Starlight, you need to be honest with the OR director and tell her you are not getting enough consecutive days to learn anything. I'm sorry I am still convinced this is not the way to learn how to work in the OR.

The charge person tells you she doesn't need you........you can't be used until you learn!

Ok.  I have only just joined this forum and really was skimming the posts in this topic and and thrilled that so many nurses want to come to the OR.  I came here straight out of school 2 years ago and that was the best thing that I ever did.  I do not believe that I would still be a nurse if I had had to be on a floor somewhere.  I do enjoy scrubbing and would like to do it more but that is not always a possibility.  I must say that do enjoy my job with the exception of a few things but that is always the case everywhere.  I will have my BSN in a year and will then study for the CNOR.  We are a busy OR and there is a lot of chances to learn something new everyday.  Go ahead and try it.

Well, I started my new internship in the OR. Of course the first two weeks will be gereral hospital orientation. HIPAA, Falls, paperwork, etc, and all those CBL's. So it will be a little while before I actually get to be in on a case. I am so excited about it, I just can't wait.

I feel like I'm almost as excited about this new job as you are to be graduating next spring Sap.

I really like being in the OR whether Im the Circulating Nurse or the Scrub Nurse during my days when im still studying..Lucky for us we are allowed to assist in many operation like laparotomy procedures..for now i just passed the board exam here in our country (ph) and im looking forward in finding a job soon as an OR nurse. I know i still have a long way to go guys

Well, I have finished my 5th full week in the OR. I have learned so much, but have so much more to learn. I've done some general, (lots of lap choleys), some gyn, and a little ortho. I don't really think I'm going to like gyn, but I could change my mind. It seems like when I start feeling pretty good about a procedure, I have to change to something else, and I feel totally useless. I wish I could focus on one thing and feel fairly confident about it and then move on to something else, but unfortunately it hasn't worked that way. I have not done any plastics, ENT, or Neuro. Alot involved in neuro, but usullay fairly long cases. You at least have time to do some charting. Some are so fast you don't even have time to do the computer charting before it's time to turn the room over and set the next  case up. You just have to make sure you write EVERYTHING down.

I am loving it though. It is stressful, but it is a different kind of stress than working on the floor.

Congrats jillpill30 on your OR job. You must have really impressed manager when she interviewed you, especially since she told you she didnt' hire new grads. I have now been in the OR for 2 months. However, I am only getting a 3 month orientation. Of course the director told the the other day, not to worry about that. She knew with me being brand new to the OR, I had a lot to learn, and if I needed more than 3 months I would get it. There is so much to learn and remember. I feel like I'm doing pretty good though. I did run a lap choley case by myself the other day. WooHoo!!!!!!!!!

I wish you the best of luck with you new job. Keep us up to date on your progress and I will do the same.

The hospital I work at Rowan Regional Medical Center just recently merged with Novant Health Systems. I believe it was back in early spring. From my understanding this 3 month thing is a Novant thing. I really don't understand why they think someone brand new to the OR can learn everything in 3 months. It's impossible. I guess whoever started that, has never worked in the OR. I am doing well, but 3 months in, I still have tons to learn. I have yet to learn ortho, necks, backs and ENT. I hope they mean it when they told me I could have longer if needed, b/c I really feel like I will need it, unless they want to keep me in general all the time. Which I really like general. I think I have decided that I don't like GYN.

MelanieNH says ...

Hello from an OR nurse from New Hampshire! I've been an OR nurse for 5 years and I love every minute of it - well ALMOST every minute! I am a CNOR and I circulate all types of cases in a busy 10 room OR but am the resource nurse for general and bariatrics. I love laparoscopic surgery, it's my favorite. The minimally invasive surgical suite with the ceiling mounted monitors and equipment is very high tech and fun to work with. OR nursing is very technical, very physically demanding, and at times you wonder if you are perfoming patient care or surgeon care! Keeping your patient safe is top priority, managing your time and equipment and people fall second. The pagers, my least favorite, come LAST. Being a good OR nurse involves using your knowlege of procedures, of the surgeons, of the equipment, of the patient ahead of time, coordination, organization, anticipation, the list goes on. You become pretty much everything to everyone, but may not be truly appreciated for this. Knowlege is power. My advice is learn all you can about every piece of equipment, every stapler, every procedure, and you will soon find that people will come to you for help, surgeons will prefer to have you in their room and you will be an invaluable asset. Stay busy helping others turn over rooms or moving patients, or any task that needs doing if you have down time, this can only help you learn. Helping pick cases or putting things away, great for learning where things are, you'll appreciate it when the surgeon is yelling that he wants something RIGHT NOW and you actually know where it is! Always ask for help when you need it, and offer to help others every chance you get, helpful to them AND you. Personalities. The OR generally sports staff with extremely strong personalities, that's just the way they are. Especially if they have been there forever, they are not going to change the way they do things, and will expect you to do it their way- learn the RIGHT way (AORN sets the standards for care in the OR) and decide what works best for you. Remember, within the RIGHT way to do something, there can be slight variations and they are all right, you will have your own style and that is good. Attitude is important in the OR. I have noticed that one person can influence the attitude of everyone in the room, so I try to keep things light and happy- positive attitude. It helps. I have great relationships with everyone that I work with and my surgeons and I text and call eachother all the time, communication is SO important, so nurture those relationships. I think I could practically burn the place down and it would be ok and vice versa simply because we feel comfortable communicating with eachother. If I interview my patient and read their history and physical and things don't quite jive or the positioning planned for the procedure seems incorrect, I call the surgeon and ask questions, they actually appreciate the fact that I am thinking ahead and putting two and two together. Patient Interview. You have about 3 minutes to make a connection with your patient! Learn everything you can before you even speak to the patient (I read the computer chart in the room before I go see the patient) and then my goal is not just to perform the necessary assessment, but to MAKE A CONNECTION in this short time. First, I ALWAYS smile. Some people even ask why I'm the only nurse smiling.. I tell them it's because I love my job and why wouldn't I smile. They appreciate smiles. Humor works great. I always make sure they are comfortable and VERBALIZE it, "I want to make sure that I do everything I can to make this experience better for you." I tell them my name of course and tell them there will be a quiz later, so they should remember it! ;-) Versed has an amnesia effect, retro even, so they may not remember meeting you at all, depending on when they get medicated. My challenge is to be memorable. I have received thank you notes and treats from patients who remembered, so I consider those my own personal brownie points! Just a little self challenge! You will also (if you stay in the OR for a while) see repeat customers, so reading the chart before seeing them will let you know if you cared for them last time (if you don't remember the name or face) and you can mention that you remember them. People like this, it is comforting! Patient perception of the whole experience is almost more important to them than the actual outcome- form a rapport, be there for your patient in that 3 minutes, it means everything. I love my job. Did I say that already? When I don't love it, it's usually because I'm on call and working my 60th hour that week and just squirted myself in the eye with a pressurized bag of ringers or something. I try to laugh it off and come back refreshed the next day! I hope you will love it too!

What a great job summation! I have worked OR for 7 years, the last two and a half as the Periop Educator and have loved every minute of it...and its now lead me to an excellant job opportunity establishing of our Medical Center's new Joint and Spine Center!  

P.S. particularly enjoyed advice on versed and patient memories- I always say even if the patient does not remember, the family will...

sinimin says ...

OR Nurses -

When you are not working in the OR, what other sorts of patient care are you tending to?  I still have a long way before I decide what path I want to take but I think OR is where I want to go.  Also, how many surgeries does any one nurse perform in one shift and are the surgeries a mixture (i.e., L & D, open heart, lung transplant, etc.).   

Thanks.

 You work OR exclusively, but other duties, depending on where you work, are picking cases, stocking rooms, working on projects pertaining to the OR, sometimes helping out in the instrument room.  Depending on the schedule of surgeries is how many you would do per day.  Most OR's have a heart team if they do hearts.  Some OR's put you into a speciality area so you do Ortho all day or GYN or General.  It again, all depends on how your particular OR is managed and set up.  Hope this helps

Hi I am an OR nurse I work at a Children's Hospital. I love it. My background is NICU, PICU Peds ER and I worked in isolated arctic hospitals as a new grad. OR nursing is a different sort of animal, I was glad that I had other skills from working in other pediatric settings. AORN is a good place to start for info on OR nursing. I scrub and circulate, I am currently working on a Master's in nursing and then after that I plan on doing the CNOR exam. I am already a certified pediatric nurse. Any experience in nursing no matter where will be an asset im the OR.

jane_0126 says ...

I would to love in the O.R. but I'm still in the process of taking the NCLEX-RN exam. I really enjoyed my clinicals back in college. We had to assist 5 major op and 5 minor op. Then handle at least 5 deliverires, assist 5 deliveries, and perform at least 5 cord care. It was really fun... The best area ever!!! I enjoyed the thrill and rush of assisting or circulating in operations.

How much experience do you need to get in to the O.R.? I would really love to work in that area...

Some places will take you as a brand new grad, others want you to have experience in other areas.  Wherever you live, do research on the different hospitals in your area and call them to see what they're after and how you can get into an OR  program