Requirements to become a surgical NP

JackChase1212, MSN, APRN · Jun 21, 2019

On 6/18/2019 at 12:15 PM, Reaz said:
Hello all!
I am fresh out of nursing school and I am already thinking about my goal to become an NP (I am a huge planner lol). I am a nurse on a surgical/tele floor and I am already planning on moving to the OR after 6 months (not a fan of bedside nursing).
My question is- do you need more floor nursing/critical care nursing to really excel in NP school? I always here from others (and it makes sense) that you lose a lot of nursing skills in the OR because OR nursing is completely different. I do not want to struggle in NP school or as a new NP because I did not have a lot of floor/bedside nursing experience. However, I do want to become a nurse practitioner that specializes in surgery. So, would being an OR help this, or no? If I do become an OR nurse, I plan on becoming a first assist down the line.

NPs are rarely found in the OR. In 16 years as a surgical nurse I have never worked with one, and I have worked in three states. Perhaps is differs in some parts of the country but I am just sharing my experience. Surgery is dominated by PAs. I’ve asked several surgeons why they have that preference of hiring only PAs, and haven’t gotten a concrete answer.

laurinno · Jun 22, 2019

You probably won't be able to work as a NP in the OR. If you're really interested in surgery, I would suggest going the PA route (and since you've worked as a nurse, you probably don't have to worry about contact hours). I believe the pre-requisites for PA school are similar to a RN program though~

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 22, 2019

Whether an NP can work in the OR will depend on hiring practices. In my facility, many of the independent surgeon practices do hire NPs who function in the role of the first assistant during surgery. 2 of the NPs that are frequently seen in the OR are actually some of our former circulating RNs. Yes, the PAs are more common, but it is not impossible to be in the OR as an NP. Of course, that wouldn’t be the only role- you’d likely still see patients in the office and round on them in the inpatient units.

As for losing skills, yes, there are floor nursing skills that aren’t utilized in the OR; however, each specialty will have its own skill set. I’ve worked with any number of OR nurses who went to NP school while working in the OR when the OR was their only nursing experience.