Theatre Nursing

[buntosanya]

I hope there will be theatre nurses on the forum who can give me some information to help me make an informed decision. I am an Adult Student Nurse due to finish sign off in the next 2.5 weeks. At the moment I already got 3 jobs, and one interview pending for a Trust that is considered the best in the city where I live. Just trying to give a bit of details in order to understand the background of my dilemma. Two of the jobs I got are on acute wards, while the third is in the theatres of a reputable children hospital.My plight here is really making my mind up on where to choose based on some considerations. I definitely will like to give the Theatre a go, however, my inhibitions are:-1. I don't want to lose my acute nursing skills. I would have loved a situation where I wok in the theatre and can also bank on an acute ward. However, I can only apply to bank on an acute ward after my preceptorship is done. The question here is if it is possible to apply for bank on an acute ward with 6 months preceptorship in the theatres.2. Another consideration is my earning power while working in the theatres. I need to earn as much as I can for the next 18months, so will be looking at doing extra hours especially nights and weekends. My question here is, does working in the theatre put one at a financial disadvantage considering the fact that there are no night and weekend enhancements? Are there some other incentives/benefits that make up for this disadvantage?3. Considering the fact that I am looking at doing a lot of extra for the first 18 months, are there extra shifts available as much as we have on the wards. Are there bank or agency shifts readily available for theatre nurses?I am sorry for waffling, just hope my queries make sense. I also hope I will get some other nurses experience of working in the theatres to make an informed decision. Thank you.

[K+MgSO4, BSN]

does this childrens hospital not have an A&E?

Even if it doesn't inpts can go pear shaped at any time requiring theate overnight and weekends..............or do you need to be senior to do those shifts?

Once you have experience you could apply for agency work.

[buntosanya]

They do have A&E, but since I am an Adult nurse, I would not be able to bank on the wards or A&E, so I want to believe. I also don't think I need to be a senior to do nights or weekends, just not sure if nights or weekend shifts do exist in the Theatres outside on-call commitments. Thanks a lot for your response.