RN-2014

At my hospital, new grads in the OR are typically put on 5 8s or 4 10s. Like others have said the weekends and nights are off hours and when the crazy calls of really sick/ hurt patients come in. A new grad is less equipped to deal with these cases than an experienced RN. I started off as a new grad in the OR and I was very happy to have the 5 8s schedule as I always had help if I ran into equipment/ patient/ crap this broke what else can I use issues.

No I haven't used it yet, it sounds awful though! One of the orthopods that I work with has us prep with alcohol first then the hibiclens. That makes me more nervous than the chloraprep. I'm worried about pooling and vapors with the straight alcohol, plus it's clear and not orange so it's harder to see. I use a chux underneath to catch runoff. I believe with hibiclens you scrub for 2 minutes then blot off the excess with a sterile paper towel that comes in a dry prep tray. Is that how you use it as well?

I prefer the chloraprep to betadine. The only cases I use B/B for are urology, cataracts and GYN cases. One of the tips I use when doing lady partsl/ perineal preps is to put a small garbage bag under the patients bum before starting and pulling the bag out after. Chloraprep is very safe when used correctly ie not put on hairy body parts, waiting the 3 minutes ect. Usually the surgeon and first assists are donning gowns and gloves or scrubbing while I'm prepping and after we can do the time out while we are waiting for the prep to dry. My least favorite prep is CHG. It is super slippery on feet and it makes them hard to hold by the toes while prepping the rest of the leg.

I am in AZ and I have heard that other ORs around here have that "nurses eat their young" mentality. I love my unit and the people I work with! When I hired on I asked about if I would be allowed an extension if still not comfortable, my director said she would then allow me 9 months. Honestly though I am fairly comfortable sometimes I will have other staff come in and check to make sure I set up my room appropriately ie Hana table set up right, fracture table ect. The OR is completely different than floor nursing but I absolutely love it! Also the hours are not too bad I'm working 5 8's right now plus you get call which makes for some great paychecks!

Is it an interview for a periop 101 position? I am a new grad RN and started periop 101 through my hospital that I am hired at. It's a 6 month orientation learning about the OR through AORN. After 6 weeks of classes you take an online exam and precept the rest of the orientation. I felt like it prepared me pretty well but there is a lot of learning involved. Not just the equipment or how to use/ set it up but also knowing what surgeons like which set ups. I'm at the end of orientation and handling my own cases but still learning a lot every day. I would ask in the interview how long the orientation is, how the rotation works through the different surgeries and when you are expected to take call. Good luck!

I only used Saunders 6th edition to study for boards. I skimmed the whole book, plus practiced the online questions. (No CD with the 6th ed. just a code to use on evolve) I only studied for 10 days for the NCLEX but I read every rational for the questions, even the ones I got right. I didn't want to wait too long after I graduated in May because I was afraid I would forget stuff. I passed with 75 questions in June, and I knew walking out that I passed. The Saunders questions seemed similar to the boards to me. I practiced a lot of alternate format. No matter what study book you go with you should probably do the same, a good half of my questions were sata,or put in order, click on the appropriate picture ect. Good luck :)