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Discussion

Switch to OR

Hello all,

I got my first RN job on a cardiac step-down unit. I love working in the cardiac area but I know step-down is not the type of environment for me. I only saw 1 surgery when I was in nursing school and it was a total knee replacement. Really cool I must say but thats it. However, even before graduating nursing school I knew I had an interest in the OR. But my problem is I also kinda have an interest in a cardiac ICU as well. My biggest worry about jumping to OR is that once you go back you usually stay in an OR setting for your career (which is not a bad thing). I also think I might like RNFA later on down the road.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated! Also Im assuming OR roles aren't just limited to major hospitals (regional hospitals, outpatient etc).

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    • Admin

    The first question I'm going to ask is what were you watching during that knee replacement? Was it the surgery or what the nurse was doing? If it was the surgery, I highly suggest following an OR nurse and seeing what the job entails. The reason I say this is that a lot of nurses come into the OR after having observed surgery and were a bit shocked at what the actual nursing role entailed.

    I have worked with OR nurses who have since moved on to other specialties- ICU, case management, outpatient offices, hospice, med/surg, ER, rehab, etc. It's possible to not end up staying in the OR for an entire career.

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    • Author

    I watched both: The surgery and what the circulator was doing. Unfortunately there was not a scrub nurse but there was a surg tech, which I assume is pretty close to what a scrub nurse does?

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    • Admin

    Same role in most facilities. A lot of who scrubs is determined by what the facility is willing to pay- STs are way cheaper. In my facility, their maximum salary is lower than the minimum salary for an RN. Hence why we are extremely heavy on STs in the scrub role and RNs only circulating.

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    • Author

    It seems like a lot of hospitals will train you to do both (at least in my area). All the job postings for the OR for the hospitals in my area usually have circulating and scrubbing in the preferred qualifications (although not absolutely necessary).

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    I agree with Rose_Queen . Its just as important to look at the circulator/scrub (regardless of it being a scrub tech) and see what they are doing. Its funny, I feel in love with the OR from my OR observations in nursing school...and I barely noticed the scrub (I don't even recall the circulator at all). I loved seeing the surgeries and still do -so I guess you can go either way.

    A huge thing to point out is that there is not much room for professional growth in OR. You mention that RNFA is something you want to do, have you looked up the requirements? I believe its a couple of classes, CNOR certified (2yrs OR experience and pass a test) and you need to have a lot of hours of working with a sole surgeon. Also, not all hospitals take RNFAs so look in your area to see what hospitals hire them vs not.

    In the end, give it some time. See if you can shadow in the OR for few hours (go to a room with shorter/smaller cases to see how fast the OR can be)

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    • Author

    Im ok with the not much room for growth. I already have an idea on the direction of my career. I did do some research for the hospitals in my state that use RNFAs.

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