR and we just can't spend months training someone whereas the floors can get someone up and running in a few weeks or more. The job market in all areas of the country, not just nursing, is a cut-throat business where some people will do about anything to get that job. I don't blame anyone for using what they can to get a job, as long as it is legal! Connections, connections, connections. It is getting to the point it is WHO YOU KNOW that gets you the position. Being prepared for the interview, resume in hand, answering the questions honestly (not what they want to hear) will help tremendously. I also know the word, PATIENCE has been used all to often, but what can you do but have........ PS, what I mean by a glut is as long as this country allows foreign nurses to come here and take jobs from US trained nurses there will always be too many nurses in the picture.

Anesthesia Awareness is the real deal. I researched it in depth a few years back so I could give a inservice on it to the OR staff. Interesting subject.

All of our RNs scrub with exception of two. When I first started ALL RNs were trained to scrub because we didn't hire Sts. I scrub as much as I like to but not as much as I want to because I am charge in the evenings. None of the RNs I have ever worked with over 36 years ever started out as an ST.

It is really funny that you mention that because it is pretty much true at another hospital I work at. This group is excetional and extremely talented at what they do. The only problem is this, they pretty much struggle outside the heart rooms! They get into such a routine they lose all other skills. Some of these nurses have been doing this for many, many years so what can you expect. Like I said in the heart room they are the "queens" of the domain but outside they are pretty much lost.

You might be a fit for the PACU. Try that and maybe some director will see the potential in you and give you a shot. Remember the PACU is only down the hall from the OR! PS, sorry I didn't see the rest of the replies. Congrats welcome to the MONOPOLY!

So neither one of you work in the OR? The acuity of my patients today is no worse than the ones I took care of 35 years ago, so your comments really have no point. In some areas of nursing these certs are essential, but I have an anesthesiologist, not CRNA at all times with my patient so mute point. A lot of the ORs I have looked into do not require these certs, and these are large facilities so no backwood facilty. Most of the RNs that work at these places tell me it is not required for them to work there. ACLS will be a necessity and will be required, but PALS, why? I guess I should have posted this in the OR section where it matters. Thanks anyway. CLOSE SUBJECT!

Just a quick question for those out there. If you have worked for many years on the Job description you were originally hired on and your employer makes changes little by little to make your job more than it was originally, how do you deal with it? Cert5ain requirements are added on at the whim of the empoyer but not necessarily a requirement to continue your employment. We all have to have BLS but not all of us need ACLS or even PALS to continue to work. Every area of expertise has it's needs and if you were hired without needing any of these but over the years "new" empoyees were required to have this to work then how do you deal with it? I work in the OR and I know more places are requiring ACLS and most of the RNs have theirs but if you have an employee that has been in the same department for 20 years could that employee be let go just because they don't have the cert that was added to the job description many years after being hired? Same goes with having PALS. Just because you come into contact periodically with peds patients, is it really necessary for all? Just curious how others handle this.

Ever think about taking off your jacket prior to doing thing around patients or washing your hands, etc... Kind of a no brainer don't you think?

I wanted to get an opinion and some thoughts on how your facility addresses the on-call rules. Here are a few: 1. Time constraints, ie- time expected to be at the hospital 2. Geographical restrictions, ie- how far away you can be 3. A place, sleep room, you can stay in if you should live farther away than your time contraints. I'm trying to get an idea how each facility treats their on-call staff and what each side expects out of each other so the job can get done with no delay. Thanks