Sezza83

I work both in the OR and L&D but in Australia with 2 partime jobs in 2 different hospitals. I was a OR nurse first for many years then after having my daughter decided to go back and do midwifery. I really enjoy working both areas. I get hands on patient care with mid but also get to retreat to the peacefully OR (I think it's peaceful lol). It can be done. And I don't find it difficult swabbing from one area to another. Get the OR under your belt first and consolidate as it's a different area completely from any area of nursing I've worked. Then ask to go to L&D.

I think at this point in time the career opportunities just aren't here in Australia. Shame really. I really enjoy assisting and I'm sure plenty of surgeons would prefer an experienced theatre nurse than a 1st year resident who doesn't know how to scrub. Are there any PNSA here on allnurse?

I also wonder if you'd need medicare and prescribing rights? Who pays you? The surgeon, hospital, private health company?

Here is the course: http://courses.scu.edu.au/courses/master-of-advanced-health-practice/2014 It's a master's degree. I looked in to it but figured it wasn't worth it because I don't know if you'd get a job.

Advantage: one pt at a time. The feeling of fixing they're problems. 99% of the time it's a very controlled environment, even in emergencies very rarely do I feel overwhelmed unlike the ward where one little hiccup can stuff your whole shift up. Disadvantages: long delays sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing some of my nursing skills but as one nurse told me "you can put a or nurse back on the floor and they'll survive but you can't throw a floor nurse in to the or".

Haha. What country are you from OP? OR nursing is often referred as theatre nursing in NZ/Australia/UK. Anyway I'm a "theatre" nurse in Australia for the last 10ish years. What's it like? Love it. I'm a circulator/scrub nurse. It's nothing like the floor nursing.

The only codes we broadcast are neonatal codes blues and major hemorrhages. Basically so a neonatologist can come in and NICU is aware. And if the patient is bleeding the pathologist can run urgent bloods and start preparing blood products. Other than that everyone you need is there. Our intubated also bypass pacu but if tbeyre extubated or have a LMA its off to pacu they go.

Never open implants (or anything expensive for that matter)without showing the surgeon first. Do not rely on the rep that the joint implant is the right one or size because once they're open there is no way the company will take them back so someone has to pay for them!

No such thing as a scrub tech in Australia so we take scrubbing and circulating in turns. I love to be scrubbed in, nothing like a good old AAA repair first thing in the morning :)

Similarly, my husband works in lab with scientists from all over the world: Haiti, Italy, France, Spain, New Zealand, Japan etc... Not only did they have to become extremely fluent in English, they had to learn perfect grammar writing scientific articles in a non-Native language. If they can do all that, then I tell myself that I can definitely manage a professor who sounds just like Sebastian from Disney's The Little Mermaid (true story). Lol. New Zealand/Australia speak English :)

Thanks very much for your replies!

Sadly it's standard in Australia. 2 shifts, 3 if you're lucky!

Ok so I'm a nurse in Australia. I have been in the OR for 6 years & I love it. I'm intrigued as to how the OR is different compared to Australia. We have 3 nurses to a OR for all cases. 2 are scrub/circulating nurses who will take turns in scrubbing throughout the day (we don't have techs). And the 3rd nurse is an anesthetic nurse who assists the anesthetist. We also have OR tech who help position the patient, set up equipment and make sure all equipment is in the OR for the surgeon.