Question About Required OR Experience

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Greetings,

I am currently a BSN student with one year of school left. I want to be a RNFA. I realize that I will need years of experience working the floor and in the OR before I am eligible for the RNFA program. However, I looked into some job requirements for work in the OR as a nurse, and I am unclear about something: How do you get OR experience if part of the "job requirement" for OR Nurse is 1-3 years of OR experience?? Do you get the OR job by networking? How do you get your foot in the door?

Best Regards,

Soonja

Specializes in Operating room, Pediatrics.

Do hospitals in your area offer fellowship programs? I just interviewed for an OR nurse fellowship on Monday, it's for new grads who have passed the nclex. Since OR isn't typically offered as a clinical rotation in nursing school (at least not in my area), the fellowship offers classroom as well as clinical hours and prepares you for work in the OR. The one I interviewed for is 5 weeks long and I get to choose from a list of hospitals accepting fellows where I'd like to work. At the end of the fellowship I'd then be hired on full time as a staff nurse. This might be something for you to look into.

Specializes in Emergency Medicine and Surgery.

Many times it is who you know. I recommend asking the nurse manager if you can come job shadow and express your long term career goals with the nm

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