Transition to Peds OR

Editorial Team / Admin · Jul 1, 2016

My OR doesn't have a separate peds and adult section. I will say that working with the little ones is well outside my comfort zone- we don't do pediatric cardiac surgery (with the very rare exception of the occasional trauma that won't survive an 8 minute chopper flight) and that's my particular specialty.

Have you had any exposure to pediatric surgery in your job? Or is it completely separate? I would definitely ask for the opportunity to shadow if you haven't already.

dcwang · Jul 3, 2016

I'm an OR tech, not surgical tech, at a major teaching peds hospital. The RNs start IVs sometimes, and IVs are started after general anesthesia is induced

Argo · Jul 3, 2016

What is an "OR tech" that does not coincide with being a "surgical tech". All across the country I have heard the terms used interchangeably.

dcwang · Jul 3, 2016

As an OR tech i do turnovers, pick up and drop off specimens, pick up meds from OR control desk to nurses, help position pts, get supplies and materials that circulators ask for during surgery, and i pull supplies on intraoperative pick list

Nurse_Of_All_Trades, LPN, RN · Jul 4, 2016

As an OR tech i do turnovers, pick up and drop off specimens, pick up meds from OR control desk to nurses, help position pts, get supplies and materials that circulators ask for during surgery, and i pull supplies on intraoperative pick list

That's what I thought you meant when you said you were an OR tech and not a Surg tech. My OR calls them Perioperative Support Associates or PSA. Everyplace has a different name for the same job. I've seen CNA titles on AN that I've never seen before and had to do a quick Google search just to know who or what they were talking about lol.

pixiestudent2 · Jul 4, 2016

As an OR tech i do turnovers, pick up and drop off specimens, pick up meds from OR control desk to nurses, help position pts, get supplies and materials that circulators ask for during surgery, and i pull supplies on intraoperative pick list

So what is it that the nurse does besides charting?

It sounds like the nurse has a really easy job haha that's basically my entire role as an OR nurse.

dcwang · Jul 6, 2016

We can't pull meds, still techs can't practicd within RN scope of practice, or do anything that requires nursing judgement. We do not go to preop to get the pt or make sure the informed consent is signed. I love the OR and hope to get in as a new grad. I don't enjoy pt interaction and their families

dcwang · Jul 6, 2016

That's what I thought you meant when you said you were an OR tech and not a Surg tech. My OR calls them Perioperative Support Associates or PSA. Everyplace has a different name for the same job. I've seen CNA titles on AN that I've never seen before and had to do a quick Google search just to know who or what they were talking about lol.

We call them Something similar to PSA. I will not post my facility's name in public for the position

iverina · Jul 19, 2016

I have also considered transitioning to a children's hospital... The only peds we do now is dental and I HATE it... Mostly because of the drills and smells...

not2bblue · Sep 17, 2016

I work in a peds hospital, never in adults but our 2 hospitals are one huge building. The or rooms for kids are hot, no joke it is 80 degrees in there sometimes and never cooler than like 72. The attention to the patient is significantly higher than adults-you cannot just tell a 2 year old to lie still on the table. We do start OVs because when the kid is less than 13 years old the IV is started after gas induction but before intubation. A child at 13 with developmental delays or is malnurished or just in general is scared we will wait until induction to do the iv and if the kid is younger but critical then it is started before. Most of our surgeries are ENT (tonsils, ear tubes) or hernas and appys. But the stuff is pretty much the same. Just smaller, hotter, and coordination for every age group. Btw, we do surgeries on adults in our OR too if they have conditions that are traditionally peds. Plus, teens are adult size. Age appropriate care is very stressed as well as comfort measures. Kids bring back toys, blankies, games, parents. Kid patients means having patience!

kinbari08, BSN · Oct 19, 2016

I know this thread's a few months old but figured I'd comment. I started off in an adult OR that did some minor peds cases (ear tubes, circumcisions, etc.) and then transitioned to a level 1 pediatric OR. Lots of things are similar but case wise, you do things in the peds world that you never do in the adult world. Our rooms aren't kept hot unless it's a NICU baby or the case is classified as one where we follow our "surgical site infection" protocol. We have induction rooms where the parents can come in with their child as they go to sleep. A lot of the younger kids will cry and scream as they go to sleep and you may need several people to hold them down as the anesthesia person is holding a mask to their face. We do have flavors that we can spray in the mask so they can smell flavored air as they are going to sleep. The OR RN's do the majority of the IVs at my facility and they are placed after mask induction but before intubation. If the patient is a young adult or a teen they usually get their IV in pre-op but the pre-op nurses at my hospital aren't the greatest at doing them so sometimes you get a 17 year old getting their IV in the OR. They usually do an IV induction instead of mask for the teens and adults though, just like at an adult facility. We also do IV inductions for all inpatients who already have an IV, PICC, or central line.

My hospital's busiest service is ENT but we do all services almost everyday. I sometimes miss the adult world but for now, I'm enjoying my job with the little ones!