mtnrunnerRN

hmmm- how interesting to be considered an "experienced" nurse with only 8 months on the floor. i essentially considered myself a new grad heading into the or, with a only little bit of knowledge of another area. no, it's not in any way mandatory to have that floor experience, but in my own experience it helped me understand the whole hospital picture much better. some of the nurses i work with who have been only in the or for 2 yrs or 20 yrs seem to lack the compassion & understanding of why certain things happen with floor pts, and ultimately they are the ones who complain and seem miserable. they seem to lack the concept of working as a team with members of other departments & have more of an "us vs. them" mentality. how sad. as for a new grad picking up on a high k+ level over an "experienced" nurse: you'll find that there are sharp nurses & there are not-so-sharp nurses, no matter how much experience & education they have. good for you, ortess, for picking up on it. i guess we all have different backgrounds & experiences before coming to the or; no one way is the only right way to do it, and we can all pitch in our own 2 cents.

it's helpful to have some med/surg & tele experience -- besides the clinical & assesment reasons, when you understand the "flow" of how the whole hospital works, and not just how the or works, it makes your job & other nurse's jobs on the floor easier. then, when you have a pt coming down from the floor, it's easier to understand why certain things happen (the iv doesn't run, the chart's not all together, etc.) and also anticipate what to ask for. those nurses are busy and have more pt's to look after than just yours! i had 8 months of medical floor experience -- enough to learn something & enough to appreciate that my job in the or is luxury compared to that. the one-on-one aspect of or nursing really is great. while your time with each pt when they're awake is brief, it's also a very intense & important time to them when they're facing undergoing general anesthesia. i've found that aspect is very rewarding. also, every now & then you get a very difficult pt & at those times i'm thankful that i won't be trying to keep them from climbing out of they're bed & injuring themselves for the next 12 hrs... they're soon going to be in snoozy-land & then off to pacu when they're waking up! find yourself a good perioperative learning program (6 months training, dedicated preceptors) & check it out! good luck

here's aorn's position verbatim: question: there is disagreement in our or about the correct sequence for performing abdominal-perineal preps, particularly for patients undergoing laparoscopic-assisted lady partsl procedures. what is the correct procedure for prepping these patients? answer: this is a frequently asked question and one that causes controversy among staff members. surgical staff members should prep the perineal-lady partsl area first for laparoscopic-assisted lady partsl procedures. after the perineal-lady partsl prep is completed, the perineal area should be covered with sterile towels while completing the abdominal prep. the abdominal skin prep is separate from the perineal prep and should be performed with a new prep tray, gloves, and sterile setup. the patient is placed in the lithotomy position for the prep. the rationale for performing the abdominal prep last is to avoid splashing or aerosolization of perineal prep solutions when the patient's perineum is prepped and the foley catheter inserted. occasionally, it may be necessary to perform crede's maneuver to empty a patient's bladder at the time of foley catheter insertion. crede's maneuver requires the person inserting the catheter to apply manual pressure on the patient's lower abdomen over the bladder area to express urine. the application of pressure on the lower abdomen would contaminate an already prepped abdominal area.

Hi Wade - I agree with Marie's post about shadowing with an OR nurse for a few days. It's difficult to explain everything an OR nurse does, so observing is a great way to get the full picture. I too had a technology background before going into nursing (BS Civil Engineering), and I too had an interest in the OR right from the start. The application of technology in healthcare is so interesting, and it changes so quickly, especially in the OR. I *LOVE* OR nursing and am so happy to have made the switch from working the floor. It's a steep learning curve but it's definitely worth it. There's always something new & interesting. Regarding the concern about injury -- yes, the OR is very physical, but if you take good care of yourself & use proper body mechanics when you're moving big equipment & patients you're in no more danger than in working the stepdown. In fact, I appreciate the fact that there are at least 4 people to move a patient post-op in the OR, so that in itself helps decrease our injury risk. I think the OR is a hidden jewel in nursing & am amazed not more nurses are interested in trying it. Check it out & good luck!

Asking advice from any of you seasoned OR RN travelers -- I'm a circulating RN, have not scrubbed in my OR career. I've worked for 2 different hospitals in the OR for 5 yrs and am getting the urge to travel. A few ?'s: - Is it difficult to find travel OR jobs for circulators only? - Any specific things one should ask/ be wary of for first time travel assignments? - Do travelers typically start taking call right away?, or even better... - Are there positions out there with NO call? - Any other previous related posts one can refer me to? Any advice greatly appreciated!