Student nurse wants to excel in OR during senior practicum, any advice?

[jtkachuk]

Hello OR nurses!

I am a nursing student who knew before i even started nursing school that i wanted to be an OR nurse when i graduate. Unfortunately, up unitl last quarter my nursing school did not offer many OR opportunities where i could learn about OR nursing, so i took an initiative to start learning about it by myself. I have purchased OR pocket guide for nurses, Alexander's care of patient in surgery, i met up with one of the OR manager of the local hospital to "pick her brain" a little bit and find out what she is looking for in an applicant, and i signed up to be an AORN member.

I would love to get an advice from you, what can i do in order to get out as much as possible and learn as much as possible during my senior practicum rotation in the OR? I also want to know what students are allowed to do in OR, considering how little exposure i had so far. How can i be an asset to my preceptor and not be a burden? I really want to do well and contribute to the team. Any advice and tips will be greatly appreciated! :)

Thank you!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

First, let's take a look at what students can do. This I'm sure will vary greatly from facility to facility, so here's what permitted at mine:

-assisting with positioning

-prepping

-functioning in the role of assistant circulator (help run for supplies as needed, open supplies to the sterile field)

What's absolutely forbidden at mine:

-counting. Policy requires an RN (even GNs aren't permitted to count)

-dispensing meds.

-documentation (although this may change at some point- the reason this started is because the OR was using a different program than the rest of the hospital, so users were limited to OR staff only)

As far as other advice, take a look at some of the threads about being a new grad in the OR or just being new to the OR. While you may not be able to take on a role as inclusive as a licensed nurse, you can glean plenty of advice from those threads. There's also a sticky somewhere titled "Soooo you're observing in the OR" or something similar- it's a great place to start just to learn a little about things to do and not do.

[jtkachuk]

Thank you so much Rose-Queen! I will definitelly read some more threads and your post gives me some idea of what to expect. :)

[Future ScorpioRN]

Going through alot of threads and job postings alot are requiring a BSN and that you be certified at least in BLS but also would prefer ACLS. I have not started nursing school yet however working in the OR is my dream for some reason thats what keeps calling me and the more i look into it the more i want to do it. Good luck :)

[nursenatty14]

I was an intern in the OR. I was allowed to assist with prepping, positioning the patient, opening sterile supplies, running for supplies during surgery, taking specimens to the lab, and observing the nurse when they chart and when they bring the patient to and from surgery. I loved it so much that I ended up finding a job in the OR, and I start in a week and a half!