gailrn

Versed - Anesthesia sometimes gets to the holding unit before the circulator does as we're busy setting up the case. Most of the time, though, we both see the patient at the same time, so it's not an issue. In our hospital,the xray department has a set up in the OR and they come in and do the C-Arm. We also have housekeeping to turn over our rooms. We do our own laser and move our own microscopes and other equipment. We do have an outpatient center where we clean the tables, but housekeeping does the floors and trash and laundry. As far as local cases, an anesthesiologist or CRNA is always in the room even for a minor local procedure. As far as pay, we do get shift diffs, but only if we work at least two hours into the next shift. We have a call system in place for nights and weekends. We also have "short call" in which one RN and one Tech sign up each night to finish cases. The call period is only two hours for the 8 hour people (3:45-5:45) and from 5:45-7pm for the 10 hour people. Unless there is a trauma, those two people on call will not stay later. (we are a level 1 trauma center.) I wouldn't leave OR nursing, but maybe instead look at a different hospital or surgi-center.

In our OR we have a didactic program taught by our nurse educator. It consists of a few weeks of classroom and observation. We use Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery as a guideline along with outlines put together with our instructor. We cover the first section in Alexanders. We then scrub for a few months with the technicians. We are usually assigned to one for a few weeks, then switch specialties. There is usually a written test on the classrom work at about this time. We then start circulating the different specialties. As we are a large general hospital and Level I Trauma Center, the orientation program is about 6 - 9 months.