Psych to OR

[trixiern9]

I am planning on applying to OR jobs at hospitals with training programs. Since I've been working in Psych since nursing school (4yrs or so), I'm wondering if taking some refresher classes in IV placement, phlebotomy, (or ?), might increase my chances of being hired since those skills have fallen by the wayside. I've been revisiting my Med-Surg book as well, but I'm not sure what the specific skills to OR are that I can be working on now. I've heard that Psych nurses are often 'blacklisted' from many specialites and I don't want to be stuck! Thanks for any ideas or advice!

[kristen38]

Hi,

I was a psych nurse for four years and moved to the OR this past January. I had to take a course before I could apply so that helped me with the review of med-surg and IV, and other skills that I lost while in psych. The course helped me a lot. I also had five months of orientation. Is there a course in your area that you can take?

I found that some of the staff reactions are very positive and they are interested in knowing what working in psych was like and why I moved to the OR. I have yet to receive any negative comments from anyone. Mostly I hear "Wow, what a change".

If you are interested in the OR, then do it. So far it was the best decision in my career thus far.

Kristen