Which specialty in the OR?

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Specializes in med-surg, OR.

Which OR specialty you would consider to be the most interesting and challenging?

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Also, which one tends to pay the best.

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Specializes in Peri-Op.

Most challenging to scrub or circulate?

Best pay is CVOR/CTOR on average. You will find small pockets in each and every specialized area that will pay alot to get an experienced person in a dire needs position.

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Also, which one tends to pay the best.

The only difference in pay at our place is between the Open Heart team and the non Open Heart team, ie everyone else. Because we're staffed 24/7 there is generally no call for any of our OR staff with the exception of OH. Because they cover their own area, they take call and respond. Seeing as I was considered the 'Black Cloud' when I was scrubbing there, I (and the RN on call with me) made a lot of extra money!

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Specializes in med-surg, OR.

"Most challenging to scrub or circulate?"

I am interested to know about both, could you shed some light? Thanks.

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Specializes in OR.

i very much like neuro but at out facility we do not do any cardiac surgery. i do vascular though. and i like both. i am hoping to learn cvor someday. i do scrub and circulate both. both are interesting and challenging. money wise i think cvor pays more

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Specializes in Only the O.R. and proud of it!.

Funny. Different peole find different things more or less challenging than others. You'd never tell a patient that the same procedure goes exactly the same for each and every person. The same goes for individual nurses and techs. I personally think that robotics is quite challenging to master; but I've never scrubbed or circulated a near, spine, or total. Now because I don't know those, I bet they'd be the most challenging

As far as pay goes, ya, CVOR gets paid more around here, but with call every service has opportunity for OT.

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Specializes in OR.

I've spent the better part of the past 4 years in robotics and find it quite challenging--a lot to manage within the OR equipment wise as well as keeping the pt safe. I'm quite comfortable with it now, but stick me in a vascular case and I get very antsy--a lot that I don't know very well, I can muddle through it but if given a choice, I'd pass on vascular. Yet others thrive in there. There really is something for everyone. I really like laparoscopic and robotic stuff---its amazing to see what we can do, and I am challenged daily with different scenarios. But as for scrubbing, nothing beats a good open belly case, or a big plastics case. Plastics is another specialty I love--always something new and different.

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

Never heard of CVOR getting anymore money than others. That is new to me, but good for you. Every hospital has their own little rules so you will get different answers. ALL specialties should get paid the same and one shouldn't be above the others. The only reason I can see some hospitals paying more for CVOR is it is hard to find someone to do this. Now, this is only my own opinion but I find CVOR to be very boring, same thing all the time, hardly any variables. Sorry. Now that said Ortho is my fav because it uses POWER TOOLS! Also all fractures are different. But we need CVOR nurses very much so if your "heart" is in it, go for it.

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I love vascular surgery myself. You have to be on your toes at all times because the proverbial "****" can hit the fan at anytime. We used to get some scattered emergencies from other services who hit arteries/veins they were trying to avoid. We had to go in an fix it.

The hospital I used to work at the nurses did conscious sedation for angiograms/angioplasty, and stent placements. We also scrubbed large cases like open AAA's. Endovascular procedures are pretty cool as well. Fixing a large abdominal aneurysm by just making a small incision in the groin is pretty amazing to me. From my experience though, most people don't like doing vascular surgery because of the higher stress level, and the endovascular cases can be difficult to scrub. Keeping the wires and catheters in order and wearing lead throughout the procedure can be a pain. Overall, it's my favorite service to work in. Next favorite would be neuro. Crani's are super cool.

Which OR specialty you would consider to be the most interesting and challenging?
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Never heard of CVOR getting anymore money than others. That is new to me, but good for you. Every hospital has their own little rules so you will get different answers. ALL specialties should get paid the same and one shouldn't be above the others. The only reason I can see some hospitals paying more for CVOR is it is hard to find someone to do this. Now, this is only my own opinion but I find CVOR to be very boring, same thing all the time, hardly any variables. Sorry. Now that said Ortho is my fav because it uses POWER TOOLS! Also all fractures are different. But we need CVOR nurses very much so if your "heart" is in it, go for it.

If anything, I would say ortho is the same thing all the time...especially total joints. I feel like I'm in an assembly line when I'm in a joint room. It's the same thing over and over again.

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Specializes in LTAC, OR.

I'm in peds and I love it! I get lots of variety doing neonates up to 18-year-olds, and everything from cranis and spines to ear tubes.

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