Sending out an S.O.S

walktheline · May 5, 2009

I am sort of in the same boat. My hiring manager was kind enought to give me a tech position in med/surg working Fri-Sun so that I would have the week free for classes/tests. I kind of want to move on to something else, but I feel so guilty because she was nice enough to schedule this way and she didn't have to.

loricatus · May 6, 2009

I would have to think that the OR manager must have discussed things with your manager before approaching you-that would be the respectful thing to do.

You have to go where you will be happiest. An honest discussion about this issue with your manager is appropriate.

Straydandelion · May 6, 2009

I would have to think that the OR manager must have discussed things with your manager before approaching you-that would be the respectful thing to do.
You have to go where you will be happiest. An honest discussion about this issue with your manager is appropriate.

I am not sure it was discussed before approaching you, yet I also think discussing it with your manager is appropriate.

LesMonsterRN, ADN, RN · May 6, 2009

I agree with both loricatus and Straydandelion

nessajune21 · May 6, 2009

Thank you all for replying!

Do you think it would be most beneficial to stay in the ICU or to go ahead and go to OR (since that is where I'd like to work upon graduation)?

Can't I just pretend I was never asked!?! :no:

GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN · May 6, 2009

Personally, I think the ICU experience would be most beneficial and open many more doors than the OR. Just thinking ahead, you would learn so much that you could take with you for your future. You may think the OR will be your niche, but that may not be the case once you work there. What if you hate it?? (just playing devil's advocate here), if you have the ICU under your belt you could do anything, including the PACU which is a great gig to get-- with ICU experience. What if your ultimate goal is a CNA, great if you have the ICU experience. You may love the OR, (or the idea of it) but there's a lot of demanding MD's, long hours standing which could be physically more demanding than the ICU. If you're absolutely 100% sure, do it.

eriksoln, BSN, RN · May 6, 2009

You seem to be under the impression that if you dont take this opportunity, you will never get another opportunity for the OR. Not the case.

You answered your own question. You said you will be "losing out on a great set of skills that I can bring to any specialty." Well, there you have it, its not time to move on from the ICU yet. And that is all you have to tell the OR manager. Just say "I came to the ICU because there is much here I need/want to learn and I have not mastered all the things I wish to gain from my ICU experience, but thank you for considering me."

Batman24 · May 6, 2009

I would take the OR position if that is what will make you happiest. If your heart says take the job in OR and you will regret not doing so let your manager know and be sure to give appropriate notice.

allnurses Guide · May 6, 2009

At this stage, I'd vote for gaining all the critical care skills you can. OR is super specialized if you're still just a student. ICU will give you many more skills and learning opportunities which you can apply to any area, including the OR.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 7, 2009

I was a manager. It sounds to me like the OR manager is trolling for help and you are on her list. Your ICU manager probably has no idea what is going on. If you go to your ICU manager and talk to her about this I would worry that your ICU manager might think you are in cahoots with this OR manager. I have to tell you that one thing I learned as a manager in a large facility is that there are cliques among the managers and some managers had no hesitation stabbing other managers in the back, especially when it came to stealing staff nurses. I had a lot of staff stolen away from my unit that way before I knew what had happened. The managers who do this are very sly and good at it. To cover their tracks they will make the staff nurse look like the one who was doing the trolling for a different position and not them. That's why I suggest you not even talk to your ICU manager about this unless it is to tell her you are requesting a transfer to the OR. If you do decide to do that, have the OR manager help you facilitate the transfer since she's the one who approached you. She has to make a spot on her staff for you first. That's an administrative issue that you may not have control of and may take some time on her part.

I also have to tell you that it is very hard to get OR positions without any OR experience, so if this offer is good I would seriously consider taking it. The ICU manager will get over it. We managers are used to losing staff and hiring on new staff--its part of the job. OR is also a critical care area. ICU jobs are easy to get and fill because ICU nurses burn out really fast and more people want to work in ICU because of the low nurse:patient ratio than on the regular nursing units.

Before I transferred from ICU stepdown to the IV team years ago I was talking with the manager of the IV team for several months. The new manager of the ICU stepdown had no idea what I was up to. It took the IV team manager 6 months to make a spot for me on the IV team. When that was finally accomplished administratively, she told me to file my request for a transfer with my manager. When I handed the request to my stepdown manager she got huffy and nasty as we suspected she would. I worried that she wouldn't turn the request in to the nursing office. So, I mentioned to her that I already had been speaking with the IV team manager, that a position was open and they expected my transfer. I was off the stepdown schedule and on the IV team in 2 weeks. Unfortunately, until the IV team manager complained, the supervisors kept floating me to the ICU, CCU or the stepdown about 3 out of 5 work days. Her argument was that none of the other IV therapists were ever floated and I was being unjustly abused, especially since I would be called away from the patient assignment to start IVs!