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@kiki617 As an OR nurse for 15 years, I agree with most of what you say. I work with amazing techs that know & understand things about cases that as an RN who only scrubs when needed can EVER understand. I really wish RN circulators were required to do a certain amount of scrubbing just to see the "other side" of things! Also, I do agree most techs are underpaid & are often treated like second class citizens as far as breaks & lunches go. One reason I have insisted on being trained to scrub is to be able to offer breaks....like at the close of a case, I can load a needle & cut suture, apply dressings & clean up a room while you go eat.

I have been an OR nurse for 15 years....I was once a new grad in the OR. I am sorry you feel the way you do & have had the experience you have had. Perhaps I have been one of the lucky ones who worked with good teams & have experienced toxic people only occasionally. I disagree that RN will eventually be phased out of the circulating position & the fact that you think that is a good idea makes me believe you would be better suited in another specialty. What we do as circulators is invaluable, and good ones make it look easy. Also, as far as being "in charge of the room"......well that isn't why I love what I do. Technically, by definition, I AM "in charge" of the room until the surgeon walks in. However, when you work with a good team, you all work together to do the right thing for the patient (this includes the surgeon) and no one let's their ego get in the way of that. The majority of surgeons I have worked with across my career appreciate me advocating for their patients in every way that becomes necessary. I hope you find your niche in the world of nursing, whatever that may be. Not every specialty is compatible with everyone. Good luck to you

All of this is excellent advice. I truly believe that there are leaders that aren't management & management that aren't leaders. There is a difference.

depends on the day....I really do like my job & I am good at it. It provides me with financial stability & independence. I didn't become a nurse until my early 30's. I am 15 years in & am exhausted. Its physically, emotionally, & mentally exhausting. I am a Team Leader & am responsible for about 30 people & my director has checked out. Nursing was never my "dream". I wanted a job I could do anywhere so I never had to depend on anyone. Ultimately, I guess I wish I had started earlier & gone a little farther....maybe an NP. Or, maybe I should have followed that instinct in 1st year nursing school to change my major to pharmacy.....

ugh, says the nurse that works 4 10-hour shifts, days, no weekends, minimal holidays & some call. This is so dependent on what works for each individual. There is no right (or wrong) answer. That being said, right now in my life I would pick continental. I know I personally would not function working both days & nights....no can do!

BTW, excellent response to this post. Geez. Your writing may not qualify you for a pulitzer, but it was succinct, to the point & seemed professional to me. You did a good job of letting this Sour Lemon not get to you...keep doing that with the rude doctors & you'll be fine.

if the dr has a reputation for being a jerk, let it roll off your back. Your job is to advocate for your patients. If you had all the info you needed to make the call, were prepared & professional, their rude behavior is a reflection of THEM, not you. Hang in there

I am an OR nurse. I supervise CST's in a 8 OR hospital setting. They are required to multitask. They are always at a small risk of sharps injury, although at my very busy facility we have very few of them. That is actually a skill...how to pass sharps without injuring anyone. As a CST it is unlikely you will kill anyone. Yes, sometimes people crash & it gets ugly for a bit & sometimes the patient dies. Not because of a mistake you made. As you gain experience (& confidence) you will not be required to study at home for the next day. As overwhelming as it probably seems, most surgeries in each specialty are similar. You always start with a knife....and end with a stitch. The steps in between are amazingly routine & once you have done a few gallbladders, hernia repairs, tonsillectomies, thyroidectomies, hysterectomies, knee arthroscopies, carpal tunnel releases, they all become very "routine". As a new grad, you won't be expected to first scrub a total knee on day 2. (If you are, find a new job immediately.) I love the idea of working as a CS tech for a while. It will expose you to the intense environment of the OR, with no direct patient care (and at that point of the process, the sharps are pretty much gone & there is even less risk of an injury). Good luck with your decision!

This is my advice for any student...nursing or otherwise. YOU are in charge of your education. You are the one that has control over the experience....make the most of it. When you get into a clinical environment, volunteer to do EVERYTHING. Don't sit & wait for your preceptor to ask if you want to do something. YOU ask if they will help you tackle that skill; if for some reason its not optimal for you to actually do it, ask if you can watch them, & if they will at least explain what they are doing. I love teaching & preceptoring students. That being said, the first time I have to look for my student is the last time I will look for my student. If you aren't there to learn & take advantage of every single opportunity (or even look for your own learning experiences) then I am worthless to you. Also, this is a pet peeve of mine.....be quiet. Yes, ask questions, answer questions...but don't offer your opinion on specific nursing specialties until you have some experience to back it up. As an OR nurse, nothing is more annoying than a student who has been there ONE shift to decide that all I do is sit on my butt all day. Having said all that, good luck to you in your education! Nursing is a wonderful, complex, fulfilling, aggravating career!

I have been an OR nurse for 13+ years. I have used almost every laparoscopic system out there. I have my favorite :) This is what I know: 4K is basically worthless. Blind studies have shown the human eye cannot detect the difference between 3K & 4K. Our surgeons couldn't tell. Bigger monitors are nice.....if you can afford them. What really matters is the PICTURE the camera head is delivering....if it's no good, its gonna look worse on a big screen! Some of the technology out there is handy, like some the filters they have can really make a difference when you are in a joint, or a bloody sinus case. My favorite system can even personalize the system so when you turn it on & load a case for Dr SO&SO, the filters are automatically set to what they like. The second most important thing (In my opinion) is how intuitive the system is. Is it easy to use....can you look at it & basically know what you are supposed to do? Most of them are pretty easy, so this really is a personal preference. The other thing that is very important is their service history. When there is a problem, who do you call? Is there someone local that can help you, or are they selling you something & you will never hear from them again? Good luck!

After 13 years as a nurse, I still love that feeling. Especially on the patient that says "I have the worst veins ever, they roll, disappear, and blow really easy, usually anesthesia has to come do my IV, plus I am dehydrated so good luck" As I am looking & see several great options and BOOM get it the first time. And then they act disappointed.

I couldn't agree more! My current manager isn't much of a leader, frankly. Plus I really have no desire to "move up" in management.....that seems like more stress than I am interested in. Thanks for your input!

I need to pick all the great minds on here. I am an OR nurse with 12 years experience. I started in a small but busy county hospital. I cross trained in pre op & PACU, & about 4 years in, took the charge nurse position. About 4 years ago, a slightly larger physician owned hospital approached me (I was very frustrated at my administration, but was not actively looking for a job) and offered me an OR Team Leader position. I like it a lot, and am good at it. Like any "leadership" position it has its moments, and is often VERY stressful. In addition, I took a bit of a pay cut, I have a little over an hour commute each day. I have to be there between 0515 & 0545 depending on the caseload, so that makes for long days & early mornings. I have stayed on per diem at my original employer and work about 4 shifts a month in a completely "worker bee" role & really enjoy my time there as well. I get to see my friends, work hard, take care of patients & leave it all to someone else when my shift is over. One thing I really miss at my current position is I very rarely get to circulate cases. I give lunches, breaks, & help in lots of cases all day, but I miss the whole circulating process quite a bit. Two weeks ago a larger hospital contacted me about a FT OR circulator position. Again, I was not looking, they saw my profile on LinkedIn. The hours are better, the call is better, the pay is better, they are offering a sign on bonus & a relocation package. I would have to move about 4 hours from my current home. I was really thinking I had hit the jackpot! Less stress, better hours, I can circulate more, what's not to love? My husband, however says "you won't be happy in a worker bee role. You want to be in charge, you thrive on the stress." Several years ago, I would have probably agreed with him. But I am older, tired-er & really think I would be happy just working hard & then going home. No phone calls on the weekends or on my days off, etc. He insists that in the long run, taking a more managerial role (perhaps when my current manager retires) would suit me better & be "less physically demanding." Well, yeah that's true. However I think the mental & emotional stress of constantly taking care of EVERYONE (staff, surgeons, administration) every single day is more exhausting than a long shift of cases with patient care. He has some selfish reasons for raining on my parade, & I am fully aware of those. But what if he is right? What if I wouldn't be happy just working? What say you all? Can a "leader" be happy NOT leading?

I am also a messy prepper. I was taught "a messy prep is a good prep" ha ha! I have gotten a little better about not flinging Betadine all over, but I use a lot of it when I prep. I good prep is very important, more important than how "clean" I keep the surrounding area

uh yeah. "Call buddy"? No. I won't be anyone's buddy. I am happy to take my fair share of call, but it's managements responsibility to make sure everyone is covered according to policy/law. I would tell them as much. And I am in management....

After 9 years of OR/PeriOperative nursing experience with a lot of "charge nurse" shifts, I took a Team Lead position at a new hospital. I was specifically hired for the TL. It was a position that several of the nurses that had been there a while had tried & not liked, so they decided to hire new meat, ha ha! It has been a great opportunity. The staff wants & needs a strong leader, & I am good at it. It's stressful, & I know why many people DON'T want the job; but coming in from outside was definitely an advantage for me. They immediately respected me for my title & almost 4 years later they still respect me for my leadership & nursing skills. Go for it!

I have worn some degree of compression socks for years, & honestly don't think I would have survived this long without them. They make a huge difference for me. I finally got some snazzy looking ones from Total Compression Solutions & while pricey, they are cute & super comfortable. Worth every dime for me!

I also feel like this is a huge invasion of privacy. I am a Team Leader for a surgery department, and I spend time with some of the people outside of work. Like you, I don't keep it a secret, but it's not something that I announce either. People know. I have always made a huge effort to make sure I don't show favoritism & so far have had very little issue with it. If someone called the hotel I was staying at though.....that's just creepy

I work in a very busy 8 OR hospital, as the charge nurse. We had a record breaking year last year, with 10% of our total volume done in December alone. It was killer, with much stress, much teeth gnashing, much grumbling from staff & physicians. I am looking for ways to make the next busy season better. One of the biggest staff complaints is staying late to finish cases when not on call, or not the "late" person. We staffed for call, 2nd & 3rd call; but often would have 5+ rooms still running after "quitting time". We also have some staff on 10 hour shifts that end at 4:30 & some on 12 hour shifts that end at 6:30. We also have quite a few surgeons who have their own "teams" that generally stay until their surgeon's cases are done. I always make a point to ask the staff if they are able/willing to stay, even if they are on a team. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to arrange coverage for later cases in a "fair" manner? What I discovered was myself & one other RN were typically the ones that ended up staying, while the others always had to leave. I really do understand that there has to be a life outside of the OR, but I am looking for a way to make that happen for everyone, not just the ones that don't want to stay late an extra day.

For patients having surgeries requiring steep positioning, (such as robotic hysterectomy) we use shelf liner over a large underbody gel pad. One roll will do about 2 cases.

Where I work, most of the reps are there ALOT, so their faces are familiar. They are all issued rep badges from the hospital with their name, picture & company they work for. The badges allow them access to only certain areas of the hospital. They have their own vendor locker room with black scrubs stocked for them, so they are easily identifiable from a distance. Our policy also requires that they are in the OR only after the patient has been intubated, draped & prepped to protect patient confidentiality.

I have considered it. I think it would have lots of advantages. I have known several travelers & most of them were excellent nurses. Go for it!

some places I have worked use these......20mm Vial Decapper Pliers - Vial Decapper Pliers - All Products but my current OR makes us use a sterile decanter or syringe transfer

I actually did this for a while. I had worked full time as a circulator for 9 years at the facility, then took a different full time job in another facility. For about a year afterwards, I took call every other weekend at my old job. It was good money, we got called in an average of 8 hours over the weekend at on-call per diem wages. I knew the surgeons well, they trusted me, they still saw me pretty regularly, plus I was still working as a circulator full time so "losing my skills' wasn't an issue. There was a little hiccup when the facility changed to EMR....let's call it a learning curve. But I learned it & did just fine. Eventually, the hours at both jobs got to be too much & I stopped taking call there. I am still per diem & work 2-3 shifts a month with no problem.

or, tell the truth. That you have a difficult time working certain shifts because of home responsibilities & you felt like you didn't get a good orientation to that unit & you are looking for something else. You have some experience, use that to your advantage. My first job out of nursing school was in LTC, for 88 LOOOOONG days. I had already put in my 2 weeks notice before I ever even applied for another nursing job because I knew I couldn't stay there. I hated it. I was ready to work anywhere rather than continue in that position. I was honest with the first interviewer that I didn't feel like LTC was a good fit for me & that's why I quit so soon. I got the job.