What Are OR Managers looking for?

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Telem.

Hi, I am an RN that has been working in Med/Surg/Telemetry for 5 years. I have been applying for OR positions and realize that in order to work in the OR I will have to apply for an internship. I have called a few hospitals and found out when they will be hiring for these internships and plan to send in my application. My question is what specifically are nurse managers in the OR looking for? I am not sure if these hospitals prefer new grads to experienced nurses and would really like to be able to nail at least one of these interviews.

What do you believe makes the most effective OR nurse and do you have any tips for the interview?

Thanks,

ED

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Unless the O.R. has a perioperative program it is hard to hire a RN without O.R. experience,there is so much to learn,with no experience the new RN will have to precept with an experienced RN circulator for at least 6 months,it is a big investment for the facility,which is the reason facilities request a commitment from the new RN's to remain employed at that facility for a specified time period.Some facilities are bringing back peri-op programs,call HR dept. at facilities in your area and ask if they have a peri-op program & express your interest.Now keep in mind you have 5 years of experience in floor nursing but no experience in the O.R.,so if you decide to enter a peri-op program you most likely will have to take a cut in hourly pay,and this is sometimes hard for an experienced RN to accept,but eventually your pay does catch up.

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

They are looking for people who can work in a fast-paced, high stress job with little or no assistance. You have to be physically fit (or at least look like you are) and can work and think on your feet. You have to enjoy learning new technology, and be able to deal with ever changing technology. You need to be willing and able to trouble shoot technology (after training) and be someone who is extremely situationally aware - even if you are engaged in one activity in the OR you HAVE to be aware of everything else that is going on at all times. You need to be able to work with a wide variety of different personalities and be able to bring those personalitis together to work as a team for the patient's best interest. You need to be able to evaluate a patient and their situation quickly, and you need to be able to bond quickly with the patient and their family. You have to have the ability to learn a very wide number of cases quickly, including the type of positioning equipment needed, instrumentation, surgeon's preferences, etc. It sounds overwhelming, and it can be, but the steep learning curve is worth it in the end.

BTW, you are correct in that you will need to complete an internship program but I have never personally heard of hospitals reducing the pay for interns other than when they are new grads (that's when the pay will be low). The facilities I have worked for have hired on inexperienced nurses (with no OR experience) into the intern program at their existing rate which frankly PO's a lot of people because you can wind up training someone who is being paid more then you are because they have more years of experience in another service, but that's just how it goes.

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taketwoaspirin, I know of several hospitals that have peri-op programs,and I am very familiar with how it works.The hospital has a set pay range for the program,they do take into consideration the nurses experience and the pay will reflect that,however,the nurse is inexperienced in the O.R. and reduction in pay happens.If a nurse has worked in Telemetry for 5 years and is making $ 34 hr,they will see a reduction in pay.The facility is not going to pay that nurse $ 34 hr when they have no experience in the O.R.,and the new nurses will have to be precepted by an experienced O.R. nurse who is making less than $34 hr.Some facilities do not pay additional money to precept,nurses precept on a voluntary basis,so why would they assume the responsibility if mentoring a nurse that makes more money than they are making.Having more experience in another service does not help a new nurse in the O.R.,the O.R. is a totally different environment.You have already seen what paying an inexperienced O.R. nurse more than an experienced O.R. nurse creates,maybe your facility will catch on.

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

Is it even remotely possible that what happens in your region is not the same as what happens in my area? BTW my post was not directed at you, but the OP. I'm not sure why you appear to be so defensive, I'm just sharing what MY experience was... it was in no way a commentary on your experience which you stated clearly in your original post.

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taketwoaspirin, ok, you shared your experience and I shared mine,I was not attacking your post. you rebutted my comment on possible pay reduction, at the end of your post you commented on pay based on my original post, since the OP never asked about pay. Yes,I took into account it may different in the OP's area,that is why I used "most likely" in my statement.I have worked in the O.R. for 16 years,traveled for almost 8 years,it is very different across the state's and from facility to facility.Hope this clears things up.

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They're looking for a confident and assertive person with thick skin. You need to be have strong communication skills and be able to successfully facilitate communication between all members of the team (who will likely all have very different and very strong personalities). Don't take anything personally and don't let it discourage you--the O.R. tends to attract individuals with strong personalities, so being able to effectively mediate conflict is also a plus. Do your job, but don't take yourself too seriously--a sense of humor is a highly valued and appreciated commodity in the O.R. If you want to really thrive in the O.R. you can't be a shrinking violet.

In addition to all these things, managers want to hire someone who wants to be there. It costs ALOT of money and time to hire and orient/train someone to the O.R. so they're not gonna hire someone who just wants "a change of pace" or who says, "yeah, I think I just want to try something new!" They want someone who KNOWS that the O.R. is the place they want to be.

Good luck in your search! Let us know how the interviews go!

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One more thing I forgot, the NM/whoever interviews you will ask the inevitable "Tell me about yourself" question. They are legally not allowed to ask certain questions involving where you live, age, marital/family status, things of that nature. But there are no laws protecting you volunteering this precious information on your own! THUS, interviewers ask the dreaded "tell me about yourself" question too see how much information you will foolishly volunteer about yourself. They want to make sure you plan on sticking around in that city, aren't planning on getting pregnant soon/have small children(consequently missing work), engaged (translating to lots of time spent planning a wedding/ honeymoon= more missing work), things of that nature...blahblahblah.

You can use this to your advantage though and volunteer information that you know they will smile upon and find favorable(as long as its true!)

Keep it short and sweet and MOSTLY work-related, you don't want it sound like a canned answer and you DO want to stick out in the interviewer's mind as an actual person, not just a piece of paper--so I think its good to volunteer small, succint info..

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Specializes in Med/Surg/Telem.

Thank you so much, there is definately a lot of helpful information in your answers. I currently live in Orlando and am willing to move anywhere in Florida, Georgia, Texas and North & South Carolinas to get into the OR. I worked med/surg for 3 years in OK then decided to move back here to FL and have been having to take med/surg positions even though they are not what I want and am simply ready to do just about anything to get into working in the Operating Room. I have no problem doing an internship or signing a contract to work somewhere, I am fine with a cut in pay as long as I can live which I imagine it would have to be a drastic cut for me not to be able to pay rent, electric etc. I always make sure to mention that I am single without children in interviews so they know I am pretty unencumbered. I'm a little worried about the physically fit, I am overweight, but not to the point that it slows me down in any way. I am rarely ill and don't have any medical conditions.

I believe that I do have the skills to work and be an asset to the setting, I just need someone to let me in so I can prove it. I feel like I need the "key" to unlock the opportunity and so that is why I wrote this post, hoping that some of the information will be that key that helps an interviewer say, yes, I want this person to come work here.

I appreciate all of the information, I am calling hospitals in FL this week to see when they will be offering OR programs, the other two I mentioned are out of state, going to apply for as many as I can! I will keep you posted.

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