snapdragon13

@Allisonarr it’s crazy that I wrote this 5 years ago! So much has changed in my life. I’m sorry you are experiencing similar feelings, however I encourage you to explore those feelings. Looking back, I wish I had taken better care of myself in that moment (self-care, yoga, counseling, career mentorship, whatever floats your boat) to really think about what I wanted for myself and my future. Nevertheless, life is a journey and a life-long career doesn’t have to be in one specialty! That’s the beauty of nursing! I was in adult O.R. for a bit then went to ICU and hated it! (Ironic, huh). When the pandemic hit, elective surgeries stopped and so did my pediatric O.R. position so I went to the pediatric emergency room and fell in love with it. I so wish I had started out my career there. Don’t give up on finding what makes your body and heart easily get out of bed in the morning!! One of my great friends loves the O.R. and is now a travel nurse in Hawaii. She couldn’t be happier but that’s not my journey or personality. It wouldn’t make me happy to travel; I’d be so stressed! It all depends on what you want. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to sort it out right now (the right opportunity always somehow presented itself to me at the right time) and know you won’t find the “right or wrong answer in these forums.” You can get great advice here but really you’ve got to dig into your heart and discover what you want out of your career long-term (is it happiness in a job, just a clock in clock out, traveling, superior pay or benefits, experience for graduate school, great work life balance, day or night shift?) Pick a few characteristics and see how they align with life values that make you happy. Life is too short to be miserable at a job. Take some time to think about what you really want to do but also give yourself time as a new grad to adjust. I hope that helps! One thing I did during that time period was get coffee with multiple people in different positions (PACU nurse, ICU nurse, infusion nurse, school nurse, and even a MD!) You’ll make great connections where you are regardless and just say “hey let me buy you coffee and can we chat about your career - I think it’s cool!” I gleaned a lot of information from them and was able to find a specialty I liked!

When I started just a mere two months ago as a new grad in the OR, I was so excited... And now I'm just thinking back to the ICU position I was offered and wondering if I should have taken that because I start to miss my floor nursing student clinicals. You beautiful people have a wonderful specialty and profession but I don't feel the "heart" I had when I started. I'm wondering if this means I should talk to my orientation manager about these feelings or wait 6 months and see.... Thoughts?

Thank you for giving me some "hard truth" on the matter! I'm a new grad so thankfully I have plenty of time to decide what my future holds. But I miss worrying about those things and really getting to know my patient and their physiological responses. I guess I can only find out by trying. Did that OR nurse stay in the OR for a year then transfer out? I think I'm going to do that so then I don't burn my bridge just in case I get out and change my mind.

The I'll believe I'll be placed replay was meant for you!!

I believe I'll be placed in a trauma OR speciality so that will be helpful to know if I can handle some of that. I think that's what I miss though... I haven't had a taste of it because I'm a new grad int he Operating Room but I miss doing a lot of meds, talking to patients, day to day bedside procedures.

Ah, I see what you're saying. So it would be a better idea to get one year of operating room experience then transfer to ICU?

By per diem, do you mean PRN? Excited to hear your feedback, so can you give me your reasoning for staying 1.5 years in the OR then going to an ICU?

I would love to hear more from you! I've had the opportunity to speak to a few SRNAs. I would love to hear your background. Can I be honest with you? What you do looks terrifying... but I am drawn to all of the details and management you guys do. I'm guessing a healthy. Fear is good right? Also, a lot of CRNAs said they couldn't work through school. How did you survive? My main concern is that I am in an OR internship program right now and I would hate to bail out now... and that might look bad on me... I'm talking to an old friend who works in a Trauma ICU on Saturday to get a better perspective. I'm hoping a CRNA will eventually reach out to me. I've given my number to two of them... to get coffee... maybe I should ask for their number. Haha.

Hey CRNAs, I started out in the Operating Room as a new grad... and it's only been a few months. I'm practically entranced by all that you do at the head of the bed. Im wondering if that means I should look into becoming a CRNA... should I stay in the OR for a year then transfer to an ICU? Or transfer out now? I think I would enjoy trauma ICU because I love working with OR trauma but is trauma ICU accepted for CRNA school? Would love to hear from operating room nurses who become CRNAs. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I'm a new grad starting in the operating room and I'm wondering if you have any advice for me. Currently I'm in a speciality that I don't love but don't know how to tell my manager in order to be placed somewhere else at the end of my orientation (final placement in a service line occurs after our orientation)... I requested this specialty in my interview so I don't know how to say I'm not clicking with it... without sounding ungrateful or greedy. Help?

I am in the operating room as a circulator. I loved everything about it before I was offered the position, now I'm wondering if I should have started out somewhere else.

Hi all, I've never made a topic on here so here it goes. I'm coming here to talk to someone that will listen. I'm having trouble with that... my family keeps reassuring me I'm "in the right place." I'm a new grad that just started orientation for a new job. When I accepted the position, I was over the moon, elated to start... now that I'm a few weeks in, I'm just all around scared and nervous I've made the wrong decision with this choice of specialty. I can't tell if this is just the new grad jitters or if I'm just not clicking with this area of nursing. Thanks for your advice!

I'm officially a nurse!!!! My license showed up on my state board of nursing 24 hours after taking the exam!!

I am SO happy for you! Congrats!!!

I will definitely let you guys know! No it's just the agonizing wait to get my license number or the quick results... whichever one comes first. Praying this good pop up means something!