OR Nursing

So, what is new with me? I work. And I work some more. I am exhausted! My job is very physical and it wears me out! I still love what I am doing, but it is very overwhelming. I am supposed to be on "orientation" for 6 months. Meaning I will not be "on my own" for 6 months. Well, let me tell you...that is not the case! I am constantly being used as an extra staff member, running my own operating rooms, without another nurse. I am capable of this a lot of the time, but sometimes I don't feel comfortable on my own. When it's a big surgery that I haven't done before, I need some guidance. I am able to get that guidance most of the time if I ask for it, but it really shouldn't be this way. I am learning...A LOT! But I feel that being thrown into a situation that I'm not comfortable in isn't always the best way. But that's just how it's going to be. And I keep being told that you have to have "tough skin" to work in the OR. I have to deal with cranky surgeons that take their frustration out on me. I have to take criticism from my peers when I do something the wrong way. It isn't always truly the wrong way, it just isn't their way. There is a saying that "nurses eat their young." And I am finding that to be oh-so-true!

Anyways, sorry for ranting. I do still love my job. And it will get better in time. I hear it takes about 2 years to feel comfortable as a new nurse in the OR. I am looking forward to that day. I have had some really good days where I am on my own and everything goes extremely smoothly and it boosts my confidence like crazy. And then I have days like today, where it felt like nothing was going my way. So far, it has always worked out in the end. The surgery is completed, the patient is safe, and I go on to the next case.

So, I work Monday through Friday 6:30am-3:00pm. This is part of the reason I am so exhausted. I am not a morning person. I despise getting up at 5:30am! I come home from work and feel like a zombie. I don't get anything productive done during the week. Luckily I have weekends off...for now. Until I have to be on call one weekend a month. I don't know how these other nurses do it. I am hoping that once I am off orientation, I can change my shift around a little so I don't have to be there so early every day.

Most people don't have a clue what the circulating nurse does in the operating room. And let me tell ya, it's nothing like on TV. I know I talked about it briefly in my last post, but I will go into a little more detail today.

It can be very intense and very exciting. It is a challenge, and I need to be challenged in life. There is so much variety in the OR. There are so many different surgical specialties that I need to know about (general, orthopedics, neurosurgery, gynecology, vascular...). I have gotten to "scrub in" on a few surgeries now. Meaning that I am gowned and gloved, in the sterile field, handing instruments, retracting body parts, cutting sutures. And it's SO EXCITING!!! I love every minute of it!

As a circulating nurse, after making sure all of the necessary equipment is in the room, I go see the patient in the holding area, conduct a pre-op interview, check their chart for the consent, labs, etc, answer their questions, and then bring the patient to the OR. I then assist the anesthesiologist or nurse anethesist (CRNA) with induction (putting the patient to sleep). Next I help the surgeon with positioning the patient for surgery, "prep" (or clean) the surgical site (abdomen, knee, hand, etc.), put in a Foley catheter if ordered, connect all the necessary equipment (cords get "thrown off" the sterile field and I plug stuff in), do the computer charting, and make sure that the surgical team has everything they need for the procedure. It is a lot of responsibility! And aside from all of that, my primary focus is ensuring the patient's safety.

I have a wide range of types of patients. Some are extremely healthy, but fell and broke a bone in their ankle and need to have it fixed by putting a plate on it. And some are really sick, in renal failure, with acute respiratory failure and diabetes, and need a catheter placed in their chest so they can have dialysis.

One thing I really like about working in the OR is the teamwork aspect. I work in extremely close proximity with surgeons, anesthesiologists/CRNAs, scrub techs, and other RNs. I am stuck in a small room (with no windows to the outside) with the same people, sometime for hours at a time. We really get to know each other well!

I love the feeling of making a difference in my patient's lives. I learn MANY new things, every single day! I am challenged more than I ever have been before. And I work alongside with some of the most educated, talented, caring, compassionate people I have ever known!

So it may be hard. It may be exhausting. It may sometimes feel like I am never going to "get it". But I will keep going back to it. Because I am a nurse. And I love my job! :)

I will try to come back soon with some non-work updates. But I just had to get all of that out!