RN1.618

I agree with nurseee24. You could absolutely return to the OR. Covid hit our department hard and we have an immense need for nurses. An RN with experience, no matter one would be a hot commodity! I say go for it!

Welcome to the possibility of being an OR nurse! I came to the OR right after I graduated. I did my practicum in the ED and I was a tech there while I was in nursing school. To say the least it was exciting and exhausting at the same time. So , I understand the need for the transition. I love the OR. The schedules are better, there is only one patient at a time and they are sleeping for the majority of it. It is however, extremely different. It is like working in an alien universe. Nothing in nursing school or the other places I have worked could have prepared me for the OR. The experience is helpful sure but, it is so highly specialized here. The fellowship/orientation needs to be long. There is a lot of tech, instruments, equipment ect. My best advice is to make sure you give the OR an adequate amount of time to acclimate to. It takes 1-2 years to truly be comfortable here. I am still learning every day and the hard days are fewer now with the good days being many. I really enjoy working here and the predictability of the schedule too. In the ED as soon as you get rid of one pt your given another. I wish you the best and I hope you join our community!

The OR and ER are soooo different. It would really depend on what you would like to do. Im currently an RN in the OR but I did my nursing school practicum in the ED and I also worked for a few years as a tech there too. The ED is fast paced and always different. If you like frequent change and get bored easily than the ED is for you. If you prefer order and more predictability than the OR would be a better choice. Also, in the ED there is a lot of patient communication. You’ll educate and inform frequently. You’ll put in lots of ivs and do codes and trauma on the regular. In the OR there isn’t much patient communication, no IV’s to do and your patients are sleeping the majority of the time. You also only have one patient at a time (which I personally like) in the ED you will have 5-7 depending on the hospital. My schedule is better in the OR and it’s definitely not as stressful. It still has its challenges though. There is a lot of tech and equipment to learn. An endless amount of supplies that you must become familiar with too. I am glad I chose the OR. It suits my personality better. I didn’t enjoy the frequency of the turnover of the patients in the ED. Just when I thought I was caught up I would get another patient. It was never ending. I have a set schedule in the OR and work closely with the CRNA’s and the docs. My schedule is set each day and the call offers the opportunity to make much more money than in other departments. I hope this info helps. Good luck to you.

Hang in there! I’ve been in the OR for almost 2 years. And I have more comfortable days than uncomfortable ones. There is a lot to learn! It is an alien planet. Once you start to feel comfortable , it’s nice. You only ever have one pt at a time and they sleep for the majority of it. No families to deal with. No call bells. The schedules are better too. Yes we take call but, I only have to take one weekend day every other month, and one holiday call every other year! I’m sure it varies place to place but I think that we have it pretty nice. AORN has tons of resources I recommend staying a member even after periop 101 is complete. The OR is unique and it takes a while to learn it all. Be patient. It’s worth it!

I too suffer through this very crisis at times. I have had previous posts about changing specialties and feeling a sense of inadequacy. But the truth is, most days I’m happy in the OR and I only have these negative thoughts on grumpy days. I like the OR and we get payed the same as the other specialties. Maybe some within are just insecure about themselves and the ones outside the specialty are just bitter from all of the stress they have to deal with. Stress and work load ≠ rewarding job. Happiness = rewarding job. Work smarter not harder. Haters gonna hate. LOL, I could go on and on. But anyway the nurses who look down upon the OR are usually unhappy or overworked. You cannot condemn a position for which you’ve never held. They don’t understand. If your “comfortable” in your position that is a sign you are doing something right not wrong! Keep on keepin’ on and enjoy your career!

I have considered it. My hospital offers a fellowship for critical care nurses. I’d have to start all over again, like a brand new nurse. I went through a fellowship for the OR for 6 mo and I would have to do the same for ICU. I’d be willing to do it if it would make me a more well versed nurse. Very scary though. ICU seems to be a floor that’s very involved. I would love to be able to use critical thinking skills. How would I know if ICU is for me though?

Thank you for the insight. I did have periop 101 but, the section on anesthesia was brief. I would appreciate a more in depth description, especially with the meds. I definitely can look these things up and I will. I truly want to be aware of all that’s going on around me or as much as possible. I appreciate your advice and it will help me through my doubtful days. ?

Hello, Quick summary-I've been a RN for one year in the OR (came directly from school). It has its challenges here but, for the most part I am doing well and learning more each day. There is a cloud that hangs over me though. Some days are good and I feel useful but, most days I feel like I just get supplies and help transfer patients. I really feel dumb some days too. Especially while helping anesthesia. I don't know the equipment to help out there most times. They will mention things to me about meds or physiology and expect me to know and I don't. I feel like being here has really limited my knowledge of some of the basics. I feel like I'm missing out sort of. I've done 8 IV's in my one year as a nurse, 5 of which were successful. I don't always understand what the docs and CRNA's are discussing and I feel like they expect me to know and I want to know! I feel so useless. I should know some of these things! If I was in a different department would that help? I feel like I can do and learn more somewhere else. I feel so inadequate most days and I want to be knowledgeable in my field. I don't have the opportunity to use much critical thinking here and it bothers me. Some days my stupid shows and the docs and others in the room exchange glances and I feel so embarrassed.

I came right to the OR out of nursing school and I love it! Its very different from other specialties. Nursing school did not provide much either in preparation. My typical day consists of: -morning meeting to discuss any issues or concerns for the days cases -I'm usually assigned to a specific room for the day either as a circulator or a scrub. Either way you'll prepare your room and gather supplies for the day. -start our first patient. I'll make sure everything is in order, consents, meds etc. and ill be in communication with the crna and the doc. -During the procedure (if I'm circulating) I basically make sure that everyone has everything that they need. There is a lot of charting and documentation. You'll help to connect instruments and provide the scrub with anything else they may need. -After the procedure you'll accompany the patient along with the crna to PACU and give report. This is just a base of the things that we do here. There is obviously much more. It is a big learning curve for everyone including experienced nurses. I went through the periop 101 program with an experienced nurse and she has the same learning curve that I did. It's very different and highly specialized. I like the environment though, one pt at a time and for the most part predictability of your day. You do have to take call but I see that as an opportunity for $$$$! Also, give yourself time. It is spoken that at least 2 years are required to feel confident here. Hope that helps, Good luck on your journey

I think for me it changes. I’m a little busier while circulating and have to communicate with a lot of people. So days where I feel more upbeat and energetic I love to circulate. Which is the majority of the time. And on the other hand when I want to be on my own and retract a little, LOL. I like to scrub on those days. There’s joys and comforts in both

I do both.

I'm a newer OR nurse (1 year). Take comfort in knowing that the surgeons who do throw tantrums, do it to everyone. It won't just be you. With that being said, if you can deal with mental health patients, you can deal with an angry physician. Give yourself time! It takes a while to get used to the OR. But when you are comfortable, its really nice! I love it here. For every grumpy staff member there are 5 who are super fun to work with. I love what I do, my hours and most of the people I work with.

We have gone from about 30+ procedures a day to less than 10. We are being floated out to other departments to supplement the lack of hours available in the OR. We have sent half of our vents out to our other campuses. Definitely a scary time but I'm sure this experience will make us better nurses and we will learn a great deal from all that we are experiencing.

I graduated last April '19 and went directly into the OR. The hospital I work for requires a 6 month periop 101 program offered through AORN. During this time I had the privilege of working with nurses that had previously worked on the floor. I was eager for their perspective on things I didn't quite understand. But, the truth is that they were in the same position I was and also felt like a fish out of water, suggesting that their previous floor experience offered little to no help in the periop environment. I was honored to experience this program with nurses from all backgrounds but, I do not feel that floor experience is necessary in the OR because it is so highly specialized.

This thread is super helpful. Im starting the program in July and it is great to have insight into what is expected and to have access to the study guides. Thank you

I will be starting the periop 101 program in a few weeks and I couldn't be more excited! I am a new RN grad. Initially, I was told by many of my peers that it would not be a good place to start for the same reasons you have mentioned in your post. I disagree with many of these reasons. At one point I did plan to start somewhere else with the hope of someday transitioning to the OR. Once I graduated I realized that was stupid! If my end goal was the OR anyway, why wait? I know I love the OR and all it entails and it seemed foolish to do something else just because of what others advised. Prior to being hired to the OR I worked as a tech in a level I trauma center. I am very grateful for all that I have learned from the job but while in school I was considering this ED if only for the experience and I was honestly dreading it. I give those RN's a lot of credit but, I see on a daily basis what they go through and I do not desire that kind of experience at this point in my life. I am 41 and I thrive on organization and team camaraderie. I also wanted a better schedule to suit my life with my family and the OR can deliver that. I will be starting on 4 10's M-F. My hours will be 11am-9:30pm. I was told that I could eventually switch to 3 12's which is the most desired at my facility. I was also informed that the 12hr shifts fly by for most depending on the specialty within the OR. On call is "mostly" taken by the on call team in my hospital. But I was told that there is always some available if desired and there is a certain amount that must be taken every four weeks or so. I hope this offers some insight. When I rotated through the OR I knew I belonged there. If it was the same for you, don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Good luck to you ?

I will be starting the periop 101 in a few weeks for a large level I trauma center. and i was told by my hiring manager that one day per week is dedicated to the didactic (classroom) portion of the program. The other four days of the week are spent in the OR with an assigned preceptor. We do this for 6 months and even that is followed by an orientation period that may last 5-10 weeks. I am a recent graduate with no other RN experience and it is my understanding that even the experienced take the same classes with us. Which Im looking forward to. It will be interesting to get different perspectives on the material that is taught. I hope that offers some insight. Im also curious to hear other responses on this topic.

Keep doing the questions and take a practice. I did a little over half, took one of the predictors. Scored 58%. That puts you in the good zone to pass! 50% is good! I took my NCLEX in 75 questions, 17 SATA and passed. Uworld is great and your scores seem good. Good luck!

I just had my interview for the fellowship in my area in Pennsylvania. I won’t know till next week (fingers crossed) with that being said, during my interview I was told that I would take the fellowship with new grads like me and RN’s with no OR experience. Possibly those types of programs are more competitive in your area?

Do you mean where?

I would keep looking. I recently graduated and I have an interview with my hospital for the OR fellowship. It’s an intensive 6 month program. It is a teaching hospital and they take new students and nurses from any specialty. I think if you keep looking or if you’re willing to travel a little farther from your area you could locate a good program. Good luck. ?

Unfortunately, this is very common in the district that my children are/were in. My children 26, 19 and 12 all at some point in their school years urinated in their pants because they were not allowed to use the bathroom. By the time it happened to my youngest I was furious. I went right to the teacher and expressed my anger and concern. She subsequently felt horrible and apologized. Needless to say it never happened again. But, I think that was just with my child. The overall school policy has remained unchanged. Attending the district meetings are probably necessary to change policy. But for starters, talking with the teachers may help. Within our school district there are many disadvantaged, poverty level parents. In turn, the kids suffer. Mostly by acting out, misbehaving etc. This I feel, sours the faculty and all the kids pay the consequences of another's misdeeds. My point is just because one kid will act out on a bathroom trip that doesn't mean all will. Its wrong to inflict this "limited bathroom trips" to all. I wish they would change the policies in our district and I wish the best to you and yours.

I am currently in my last semester of nursing school, so excited to finish! Any who. I worked as a technician in a GI lab for 2 years and I was able to see first hand the role of the nurses there. Personally, I think that it may hinder your chances at nicu. You do not practice anything neonatal in gi. Even on our pediatric days we never saw anyone younger than around 2 years old. You'll be assisting with biopsies at times and injecting meds for the doc. There are some other responsibilities, but none that will assist with a position in nicu. And its mostly charting. I would recommend pediatrics or emergency. Peds you will deal with babies, not so much neonates, but its better than Gi. Emergency you will see all. Again babies and peds, not really neonates. I still think that those are better options than going to gi, if you have the hopes of being a future nicu nurse. I hope that helps. Good Luck!

Just another day in the GI lab.

The sciences are hard no matter what. But what makes someone "good" in sciences? In my opinion, everyone can be good in the sciences, it's just a matter of studying enough. You may have to work a little harder than some but that doesn't mean you can't do it and excel. I also am currently in nursing school, I am almost 40 and I am married with three children. It's all time management and organization. If you can do that you've already set a good foundation for your nursing career. Keep going, your not wasting your time. Good luck!