rnbackagain

That is really encouraging to hear. How long were you an OR nurse before you took the 12 years off?

I thought the EXACT same thing!!!! I loved reading the post!

Thanks for your response. I felt the air go out of my sails after I talked with this recruiter and didn't feel like she was very supportive, but maybe she was just trying to save me from a nervous breakdown :chuckle I am having a hard time finding a refresher course that hasn't already started or is just finishing. I didn't even know an OR practicum would be offered in a refresher course. I like your idea of observing in the OR to make sure it is really for me. I will certainly look into that!

I too went straight to an ER position from a tele floor, and also agree it was a big help with the cardiac patients that came in or those complaining of chest pains. It also helped that I already knew how to start IVs (we started our own on the tele floor), and could read monitors. I was VERY overwhelmed the first 2 weeks or so mainly trying to remember where everything such as all the equipment you use was located. There were so many drawers!!! :chuckle I had a great preceptor, though, and that made a BIG difference with my adjustment. After I acclimated to the ER, I felt very good about myself, because I thought, if I can learn this, I can do anything!!!!

Well I just talked to the nurse recruiter at a hospital that offers a 7 month OR training class, and she feels I have been out of nursing for too long to start in this class (remember I have been out of nursing for 8 years - was an active nurse for 13 years before that). She said she felt it would be really hard for me, because so much has changed in the past 8 years, and felt I would have a very hard time "keeping up with the class." She suggests getting some experience in another area of nursing under my belt first. I am currently getting ready to start back into home health (where I left off 8 years ago). The OR class is offered at least yearly and oftentimes 2 x year, so I can always try again next year. What do you OR nurses think? Should I work in home health for a year and try again next year? Or should I just try and go for it? Any suggestions would be helpful because I have been racking my brain about this. P.S. I have always been interested in OR nursing... :uhoh21:

I live about an hour from Indy! (noticed that is where you are from). Community Hosp is holding a 7 month training program for nurses interested in the OR. I am going to check it out. I have never worked at any of the Community hospitals. Are you familiar with them or this program?

We could all learn a valuable lesson from your persistence! Keep it up! I bet next time that MD will listen to you the FIRST time!

Smarkley, Did you work in an OR before becoming an office nurse/private scrub for the surgeon? Or did he train you himself? Just wondering bec I am considering surgery.........

Thank you. I will do that!

I interviewed for a Dr office job near Indy, but when I found out the pay was $9.50/hr, I said forget it! I have heard from other nurses here that drs office nurses do not get paid well. I will be making about $20/hr when I start home health, and it is in a small rural Indiana community

I have only been in the office twice in the past 2 weeks. My DON is holding off on about everything until I am CPR certified (which I just got that today). I will certainly ask about getting into an OASIS class. She has not given me copies of anything yet. I am glad for this website so I will know what to ask for. I do not know what the COPS is, so there is the answer to that question. Also, please advise as to what the CMS website is. Thanks

Thank you so much for the info.

A hospice nurse told me today that any po med can be given rectally if a patient has difficulty or can no longer swallow. Is this true? Forgive me if this is an ignorant question, but I have been out of nursing for 8 years :)

rnpilot, I am so glad I read your message. I too, am returning to nursing after being out for 8 years, and had planned to return to Home Health (the last job I held as a nurse), but just recently saw where a large hospital was offering a 7 month OR training course for RN's with little or no surgery experience. I have been seriously considering this option, as I have always been interested in surgery, but have been a little anxious about it since I was out so long. I am glad to hear you were out for a little longer, took the OR training and enjoy it. It gives me something to think about..... As for you, JNT's mom, you might consider Home Care (similar to Hospice care except the patients aren't usually terminal). I found it much less stressful than med/surg and very flexible.

I agree with NurseyBaby'05. It has been my experience in management that these kinds of individuals manipulate the system to get by with things others ordinarily wouldn't or shouldn't. I don't believe he will change even with continued warnings, and will eventually have to be terminated. I once had an employee who worked under my husband and me in a non-nursing business that also would show up late or not at all, and it put our business in a real bind. My husband (who was the current owner of the business) just could not fire the guy because he was so good at his job, not to mention a nice guy. So my husband would just keep warning him despite my constant nagging to GET RID OF HIM. The guy always had an excuse for being late or not showing up- "I had to take my son to the dr., I am having personal problems, my car broke down", etc etc. FINALLY after complaints from customers and coming to his own senses (or getting tired of my nagging), my husband realized this guy was just manipulating him and fired him. Life was so much better at our business after that! Even though we were so short staffed! Everyone pitched in and was much more eager to help because we FINALLY had gotten rid of the "anchor". Don't wait too long to take firm action! You may not realize it, but the other employees are taking this all in by seeing that this guy is getting away with behavior that he shouldn't. If this continues, they will lose respect for you as a manager, and that is really hard to get back.

How often is call and for how long usually? I have a sister that doesn't live too far from the hospital, so I can always stay with her. How many other RNs are on call with you?

Thanks for your replies. I am thankful to hear from you nurses in your 40's who started OR around that time in your lives. I was afraid I would be in a class of 20 somethings (well, and I still may), and feel alot older than I already do. I've got to really think hard and pray hard that this is something I want to do, because it will be 7 months of fulltime days training, THEN fulltime work, and I haven't worked fulltime for a LONG time, BUT OR has interested me from the very beginning. I live in a small rural city about an hour away from the metropolitan area the hospital is located. Will that present a problem come time to take call? What might be the OR's view on that?

by "month two" do you mean the 2nd month into the training or actual job? did you also go through an extensive surgery training class?

I am returning to nursing after being out for 8 years. I started out in med/surg, then went to telemetry, ER and finally home health. One of the large hospitals in our area is offering a 7 month OR training class, and I have always been interested in the OR from the beginning, but that is as far as it went. I am seriously comtemplating taking this course, but am worried that at age 44 and having been completely out of nursing for 8 years, I may be biting off more than I can chew. What do you think?

I was a DON (1992) and ADON (1989-1991) of a Home Health Agency, and I think my current DON thinks I know or remember more than I actually do. She is very new to the DON position herself. I was reading over some charts yesterday, and the forms looked familiar (except the OASIS), but I had trouble remembering even the qualifications for homecare. My DON mentioned about 2 weeks of orientation, but I feel like 2 MONTHS is more like it. I will be working prn starting out, so no call yet. I feel if I take a refresher course for nursing in general, I might get some of my confidence back. I am going to be working at a small hospital-based HHA (I worked at this one about 8 years ago as a field nurse), and the patients are mainly Medicare, so I think that will help with my transition also. I want to take it slow but sure.........

I just returned to HH nursing after 8 years of being out of nursing completely. I was previously a home health nurse for 7 years before leaving the job to start a business (non-medical) with my husband. I am a little nervous returning to nursing. Has Home Health changed much in the past 8 years (besides the Medicare cuts and the Oasis)? Should I take a refresher course? Any suggestions you have to make my transition easier would be very helpful.