Seeking Opinions on Surgical Nursing

JWG223 · Jan 31, 2015

I know a guy who left my critical care unit to do that. It's a total cush job. I hear that there can be some interpersonal drama in the OR work-setting, though, from MD's I know.

AndreaRoberts · Jan 31, 2015

I'll admit, I love the fact in Home Health that there is no interpersonal drama. I breeze into the office, gather my supplies, and get out. I'm pretty good at dealing with people, though.

RNperdiem, RN · Jan 31, 2015

Finding a job in this field is a big hurdle. You do need a fair amount of training for OR/PACU and many hospitals have cut back on training and prefer to hire nurses already trained,experienced and ready to work. In this job market, they can.

Most of the nurses I know in this department love their job, so turnover is not high.

PACU is most similar to ICU nursing with a higher patient turnover.

OR nurses need to work well with others. When you share a room with several people for hours at a time, people who are easily irritated with others find the problems magnified. In home health you got some "alone time". OR is a shared space.

Go ahead and apply. If you are burning out, it is time to make a change.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 31, 2015

It's a total cush job.

Please don't spread this misinformation. I'm guessing you've never worked in the OR yourself. Just like all other nursing specialties, OR nursing does have its challenges. Believe me, I run my butt off every shift just like the ICU nurses, just like the ER nurses, just like the med/surg nurses, just like the, well, you get the picture. We have codes, we have patients die, we see heartbreaking situations.

OP, just because the job posting states it's a 7-3:30 job doesn't mean it's always going to be a 7-3:30 job. Many positions require taking call, although just how much is going to vary from facility to facility. My schedule says I'm supposed to work 40 hours per week. Between staying late to finish cases when I'm on call plus those days I get called back in, I average much closer to 50- my record is 70+ hours in a single week. Come on over to the OR nursing forum- there are many threads along the same line as yours, plus tips for working in the OR as a new OR nurse.

JWG223 · Jan 31, 2015

Please don't spread this misinformation. I'm guessing you've never worked in the OR yourself. Just like all other nursing specialties, OR nursing does have its challenges. Believe me, I run my butt off every shift just like the ICU nurses, just like the ER nurses, just like the med/surg nurses, just like the, well, you get the picture. We have codes, we have patients die, we see heartbreaking situations.
OP, just because the job posting states it's a 7-3:30 job doesn't mean it's always going to be a 7-3:30 job. Many positions require taking call, although just how much is going to vary from facility to facility. My schedule says I'm supposed to work 40 hours per week. Between staying late to finish cases when I'm on call plus those days I get called back in, I average much closer to 50- my record is 70+ hours in a single week. Come on over to the OR nursing forum- there are many threads along the same line as yours, plus tips for working in the OR as a new OR nurse.

Different OR's and different ICU's. I am only repeating what the ICU nurse I am friends with reported back after a few months in OR. His opinion was that it was a boring cush job and he was pulling OT because he didn't feel tired after his typical full-time schedule and the extra money was nice.

Might other OR's differ? For sure!

I'm only sharing the ONE datapoint I am personally aware of.

Thank you for introducing another.

ETA: You're bang-on about hours though, he did say that his scheduled time was not representative of his time on the clock.

AndreaRoberts · Jan 31, 2015

The hours are a big deal to me. I don't mind an occasional long day, but right now all of my days are long. So much so, my life and relationships are suffering.

JWG223 · Jan 31, 2015

The hours are a big deal to me. I don't mind an occasional long day, but right now all of my days are long. So much so, my life and relationships are suffering.

That and paperwork are the #1 and #2 complaints I've heard about HH.

Libby1987 · Jan 31, 2015

How about another position in home health? Any position can result in working beyond 8 hrs but when things are smooth, our office nurses work 8-5, up to 5:30/6:00 on a Friday or exceptionally busy days. But they generally aren't charting into the evening and don't typically work weekends and major holidays.

On the flip side they don't have the flex schedule that some of us enjoy.

Libby1987 · Jan 31, 2015

Off topic but in defense of Home Health to those reading..

Admittedly, December was hands down the most challenging month of my long career in home health. We transitioned to EMR with huge learning curves, technical hiccups, flu season, holidays (I cried when my son had to go pick out our xmas tree by himself because I couldn't tear myself away from the computer well into a Sunday), short days, wet cold weather.. I worked 21 straight days with all weekdays going at least 12 hrs.

But things have smoothed out, I'm back to an 8ish hour day, flex schedule, good income, 30-45 min per patient, 1 - 1 1/2 hrs per admission. Regardless of how much paperwork, I still have a solid 4 hr plus time spent doing satisfying *nursing* care with gratitude received everyday. Home health is not a thankless job. Even the Drs' offices express thanks.

Charting anywhere I choose. Patient's home, coffee shop, park, my comfy sofa. When my youngest was still needing me home after school, I could be here. Never missed a game or anything important. That's pretty exceptional when you consider my professional FT income.

Home health like all nursing positions can be hard work, it helps if you love it like I do.

That said I have rotated through the different positions over the decades incl mgmt and QI, back to patient care after a long hiatus.

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 31, 2015

I'm afraid you might run into the same problem with PACU/OR. Many PACUs/ORs require on-call, and some cases are longer and less stable, which again, requires some overtime.