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Hello, Today actually marks 3 years since I graduated nursing school and what a crazy up and down journey it has been! A little background about me: I got my RN license the summer after graduating and immediately started in the specialty of the operating room at a Level I trauma center. I knew surgery was the area i wanted to explore after nursing school. - I worked here for about 2 years and I gained a lot of new friends, colleagues and experience. I did not want to leave here, but I wanted to relocate to be closer to my family. So as difficult as a life decision this was, I left and thought this was for the best. I then began work at a new facility still in OR in a level I trauma center but in a more urban area. I had expectations that this place would be very similar to my old job and that i would really enjoy it. However, I felt from day one that this facility was not the best fit for me. It was like a 180 view once I got in the door. I felt that most of the nurses were "stuck in their ways" and not up to date in policies and procedures. I actually had to voice out regarding nurse breaking policy regarding sterile technique and it was changed by the nurse educator after. They praised me regarding but I felt that this was unnecessary as it should have already been being done in such a large and well named place. It was frustrating as I really wanted to provide the best care for my patients but had a lot of the wrong people in authority. At this point I felt lost and wanted to try something very different and moved to outpatient. I am now currently at a private owned neurosurgery practice which i feel i am in a better enviroment than when i was at the urban OR facility, but I still just can't help but feel i should be more challenged as a younger nurse. I do not feel like I am doing all that i could be and I do not want to lose my acute skills any longer. I have only been here 4 months though and struggle with the thought of giving it more of a chance to get used to it or go back to doing something more challenging. There is no formal nurse manager in this practice and I am essentially working with NPs and MA's I feel independance, but maybe a little too much and at this stage of my career I would still like to be working side by side with other RNs. Long story short I am feeling lost, I do not want to keep jumping job to job but I really feel like i need to find my niche and I am getting so frustrated. My mind changes what feels like everyday. Some days I want to return to OR some days I still feel like i should be trying something different. Do i stay outpatient or return inpatient. I am really looking for guidance, also to know if anyone has been in a similar situation only being in jobs for short periods of time and still trying to figure out what to do with their nursing career. looking for any suggestions!

I was trained to do both, i think it depends a lot what service or type of case I am doing which I prefer. For example I used to do a ton of neuro and orthopedic surgery and would prefer to circulate over scrub a lot of them because of the fast pace and it helped me prioritize and plan and of course the day flies when you stay that busy running the room, grabbing for each case, and documenting in between , I have recently tho been doing more GYN/urology/general cases which I find myself wanting to scrub those cases more I think because I am less familiar with them and want to understand the actual procedures more. one thing that is good about being an OR nurse who is trained on both is you understand both ends of each role and what to focus on in each role, you get to learn the procedures from each end and learn to anticipate what will come next during the case whether your scrubbed or circulating !

Hey everyone! I have been a nurse for a little over two years now and since then I have worked as an operating room nurse. I initially really gravitated toward surgery out of school and dove right in, I am on my 2nd job in the OR and while I still am enjoying it, I feel like there is a lot more out there in nursing for me. I feel nursing is calling me to do something else at the moment and NICU comes to mind, being a nicu product myself, this was another area that caught my interest throughout school, I'm just curious if this is reasonable to jump specialties where I stand? Is the learning curve too steep? Is med surg work required before this switch ? Just looking for some answers or suggestions! Thanks!

I should also say we had a 45 minute window from when we were called to being in scrubs ready to go

I recently worked @ a Level 1 trauma center. We had designated call for cardiac, liver, and eye teams each day during the week after day shift ended. As for the rest of the O.R., we were required to sign up for one 13 hour call starting at either 6a or 6p on a Saturday or Sunday based on preference and availability . The option to take more during the four week schedule was available. I like the idea of a Neuro call team as the person above stated their facility offered. I have some experience on the neuro team, but I think having a designated call team in that area would have been helpful in emergent situations as they can be hectic rooms to be in.

Maybe My first post was confusing.. prior to my interview I composed a list of references who I informed And planned to use. however, at the end of the interview, said they will be sending me an email to me with information on sending surveys to such references, but they made it specific they want ones from current managers which is where I run into a pickle

Hi, I recently just had a wonderful interview for an OR position w/ prior experience, the hospital stated they are interested in me and I am in the position as well. however, the next step in the interview process is speaking with my references (at least one of which is a manager/supervisor role at my current employer) now I haven't had the conversation with them that I have been looking for another job at all and I have no idea how to go about it? Have any of you ever been in this situation for a nursing job? What did you do? I haven't been offered an official acceptance so I'm afraid of saying something to my employer then not even having an offer to stand for

So about a week ago, I was chosen to be a circulator in a brain biopsy case in which the patient was possibly infected with CJD(Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) for those of you not familiar, CJD is similar to mad cow in which it is formed by prions in the brain which cannot be destroyed in sterilization and causes rapid mental dysfunction and deterioration in those infected. Symptoms are similar to dementia and Alzheimer's. I was just informed that results of the biopsy came back positive, in which case the one pan of instruments that were quarantined since have to be completely destroyed and incinerated. Now I was told before hand that transmission is extremely rare and can be done only by direct contact or basically ingesting brain tissue of the infected. Now During the case I wore gown, gloves, mask, hood, etc. so my direct contact with the biopsy was very low besides having it handed off by the scrub nurse and into a biohazard bag to pathology. I spoke with my supervisors about what The next step is to do? The scrub and I who were involved took proper pre-cautions and followed policy on how to perform the case. I felt okay about it afterwards and felt we were well prepared, but ever since hearing the positive results and knowing how rare it is and how little is known, I can't help feel in the dark about it, has anyone ever experienced a similar situation in the OR or with a patient who may have or did have CJD?

I just wanted to give an update on how the first two weeks of my job have been so far! some days are slightly overwhelming with new info and learning while others are amazing! Today, I was able to help circulate for the first time and I loved it so much I had a feeling leaving the case that this is what I'm meant to be doing! Haha I am excited for rotations through the different types of ORs more circulating and eventually scrubbing in the coming weeks! Periop 101 is somewhat dull but all is great and vital info to know, I hope everyone else is having a good start so far and for those who responded on here who do not find the OR as their place in nursing, I wish you the best with finding a passion in ur career good luck! :)

Thank you for your response and Congrats on the job offer as well! when will you start in the OR? I begin 2nd week in October, you are absolutely right it is comforting to know there is someone else out there is a very similar situation :)! Like u, i also will rotate through the various specialties (cardiac,thoracic,peds,trauma,OB, general) in the 6 month orientation and then if there is a spot open in one of my choice, i can be placed there which is great. As you mentioned also regarding ur hours are M-F 7-3. I am about 95% positive that is the shift I will be on and with on-call weekend rotation after the 6 months is up I interviewed way back in July and with nclex going on between that, It slipped my mind haha, I will just need that clarified closer to starting with HR. Thanks for all the help again Hope to keep in touch with how the new job experience turns out! Good luck

Hello, I graduated from a BSN program in May '13 and just recently passed my NCLEX-RN a month ago! Very exciting summer for me! With all this going on for me, in July, I interviewed for an OR position at the hospital Where i did all my clinical training during school (which is also a level I trauma center) and luckily i was offered the position and am starting in Oct! I am feeling very blessed and excited, all through nursing school, I just wanted to be in surgical nursing, it was the only area that truly stuck out to me as what I would want to do with my career yet unfortunately we were not exposed to mch of it which is why I still have no clue what to expect with my start date only a few weeks away! Will it be difficult having zero prior experience to starting as a 'brand new' RN in this specialty? Any tips and suggestions I should be aware of? I was told my orientation period is about 22 weeks how long was yours? also during orientation time I am required by my facility to take periop 101, How many days/weeks does this course typically last is it mostly on your own or hands on stuff at work? Finally what is your typical schedule as an OR nurse as in days/week hourly shifts? when I was hired they told me I would be days/evenings weekend rotation but did not specify if that is 8,10,12 hours? Thanks for all the help

I just graduated from a challenging BSN program this past Spring, but I still do remember very clearly that 'end of the first week scared to death feeling' when professors are just throwing info at you left and right and piling up the work. it can be extremely overwhelming BUT Its not impossible as you said yourself! It sounds like you have a good mind set so far which will get you way farther than you may think. Don't let others negativity intimidate you, nursing school can get ugly at times with the competition but there are also students that are willing to work together as a team to get through the challenge with you! Remember you don't need to have A 4.0 to make it. there were times I honestly wanted to quit because i wasn't to par with how i thought i should be doing but if I did that I wouldn't have passed my NCLEX-RN 2 weeks ago.. my advice to you would be as you said: take it one day at a time, believe in yourself!!! try to find a study buddy(ies) stay on top of your work best you can,, and most importantly have some good stress relievers on the side take care, & Good Luck with the semester:)

Hey! I just took my NCLEX-RN today too.. what a stressful and uncertain experience! I was in there for about 2 1/2-3 hours and was BEGGING for more questions because I felt I too was doing so poorly, but it shut off @ 75 and I just was numb and cried in my car before leaving the parking lot lol I was positive i failed - about 30 SATA and maybe 2 EKGs and a few exhibits and priority. but glad to say i am getting the good pop up after building up courage to do so, thats a good sign for both of us! i totally agree with what you mean by saying it was a blur and just strange overall. the questions were vague and some things I had reviewed vs. others I had nooo clue especially most meds. I do believe from reading on here so often PV trick is a reliable indicator we can relax and let it sink in and not worry about studying anymore! Congrats :)

Well its over... all i can say is most stressful and uncertain experience ever! I got so many alternative format questions I wanted to puke. it took about 2 1/2 - 3 hours for me and I was BEGGING for more questions but the test shut off at 75.... I wanted to crawl into a hole and die at that point and had to hold back my tears from the TA and people in lobby til i got to my car, I got home after I got myself together to do the PVT. closed my eyes hoped for the best and got the good pop up!!!!!!! I still can't believe it I was so numb of anything after that! Hopefully it is a good sign! Than you everyone for the support! Much appreciated phew!