What should I want out of an OR position?

TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN · Mar 24, 2008

I'm confused. If you are passionate about the ER, why are you trying to become an OR nurse? Also, you state in your profile that you have perioperative experience. What did this experience tell you about working in the OR?

As far as the frequency of taking call, that will very much depend on the facility and is something that you will need to ask them during the interview process.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Mar 24, 2008

WHOOPS!

Haha, I have to stop typing while I'm watching Jeopardy! I am NOT passionate about the ER (unless Shane West is there, with complete use of his legs, and John Stamos is nowhere to be seen!)

Thanks!

I realize that call varies per facility. What I meant was how often is...good...for call, if that makes sense.

Jess

PS - I did quite well on Jeopardy! Not so well on the first post!

ShariDCST · Mar 24, 2008

hey everyone!
i'm a medsurg nurse who's leaving the floor to do what i always have wanted to do; go to the or!
i've applied to several hospitals in de, eastern md & southeastern pa, and i'm in contact with a couple of them.
what i want to know is, what should i want out of an or position? what sorts of questions should i ask? for example, i don't know how often i should be expected to take call?
i'm passionate about the er but i know i'm not sure yet what the marks of a great or nursing job would be.
anything would help!
i really appreciate it.
jess

my first questions would be about orientation. how long is the program, and how is it structured, who is in charge of it, and what resources do they use? do they use the aorn guidelines and materials? is there classroom time plus any kind "lab" time to practice skills, particularly if you will be expected to learn to scrub? will you be expected to learn to scrub and circulate, or do the rn's all circulate and they use csts to scrub cases? are you assigned to a particular preceptor, or will you work with anyone who happens to be available on a given day? is there a commitment/contract required to fulfill after you are through the orientation, how long is it and what are the requirements? what is the staffing structure, and who is responsible for what - e.g. orderlies and/or housekeeping staff to help with room turnovers, or are the room staff required to do all the turnover work? what kind of case load does the department handle, both in numbers and types? are they structured in "cores" where specific services are concentrated in one core area, and you will work in a specific "core" - such as a neuro, general and ent section, for example, or will you be working with all services? will you be required to take callbacks, and if so how often? (i'd worry about callpay later if/when you begin work - it's usually pretty firmly structured, and i've never been anyplace where it's negotiable in rate.) will you rotate through pacu as well, or are you strictly working in or? is there a job shadowing program that you can take advantage of to see if the way things are run might be a good fit for you? what's the general turnover rate of staff, and if it's high, why do staff leave the department? if it's low, why do they stay?

that's about all i can think of right off the bat - i'm sure there's things i've missed here, and others will fill in the blanks........

good luck!!

shari :up:

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2008

Shari -

That is above and beyond, thanks so much!!!

--Jess

brewerpaul · Mar 25, 2008

"Good" for call depends on what you call good. If you're energetic, lots of call can be exciting and the extra money is certainly nice. I'm a 57 yr old OR newbie, and I really like call. I feel like the whole place is MINE (mwa-ha-ha!). Maybe I'll get jaded with time, but so far the idea of coming in in the middle of the night to potentially help save someone's life is very satisfying and a big part of what nursing is all about. In our OR, we have enough staffing that each RN takes a 48hr weekend call approximately every other month, plus 3-4 3pm-7am calls per month.

sandiegojames · Mar 25, 2008

Wow paul,

I suspect you guys either have weekend staff or have very few weekend cases. We use to take 24 hour weekend call, only one team but after a few of us ended up in the OR for 15-20Hrs+ we went to only 12 hr weekend shifts. Pretty important to be on top of your game in a real emergency.

jim

OR male nurse · Mar 27, 2008

Thick skin, the ability to mutitask, the ability to take a lot of insults from surgeons and scrub techs. Getting used to not getting a lunch break. Working all through the day and night and being expected to work the next day. Being woken up at 3 am to come in for a C-section. Being on call all weekend and putting in an extra 20 hours of call after you worked a 40 hour exhausting week. I'm not trying to be a wise guy here but this is really what you can expect. Search the board and read what's been said. The OR can be an absolute blast some days. Other (most) days it can be your worst nightmare.