Suggestions for getting my foot in the door for OR??

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 20, 2014

Honestly, it may just take patience. Many nurses either love or hate the OR. Those that hate it leave quickly; those that love it often stay put for their entire nursing career. Keep an eye out for internal postings, see if it would be possible to follow a patient who has a surgery often seen on your current unit, and just try to make connections. You might want to try joining AORN and attending meetings as a networking opportunity.

mhy12784 · Nov 27, 2014

Talk to your hospital (OR) about periop 101

Its some AORN testing module to train nurses to get into the OR. When I was a new grad getting into the OR my hospital made all of us take it. took a few months, and wasnt cheap.

But its possible that if you talked to someone and showed initiative saying you wanted to get into the OR and were thinking of taking this periop 101 course on your home time/dime would it help ?

It doesnt get you ready to work on the OR on your own, but it definitely will help you get your feet wet plus get somebodies attention and possibly open a few doors

blkbelt3dg · Nov 27, 2014

I agree with the Periop 101 comment. If they are interested enough in you they won't have any problem putting you through Periop101 and it's a good introduction to the OR. My first hospital was very limited on lateral transfers and with the politics involved, it was very difficult so I went to another hospital that hired me for the OR. Personally I think the bigger hospitals train better; however, you have a lot more going on there and can feel like a number once you're off orientation. You will get a much broader spectrum though as most bigger hospitals will also train you to circulate, scrub, and work in sterile processing. That may not sound appealing but in time you'll appreciate that experience as most of the more experienced nurses I know are not RN First assists and enjoy it more. Biggest thing is don't ever, ever, ever give up! If you want it bad enough you'll get in!!

darthsunshine, BSN · Nov 27, 2014

I'm taking ACLS, have joined AORN and have started reaching out personally to the managers and perioperative recruiters. One of our largest hospital systems has a periop residency which begins in Feb. I am applying for that as well. *fingers crossed*

darthsunshine, BSN · Feb 24, 2015

I got into an awesome periop residency and started this month! Periop 101 and clinicals began this week. So excited!!!

Lâ™¡vER · Feb 24, 2015

Niiiice! Excited for you! This has always been an area of interest for me as well. Would love to know what you really think on the other side :)

kalycat, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2015

I too am a candidate for a periop 101 residency that starts this month. I've had all my interviews and am now just waiting for the decision. I would love to hear more about your experiences if you're willing to share. Best wishes to you!!

darthsunshine, BSN · Mar 12, 2015

Our Periop 101 is very much a group self study. Our group of residents literally sit in a classroom of computers and go through the AORN PERIOP 101 modules one by one. I've had 3 days in the OR so far. This week we will shadow a scrub tech.

I am loving the information...and am eager to be in the OR full time! Squeeeee!!!

cdsga · Mar 18, 2015

Try to get into a residency program. There are many out there and that will train you well. Probably will be a time commitment after the program is completed, but if you want to really feel confident in the OR you have to stay for a couple of years to coming into your own.

darthsunshine, BSN · Mar 19, 2015

Try to get into a residency program. There are many out there and that will train you well. Probably will be a time commitment after the program is completed, but if you want to really feel confident in the OR you have to stay for a couple of years to coming into your own.

cdsga thanks....and if you see my above post I started a residency program last month. Loving it!!

Argo · Mar 21, 2015

Are you with Baptist or Methodist? I am originaly from SA and worked at NE Baptist for a bit. I would always bring my periop students(I was the manager and CVOR coordinator) into our CVOR to test them out for the first couple days. That usually lets them see the most active side of it, our surgeons were super fast so they were extremely busy cases.

Also, keep in mind, even with periop, you will not be comfortable for a while in the OR and feel lost at times. It will take you a year or two to be confident in yourself...... That is common.