Niki_RN

I want to get into OR once I gain my 2 years in MedSurg. I've always wanted to be an OR nurse since I was in Nursing school. As an OR nurse, what are is the most challenging part of working there? What are the rewards of an OR nurse? Thank you.

Thank you everyone for giving some insights. I'll probably try to get at least 2 years of Med Surg then I will try to apply for open OR positions. I'm also looking into nursing informatics. But I'm not sure how to get into that field either. I'm keeping my eyes open. Again, thanks everyone for your input.

I interviewed in one of the hospitals in my area and the manager and I clicked right away that she offered me the position during the interview. After the interview, HR sent me a list of paperwork I had to complete. They hire third party companies to do all these paperwork. Apparently one of the document they wanted me to submit got left out, and they didn't submit it to the HR of my hospital. HR called me and told me I had to submit all of it or else I won't be able to start. I explained to her that I already submitted them and I don't understand why they don't have it. She gave an attitude and threatened me that she won't let me start and implied in taking back the offer. I understand that she need all of those and I didn't say I won't submit them but I was just trying to explain my side. Now I'm worried. Should I tell the manager about this? Can she actually take back an offer?

In my facility, if someone called in sick and we become short staffed, hospital staffing will try to find someone else to work for that shift. They try to contact other floors and they try to call nurses from all over the hospital to volunteer to work. If they really can't find anyone, our manager will come in and work that shift until she can find someone else, or until she can find a way to make it work somehow. But the previous nurse can't leave until there's a nurse she can give hand off reports to.

Hi! I want to get a poll on length of new grad and experienced nurses orientation program. I know this has been posted before, but the post I found was in 2005. I'm sure things have changed since then. Me: The first hospital I worked at, they offer 3 months of orientation for new grads. First 4 weeks is purely classroom (which I thought was useless), and 8 weeks of preceptorship on the floor. Then you're on your own. This is on a MedSurg/neuro tele floor. The second hospital I work at, since they consider me to have some experience, they offer orientation with a coach but there's no set time frame. It could range from a week to a month depending on how well I am able to adapt. This is on a MedSurg Tele floor.

I am also against mandatory vaccination. I am not against vaccine. If others want to have them, then it's their choice. Making it mandatory is what bothers me. We nurses who are against this should band together to fight for our jobs. I found this new group on Facebook named NAMV "Nurses Against Mandatory Vaccinations". And they seem to be very helpful. Terminating people who can't get the vaccine without offering alternative solution is illegal. We need to get together as a group and fight back.

I'm a neuro nurse and for me a patient can be both alert and confused at the same time. Orientation and alertness are two separate things. The patient may be oriented but is lethargic or obtunded,etc and needs more stimuli to elicit a response. A patient may also be alert (meaning able to respond with minimal stimulation) but is confused (unable to identify correct time, place, situation, person). You might want to clarify with her what she means by "alert" and "oriented". And further ask her examples: "So if the patient is responsive to verbal and visual stimuli but doesn't know time and place, what do you call that"?

On our floor, day shift seem to love to pass on things to us night shift nurses, example (PICC line dressing needs to be changed "I was so busy today, will you do this for me." Or "this patient needs IV, I was just really busy) I understand they're busy, they also get more help. They get at least 3 aides, we get only one, they have the PT, admission and discharge nurses, etc. and they always think that because we are night shift, we are not busy. And if we pass on things to them during shift change, there's a huge fuss about it. That's just our unit though, I'm sure it's not the same on other floors. Overall, (other than what I mentioned above) there's not much drama and everyone are very nice. So I guess it just depends on the unit.

Thank you for that suggestion. I am mostly looking into THR facilities since a lot of people seem to like them and recommend them. I applied at Baylor too. A lot of the job postings seem to want 2+ years of experience which doesn't help me. But I will keep applying until someone will be willing to give me a chance.

Thank you for all your responses. It gave me a better idea on what to expect on a job like that.

Thank you for your response. I'm wondering about HCA facilities, would that be a good option too? Thank you.

ArtClassRN, it seems like you are reading my question wrong. I was asking how I can transition to OR from floor nursing, not how stressful OR is compared to floor nursing. Thank you for your input though. I welcome everyone's answers but I'm hoping to get more objective responses that actually answer my question. I appreciate everyone's suggestions or advice. Thank you. P.S. I've decided OR is what I wanna do even when I was still in nursing school. It's not because I want to get away from floor nursing.

I really wanna be an OR nurse. Unfortunately, my first job wasn't in the OR. I'm now trying to look for another job and would like to try OR but most of the job postings require 2 years experience. I don't qualify for new grad programs anymore. How do you transition from floor nursing to OR?

My husband works at the DFW airport and I work 3 hours away. When I got the job, he downgraded to part time and has been commuting to make our situation work. However he will be going back to school soon and won't be able to commute. So I need to find a job around the airport area. Ive been looking for openings around the area, and there are so many hospitals to choose from! I need suggestions on which hospitals would be good to work for. I'm mostly interested around Irving, HEB, Grapevine, Fort Worth, Arlington area. I'm looking for a hospital with good and supportive working environment, management treats employees well, good benefits, and would really like to avoid unsafe work environment! Pay is not my main priority as I'm being paid $22/hour right now (BSN-RN), but would like to see a little bit more than that. I'm still new to nursing and will only have 1 year experience in the neuro/tele floor by the time we move, if that helps. I would appreciate any suggestions, advice, experience, or anything that you can share. And if there's a hospital that I should be staying away from, it would be great if you can mention them.