Questions for all surgical techs

Hi MrsSportcat:-). I am a former ST, and it really isn't that bad at all as far as being grossed out. The O.R. is a very clean/sterile environment. The amount of blood loss is kept to a minimum, and is controlled by suction, and cauterization of small blood vessels. For larger vessels they use clips. The suction also comes in handy for sucking up the smoke that is generated from use of the bovie knife (cauterizer). Talking is kept to a minimum because no one knows what the patient can hear or not hear. During anesthesia there is a phase where you have to be absolutely silent. It is a fast paced environment, and you have to keep count of everything that is used inside of the patient and out. A procedure can last any where from 45 minutes to hours, depending on what type of surgery it is and where on the body it is being done. Since alot of stuff is done laproscopically now, the procedure time and recovery time is getting shorter. You are on your feet during the whole procedure, so I would recommend getting some Ted's stockings to prevent varicose veins and such. As far as working with the same people, it depends on how big the hospital is, and what they need for staff. Usually you work with the same people, or may even be placed in the same room. If a certain service appeals to you, after your training, you can request to be placed in that specialty. I decided to go on and become a Practical Nurse, but man do I miss the O.R. I say go for it. The hours are good, and you can usually get days (i.e. m-f 7am-3pm). There is a point where they may request that you be on call, but it doesn't happen often. What ever you choose, I wish you the best of luck.

A close friend of mine is a ST and is now in the nursing program with me. She left the field because of the long hours standing, not being able to pee, not getting time enough to eat, being on call, working odd hours. I know she LOVED the OR but its hard work physically and you get pigeoned held into one area, The OR. She picked nursing because while there is a lot of standing and odd hours as well at least you can switch it up in different areas and different jobs.

I was (and still consider myself) a surg tech prior to getting my RN. If you have an interest in the field then you are probably not going to have a problem with the "yuck factor" - usually you only hear the gory story from someone because it's the most interesting to tell. You don't often hear all the great stuff - like how fascinating it is to actually see the inside of the human body that most people only see in text books. I remember once during an exploratory abdominal surgery that - not only me - but even the surgeon - was mesmerized by watching the peristalsis - the stomach in action doing it's job! During a craniotomy - it was amazing to actually see the brain - the blood vessels, etc - text books just don't do it justice.

The other side of the coin is that it gets to be a routine job like any other - you go in and get the job done. The trick is never to lose your fascination about how the human body works.

I've found that there is more of a family atmosphere in the OR than on the nursing floor. You do run into your nasty surgeon from time to time - but for the most part - they know they can't do the job without their team - and believe me - you'll run into some surgeons that you will be saving their butts on some occassions! They know that too! There is more respect for the OR team by the doctors than what they have for the nurses on the floor. I actually asked a surgeon I knew about that one time when I saw him on the floor - he didn't really have an answer for me - said he didn't think he treated the floor nurses any differently. When I confirmed for him that he - and the other surgeons do - he said it was "just different." He continued, "we all work together very closely on a pretty regular basis and we depend on each other - we're a small, select group. I get to the floor and run into a lot of different nurses on each shift - there is not time to get to know them - or sometimes even to see the same nurse on a regular basis. We don't really 'know' them like we know our team!" It does make sense - and I bet he thinks of floor nurses much differently now that I brought to his attention that it is often the floor nurse that keeps his patients alive all of the hours and days after the surgery!

I do miss the comraderie of the OR - which we don't seem to have on the floor - basically because we don't have that same quality time together since we are too busy taking care of our own patients (I'm on a step-down unit - busy all the time trying to monitor patients and keept them alive). Sometimes I'll see one of my co-workers in report and then only see them in passing as the shift goes on - not usually any time for socializing.

If you want to go on to be an RN - the Surg Tech program is a great way to go. My OR experience has helped me many times over - in nursing school and on the job. I'm proud of being a Surg Tech - although many nurses don't want to hear too often that you have OR experience - they start to feel inferior - or that you are trying to say you are better than them - so it's best to keep your experiences on the QT - unless someone is really interested in hearing some great stories!

Good luck!!

P.S. - I forgot to mention - the part about the long hours and being on your feet all day...not getting a chance to pee or eat...the job as an RN is no different! Unless you are very lucky - especially as a new nurse - you will be on your feet all day and all that other stuff! Sometimes I get home after an 8 - 10 hour shift and suddenly realize - I didn't pee all night - and what is dinner??