OR NURSING
I've been an OR nurse for 26 years now and definitly feel it is the best area to specialize in. First of all, you generally have a better schedule than other hospital RN's because the OR is not usually fully staffed 24 hrs/day. This means less weekends, holidays & odd shifts.

The best part about OR nursing is you only have 1 patient to deal with at a time. By law, there has to be 1 RN per operating room. I like the fact that you are able focus your entire attention on each person for the time they're in the OR, not try to care for multiple people at the same time.

It's not all perfect, but the benefits generally outweigh the negative aspects. The OR is a very stressful & intense area. It's fast paced with no room for error. Many surgeons are high maintainance & difficult to deal with. However, just like with your patients--you only deal with 1 at a time!

Hope this helps.

hi,
thanks for the msg.
can i ask where u started after nursing school. can i ask your pesonal email and email u from there or can u email me at my email which is
[email protected]

thanks

new grad
It would really be a benefit for you to work the floor for awhile after graduating. I work in OR and have for about 4 years and i love it...but....I see nurses that have only worked in the or...and they ...to be honost are at a loss. With not prior experience with critical thinking etc...they really are not prepared to work anywhere else. I would recommend any new grad get some general floor experience first...and then head straight for OR. only one pt and holidays off for the most part. When i take a patient to floor occassionally...i am sick at the thought of working the floor again.
good luck

Sorry, but I have to disagree that people with no floor experience are at a loss in the OR. Some of our strongest nurses have no floor experience, myself included. I love getting new grads in surgery because there are no bad habits to break. Surgery is so different from any other kind of nursing, nothing really prepares you for it. I knew way back in nursing school 25 years ago that I wasn't cut out for floor nursing-so I never even considered it.

have you thought about doing pediatrics for a year or so at a childrens hospital, then moving into a pediatric OR within the same childrens hospital?
i would think it would cover both angles. i started in peds as a new grad for 6 months, then went to picu and i've been in it for 2 yrs now.
im still a newby and am also curious of looking into other areas of nursing after i get more experience. luckily, nursing allows the flexibility for you to do both later in your career.