As some of you know, my mom is an Operating Room Nurse. Which is pretty darn cool if I say so myself. She’s actually training to be a preceptor now and got promoted to the next clinical level yesterday!! So congrats Mom!! I’m super <strike>jealous</strike> proud of you.
=]
So I’ve decided to ask her about some of the pros and cons for the next installment of When I Graduate. I’m talking with a bunch of nurses in other units too (Mental Health/Psych coming soon, I promise!) so keep a look out. We’ll find the perfect nursing units to work on soon!
Sidenote: If there is a unit you’d be particularly interested in laying out the pros and cons for, lemme know! I’ll push it up in the list.
With further ado…here are the pros and cons from the mouth of an OR nurse.
Pros-
Get to see some cool things other people don’t get to see, one patient to focus on and advocate for, making a huge difference in the quality of someone’s life whether it’s by improving the quality or extending that patient’s life, it’s a whole different world- it’s like it’s own little world and everyone is like family, it builds up thick skin, working with the latest technology, a lot of fast thinking on your feet- use that brain, flexible, if you’re not a big people person- your patient is knocked out half the time and you don’t have to deal with families and poop.
Cons-
Sometimes exposed to a lot of chemicals (bloodborne pathogens/bodily fluids), dealing with temperamental surgeons at times, view from others sometimes that it’s not real nursing (but you do work hard and it’s very physical work), can be difficult if you don’t have thick skin, if you aren’t strong this isn’t good for you because you have to lift heavy trays and case carts (ie-40 lbs or so ), not for shy personalities, need a strong stomach or else that’s awkward, you don’t get to spend a whole lot of time with that patient because they get knocked out, may lose some bedside skills from school BUT you gain a whole other set of skills
I asked her if it was cold in there (because I like to stay warm) and she said surprisingly it isn’t that cold because you’re moving around so much!
She also wanted to let everyone know that it’s getting harder to get into so she recommends going into a residency program. There are specialties within OR nursing (ex: she’s an Ortho nurse) AND you can go anywhere in the whole wide world with it. There’s a huge need for OR traveling nurses.
“I love it and I wouldn’t want to do anything else”- Mom
Thanks for answering my questions! I don’t care what she says though…on my OR rotation, I was cold. Con. But I liked being able to comfort that person in what is potentially one of the scariest times of their life. Pro.
Add more if you got ‘em!
Love,
Laney
