Thanks for your video, I've been working in the OR for 5 years and I absolutely love it. Now that I'm considering migrating to the US, been so nervous about what might be different but based on your video it sounds pretty much the same.
Hi Autumn! When I transferred from the med surge floor to the O.R. , after some time I was very concerned as you are , about losing my nursing skills. My cousin, also a nurse, asked if I enjoyed my job in the O.R. and I had to admit , I really did! She said , " Then just be the BEST O.R. nurse out there ! Few people get to say they enjoy their job." I remained in the O.R. for many years after that . ( And ... I lost all confidence in my nursing skills ) ... So... Yes, there are cons to confining yourself to one specialty and YES, there are some very tough personalities in the O.R. . Nursing as a whole is not a glamorous job . I hope you will find your niche ! There are a lot of areas in nursing to explore.
@@levans3447 hi! thank you for your commment! you’re right there’s so many avenues. I found my heart in the ER/urgent care but I’m sure I will try more areas as time goes on! That’s the beauty of it 🥰💕🙏
I currently work in the OR as an anesthesia tech, because the OR was my goal and I felt like work as a PCT on the floor wasn’t giving me the foot in the door or exposure. I actually love that it’s cold, the schedule is so nice, and for the most part everyone is amazing, including the surgeons (I know and go to several of them, but if I don’t end up staying as a nurse I’m kind of terrified to work with new surgeons). My biggest issue actually has been CRNA’s but that’s because I work more directly with them. I also like that there is like no filter in the OR, some people may hate it, but I felt like you couldn’t say anything on really on the floor, we talk about the craziest things, especially on weekend call. There is one person I have huge issues with (a lot of people do and people have even left over it) I told management she is a huge reason why I may not consider where I work currently to work as a nurse, I also want to learn to scrub and they basically told me a hard no. I am currently applying to every OR residency in my area, and am in the final interviews of one of them, the others haven’t put up their applications, I know I can always stay where I am currently, which is a good fall back and some colleagues have told me measures to take if the environment is getting too hostile.
A bit daunting but I would love to be OR nurse. Multitasking and receiving report for 7 different patients and talking to family members? Crowded ward? I’m not into that. Heck I would miss a lot gs cuz everything happen simultaneously all at once. I love to focus on one thing at a hand and solve it right there and then. So….sounds good to me. Imma request for transfer soon.
Im starting an OR student Nurse extern this week. I’m so nervous. The hours work best for me if they are 8-10 hrs bc I don’t plan on having kids anytime soon and like to be home in the evening. My other interest is Labor & Delivery (possibly OR L&D which I’ve also shadowed). I have been working on an orthopedic medsurg floor & all the nurses seem burnt out & look like they hate their job and they are only 1-2 years in… which has made me want to be in the OR more. I know every unit is different but for now OR is the only thing that will work for me. Once I feel ready I will probably move on to L&D or maybe even NICU. I also like the idea of having other people there by your side if something goes wrong . I wanted to become a nurse bc I wanted to be that nurse that made patients feel safe and cared for…working on a medsurg unit made me realize it’s not that easy when you have a busy assignment… also sometimes you do get those patients that make the job harder for you, and for the pay… it’s not worth it…
Thank you for this, I've been in acute psych nursing for 10 years and looking to change specialties. OR nursing is what I am looking to get into and from how you've described it, seems a good fit for me.
I'm starting the nursing program here soon and the OR was an interest for me. But I do have bad knees and chronic knee pain and the cold can intensify the pain. So that was something to think about. Thank you for that.
That would be hard, when i was a senior(bsn) i had to scrub for 4 hours(Spine realignment) holding a US army-navy retractor with one hand in place for the whole time. Belive me its not easy to hold retractors in place and the surgeon will call u out if ur starting to slip. OR is very physical imo.. thats why i work out to be in shape.
Life is too short to go to a job you are miserable in, my last nursing job before my current one I legit wished for sickness or a car accident just so I didn't have to go there, that's how much I hated it!! Been there done that, and most of the time I have known within a couple weeks that the job is or is not for me!! I think it was good to give it more time though, just in case!!
Oh noooo. :( Life is most definitely too short! No job, or circumstance should ever make you feel that way or like life is not valuable and worth living. Find your happy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out for help! 🙏💖
@@nurseeautumnn Oh goodness, I didn't mean I wanted to die, I meant I wanted to either be sick or otherwise unable to go to work, but not dead. Sorry for the miscommunication!
Thank you for this video, it was very informative! I still think the OR will be the best fit for me since I've been working in sterile environments for years and want something similar. My only question would be if I can have makeup on, fake eyelashes, and get my nails done in an OR environment. Or are they super strict with that stuff?
So happy it was helpful for you! Our hospital did allow all of these things, but every hospital is different and will have different requirements towards this. Best of luck to you! 🩵
I started my OR residency and I’m miserable the physicians and scrub techs are horrible most times. I dread going to work everyday 😅 the way they rush us and screams feels like I work at a drive thru.
Hmm good take, did u do the Periop 101 program? In my hospital its 9mos then u take the certification.. the downside is u have to be all in because there is a commitment clause when u get hired.. u have to stay with them for 2 years. OR is kinda my dream unit( wanted to be a surgeon when i was younger) so I’m lucky because they only take like 2-3 people in the program.
This is awesome! Congratulations and good for you! 👏 yes they put us through the same thing, just no 2 year commitment unless you accepted a sign-on bonus or signed for that in general.
hi Autumn i’m a OR nurse for almost 2 years now but feeling like I want to quit! I dont know if its just in our hospital where the turn over time is 20 minutes.. and its freaking busy whole day. Im so burnt out. Most of the time i feel like im not a nurse anymore. No satisfaction bec no patient care and interaction. just need to make the surgeons and techs happy. I want to quit!😢
My OR was ran the same way. 20 minute turnover and very fast paced. Some are much busier than others! I encourage you to follow your heart, I promise you won’t regret it! 😊
@@nurseeautumnnu mind giving a ballpark? My offer was around 85K for the first year before taking the test in the east coast😅 idk if that is good or bad lmao
@@predatoria_aquatica That’s an AWESOME offer, I was in the Midwest and it wasn’t nearly that high!! Probably 65-70 and that may be a stretch. Definitely stay in the east coast especially if you’re in a state with no state tax requirement.
@@nurseeautumnn thank u! Yeah it’s like after i get certified and work on my own i get a raise to even out with those who have been certified. I did meet the nurse educator at the OR today.. she seems tough and strict😅😅.. kinda nervous and excited at the same time.
OR scrubs are not sterile, they are clean, just an FYI. Sterile means the absence of all viable microbes, which doesn't happen just from washing something.
As a PA wanting to switch into general surg I think this just popped up from videos I had been watching. I just wanted to bring up that it sounds like you had said “physicians assistants”. There’s no s after physician. So we are physician assistants or just PAs to make it easier as most people now understand what it is. Believe me, it’s easier to say 😂 of course most hospitals would rather pay a first assist less money then paying us as PAs. Just like you said as nursing though.. my first job as a PA was in family medicine. I’m looking into hospital based medicine now because I want slightly less patient interaction. I was so exhausted from talking with patients all day that I didn’t want to talk to my husband when I came home. I left that job after 22 months).
@@nurseeautumnn that's great! just trying to find a job that works for me- idk if med school is the best rn because i am soft lol. i admire doctors and nurses :D
I read down below that you are in the ER lol. The whole time listening to you I was thinking you were about that action. Not me! I was like, she needs to be jumping out of planes in the middle east with a riffle and a stethoscope. Are you looking to be a med flight nurse?
The OR. I've been a circulator for about 9 months. I was a cardiothoracic step down nurse before that. What you said was spot on, about the OR being more for someone who has scratched their other nursing itches. I'm on the ASD spectrum so the more routine, boring, and less masking for patients, the better. It's like nursing heaven for me. They can't go to sleep fast enough lol. Propofol is like the director yelling cut and scene! I was on nights for all of my time on the floor well past paying my dues, to minimize the time I have to act for pt's and families. I moved from Boston to a small rural hospital, and I guess AORN peri-op 101 was not in the budget. I was surfing RUclips to get a feel how to progress my intraoperative skills, to be more marketable for travel nursing as an OR nurse. I want to work for bigger pay elsewhere while keep my rural low cost living and trade options. I don't foresee me gaining much scrub experience where I am. We have one nurse from elsewhere that can scrub and circulate. and I can count on one had the number of times he has scrubbed in, in the nine months I've been there. Once I'm done with my Alexander's book relative to the limited surgeries we do, and the universal perioperative knowledge, I'm going to need more OR experience, assuming my Options trading doesn't work out first. That's my RN story in a nutshell. @@nurseeautumnn
Actually surgeries especially if they were elective weren't being performed. It's really not how like the TV shows portray it to be. Now if you're on a trauma team in emergent cases it would be different. But it's mainly routine stuff in the OR going on.
Yeah i think the OR the place for me because a lot of your cons are my pros.
Everyone is different! We need all types of nurses 🤍
Same! Some of her cons are my pros. I love these kinds of videos to see if I’d really enjoy working in that specialty
Thanks for your video, I've been working in the OR for 5 years and I absolutely love it. Now that I'm considering migrating to the US, been so nervous about what might be different but based on your video it sounds pretty much the same.
Best of luck, you can do it! I can imagine there may be some slight differences but I’m sure you will adjust just fine. 😊
Hi Autumn! When I transferred from the med surge floor to the O.R. , after some time I was very concerned as you are , about losing my nursing skills. My cousin, also a nurse, asked if I enjoyed my job in the O.R. and I had to admit , I really did! She said , " Then just be the BEST O.R. nurse out there ! Few people get to say they enjoy their job." I remained in the O.R. for many years after that . ( And ... I lost all confidence in my nursing skills ) ... So... Yes, there are cons to confining yourself to one specialty and YES, there are some very tough personalities in the O.R. . Nursing as a whole is not a glamorous job . I hope you will find your niche ! There are a lot of areas in nursing to explore.
@@levans3447 hi! thank you for your commment! you’re right there’s so many avenues. I found my heart in the ER/urgent care but I’m sure I will try more areas as time goes on! That’s the beauty of it 🥰💕🙏
I currently work in the OR as an anesthesia tech, because the OR was my goal and I felt like work as a PCT on the floor wasn’t giving me the foot in the door or exposure. I actually love that it’s cold, the schedule is so nice, and for the most part everyone is amazing, including the surgeons (I know and go to several of them, but if I don’t end up staying as a nurse I’m kind of terrified to work with new surgeons). My biggest issue actually has been CRNA’s but that’s because I work more directly with them. I also like that there is like no filter in the OR, some people may hate it, but I felt like you couldn’t say anything on really on the floor, we talk about the craziest things, especially on weekend call. There is one person I have huge issues with (a lot of people do and people have even left over it) I told management she is a huge reason why I may not consider where I work currently to work as a nurse, I also want to learn to scrub and they basically told me a hard no. I am currently applying to every OR residency in my area, and am in the final interviews of one of them, the others haven’t put up their applications, I know I can always stay where I am currently, which is a good fall back and some colleagues have told me measures to take if the environment is getting too hostile.
A bit daunting but I would love to be OR nurse. Multitasking and receiving report for 7 different patients and talking to family members? Crowded ward? I’m not into that. Heck I would miss a lot gs cuz everything happen simultaneously all at once. I love to focus on one thing at a hand and solve it right there and then. So….sounds good to me. Imma request for transfer soon.
Im starting an OR student Nurse extern this week. I’m so nervous. The hours work best for me if they are 8-10 hrs bc I don’t plan on having kids anytime soon and like to be home in the evening. My other interest is Labor & Delivery (possibly OR L&D which I’ve also shadowed). I have been working on an orthopedic medsurg floor & all the nurses seem burnt out & look like they hate their job and they are only 1-2 years in… which has made me want to be in the OR more. I know every unit is different but for now OR is the only thing that will work for me. Once I feel ready I will probably move on to L&D or maybe even NICU. I also like the idea of having other people there by your side if something goes wrong . I wanted to become a nurse bc I wanted to be that nurse that made patients feel safe and cared for…working on a medsurg unit made me realize it’s not that easy when you have a busy assignment… also sometimes you do get those patients that make the job harder for you, and for the pay… it’s not worth it…
Very excellent informative video, thank you Autumn. I wish you good luck in your new career, I'm sure you'll be awesome at it.
Thank you so much! Happy to help!! 😊
Thank you for this, I've been in acute psych nursing for 10 years and looking to change specialties. OR nursing is what I am looking to get into and from how you've described it, seems a good fit for me.
I hope you love it! Acute psych nursing is not easy. Thank you for what you do! 🙏
Awesome video, very informative. I’m currently a senior in nursing school and am currently debating OR
So glad it was helpful! Go for it, you can do it!
Thank you so much! I have been considering a new specialty and this is the type of information I need to know 🙂
So happy to help!!
Do you have any tips on getting a job in the OR? I haven't had any luck even with 2 years of MS experience 😢
I'm starting the nursing program here soon and the OR was an interest for me. But I do have bad knees and chronic knee pain and the cold can intensify the pain. So that was something to think about. Thank you for that.
That would be hard, when i was a senior(bsn) i had to scrub for 4 hours(Spine realignment) holding a US army-navy retractor with one hand in place for the whole time. Belive me its not easy to hold retractors in place and the surgeon will call u out if ur starting to slip. OR is very physical imo.. thats why i work out to be in shape.
Life is too short to go to a job you are miserable in, my last nursing job before my current one I legit wished for sickness or a car accident just so I didn't have to go there, that's how much I hated it!! Been there done that, and most of the time I have known within a couple weeks that the job is or is not for me!! I think it was good to give it more time though, just in case!!
Oh noooo. :( Life is most definitely too short! No job, or circumstance should ever make you feel that way or like life is not valuable and worth living. Find your happy, and please don’t hesitate to reach out for help! 🙏💖
@@nurseeautumnn Oh goodness, I didn't mean I wanted to die, I meant I wanted to either be sick or otherwise unable to go to work, but not dead. Sorry for the miscommunication!
Thank you for this video, it was very informative! I still think the OR will be the best fit for me since I've been working in sterile environments for years and want something similar. My only question would be if I can have makeup on, fake eyelashes, and get my nails done in an OR environment. Or are they super strict with that stuff?
So happy it was helpful for you! Our hospital did allow all of these things, but every hospital is different and will have different requirements towards this. Best of luck to you! 🩵
Thank you! ❤
Hello Autumn.Which state do you work in?How much is the hourly wage for a new operating room RN nurse?
I started my OR residency and I’m miserable the physicians and scrub techs are horrible most times. I dread going to work everyday 😅 the way they rush us and screams feels like I work at a drive thru.
Hmm good take, did u do the Periop 101 program? In my hospital its 9mos then u take the certification.. the downside is u have to be all in because there is a commitment clause when u get hired.. u have to stay with them for 2 years. OR is kinda my dream unit( wanted to be a surgeon when i was younger) so I’m lucky because they only take like 2-3 people in the program.
This is awesome! Congratulations and good for you! 👏 yes they put us through the same thing, just no 2 year commitment unless you accepted a sign-on bonus or signed for that in general.
hi Autumn i’m a OR nurse for almost 2 years now but feeling like I want to quit! I dont know if its just in our hospital where the turn over time is 20 minutes.. and its freaking busy whole day. Im so burnt out. Most of the time i feel like im not a nurse anymore. No satisfaction bec no patient care and interaction. just need to make the surgeons and techs happy. I want to quit!😢
My OR was ran the same way. 20 minute turnover and very fast paced. Some are much busier than others! I encourage you to follow your heart, I promise you won’t regret it! 😊
I agree! It's so OVERRATED! I would rather go back to the floor at this point.
This might be a dumb question, but do you get paid during that 9 month orientation?
Yes you do! Never a dumb question :)
@@nurseeautumnnu mind giving a ballpark? My offer was around 85K for the first year before taking the test in the east coast😅 idk if that is good or bad lmao
@@predatoria_aquatica That’s an AWESOME offer, I was in the Midwest and it wasn’t nearly that high!! Probably 65-70 and that may be a stretch. Definitely stay in the east coast especially if you’re in a state with no state tax requirement.
@@nurseeautumnn thank u! Yeah it’s like after i get certified and work on my own i get a raise to even out with those who have been certified. I did meet the nurse educator at the OR today.. she seems tough and strict😅😅.. kinda nervous and excited at the same time.
Thank you for this video in which unit are you going to work now ?
I hope you found it helpful! I’m in the ER now :)
i love when iam busy i whould love to see stuff in the or
OR scrubs are not sterile, they are clean, just an FYI. Sterile means the absence of all viable microbes, which doesn't happen just from washing something.
Yup!! I realized I said sterile after I posted lol. Clean but definitely not sterile.
Yeap and this is why I am cross trained to different departments. The cons though is really the downtime for me. Otherwise I would have stayed.
Thank you 🙏🏾
I don’t like any job that I have to be on call.
As a PA wanting to switch into general surg I think this just popped up from videos I had been watching. I just wanted to bring up that it sounds like you had said “physicians assistants”. There’s no s after physician. So we are physician assistants or just PAs to make it easier as most people now understand what it is. Believe me, it’s easier to say 😂 of course most hospitals would rather pay a first assist less money then paying us as PAs. Just like you said as nursing though.. my first job as a PA was in family medicine. I’m looking into hospital based medicine now because I want slightly less patient interaction. I was so exhausted from talking with patients all day that I didn’t want to talk to my husband when I came home. I left that job after 22 months).
did you like doing surgery? 😅 alot of or nurses love scrubbing into the OR. lol
Yes they do!! They did at my hospital too lol. I liked some cases, it could be fun, just depended on the surgeon ;-)
@@nurseeautumnn that's great! just trying to find a job that works for me- idk if med school is the best rn because i am soft lol. i admire doctors and nurses :D
I read down below that you are in the ER lol. The whole time listening to you I was thinking you were about that action. Not me! I was like, she needs to be jumping out of planes in the middle east with a riffle and a stethoscope. Are you looking to be a med flight nurse?
Hahahahaha! This made my day lol. No way 😂 I like the ground! What area/department of nursing are you in?
The OR. I've been a circulator for about 9 months. I was a cardiothoracic step down nurse before that. What you said was spot on, about the OR being more for someone who has scratched their other nursing itches. I'm on the ASD spectrum so the more routine, boring, and less masking for patients, the better. It's like nursing heaven for me. They can't go to sleep fast enough lol. Propofol is like the director yelling cut and scene! I was on nights for all of my time on the floor well past paying my dues, to minimize the time I have to act for pt's and families.
I moved from Boston to a small rural hospital, and I guess AORN peri-op 101 was not in the budget. I was surfing RUclips to get a feel how to progress my intraoperative skills, to be more marketable for travel nursing as an OR nurse. I want to work for bigger pay elsewhere while keep my rural low cost living and trade options. I don't foresee me gaining much scrub experience where I am. We have one nurse from elsewhere that can scrub and circulate. and I can count on one had the number of times he has scrubbed in, in the nine months I've been there. Once I'm done with my Alexander's book relative to the limited surgeries we do, and the universal perioperative knowledge, I'm going to need more OR experience, assuming my Options trading doesn't work out first. That's my RN story in a nutshell. @@nurseeautumnn
or must had ben nuts when covid was bad
Actually surgeries especially if they were elective weren't being performed. It's really not how like the TV shows portray it to be. Now if you're on a trauma team in emergent cases it would be different. But it's mainly routine stuff in the OR going on.