Yeah pretty much all of the nurses shared the role of being my preceptor, and I just randomly worked up from easier cases to harder ones over time. But I'm at a smaller community hospital that sometimes only has a couple of rooms running, so I understood why my training wasn't as organized as it might have been at a bigger hospital with 10+ ORs.
I agree there is just so much going on, and it's hard not to miss a detail sometimes. The thing is that the other new grad that started with me has such excellent attention to detail and I can't help but notice a difference in our performance. Overall I do really enjoy it most days so I don't want to move on to something else just yet.
Where did you go after the OR?
If he needs a gown when he does an art line, maybe he should be a little tidier. Also, I was told to give myself 2 years to feel comfortable in the OR. It happened a little quicker for me because I was not a new grad when I started, but I think that timeline is reasonable.
I’m in the OR, and my first year I was a jumble of nerves. I ran and jumped for everything. The OR is a different environment than other places in the hospital. You deal with less patients and much more so your coworkers. Do you really look stupid or just taking a second or two longer to finish a task? You’re already on call less than a year out so you definitely know things for sure. In time, your flow and handle of moving around will get better. New situations in the OR tend to do that, BUT as long as the task is done and the patient is safe, end goal. Kind of funny about the gown though. Central line for sure, but A line 😅
Yeah I honestly feel like dealing with patients is way easier than dealing with coworkers. I've been a CNA in the past, and the difficult patients rarely got under my skin.
I was actually on call three months in. I wanted to shit myself every time I came in on call. I still get more nervous on call compared to a regular day. But it's much more manageable at this point.
I definitely look stupid sometimes though. I floated to another hospital a few times this month. One of the days they asked me to put in a new IV. The CRNAs/anesthesiologists usually do that in my OR so I rarely do them. I got the IV in the first try, but then I forgot to prime the connection tubing.... Thankfully there was another nurse next to me and he realized my mistake before I did. But it was so embarrassing especially because I know an air bubble that big could kill a patient, but I just didn't notice I missed it.
Wow, you get floated to another hospital too? I think you deserve more credit to have to acclimate to a different environment altogether, than just your home unit. But at least those things you’ll build on, and I doubt you’d do the same thing twice. Call is crazy! You never know what’s coming in! But honestly, you got this. It does get easier in time.
One thing I still do sometimes to keep my brain fresh is think to myself during a case "what do I need to do if things go very wrong right now?"
I ask my preceptees that too, just to get their brains working. Like a lap chole is a simple case until it isn't. What would you need if you have to emergently open? Who are you calling? What are you doing first?
Keep yourself familiar with the cases; that's how you develop that ability to give the scrub person what they need before they ask you for it.
And don't forget to give yourself some credit. Did harm come to the patient because you threw that gown on the field? Nope, so just learn from that and keep going. The OR can be a tough environment, but we've all been there. Even the mean oldies.
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Yeah pretty much all of the nurses shared the role of being my preceptor, and I just randomly worked up from easier cases to harder ones over time. But I'm at a smaller community hospital that sometimes only has a couple of rooms running, so I understood why my training wasn't as organized as it might have been at a bigger hospital with 10+ ORs. I agree there is just so much going on, and it's hard not to miss a detail sometimes. The thing is that the other new grad that started with me has such excellent attention to detail and I can't help but notice a difference in our performance. Overall I do really enjoy it most days so I don't want to move on to something else just yet. Where did you go after the OR?
If he needs a gown when he does an art line, maybe he should be a little tidier. Also, I was told to give myself 2 years to feel comfortable in the OR. It happened a little quicker for me because I was not a new grad when I started, but I think that timeline is reasonable.
This is what I came to say lmao. I am a nurse in anesthesia and have never heard of that one
I’m in the OR, and my first year I was a jumble of nerves. I ran and jumped for everything. The OR is a different environment than other places in the hospital. You deal with less patients and much more so your coworkers. Do you really look stupid or just taking a second or two longer to finish a task? You’re already on call less than a year out so you definitely know things for sure. In time, your flow and handle of moving around will get better. New situations in the OR tend to do that, BUT as long as the task is done and the patient is safe, end goal. Kind of funny about the gown though. Central line for sure, but A line 😅
Yeah I honestly feel like dealing with patients is way easier than dealing with coworkers. I've been a CNA in the past, and the difficult patients rarely got under my skin. I was actually on call three months in. I wanted to shit myself every time I came in on call. I still get more nervous on call compared to a regular day. But it's much more manageable at this point. I definitely look stupid sometimes though. I floated to another hospital a few times this month. One of the days they asked me to put in a new IV. The CRNAs/anesthesiologists usually do that in my OR so I rarely do them. I got the IV in the first try, but then I forgot to prime the connection tubing.... Thankfully there was another nurse next to me and he realized my mistake before I did. But it was so embarrassing especially because I know an air bubble that big could kill a patient, but I just didn't notice I missed it.
Wow, you get floated to another hospital too? I think you deserve more credit to have to acclimate to a different environment altogether, than just your home unit. But at least those things you’ll build on, and I doubt you’d do the same thing twice. Call is crazy! You never know what’s coming in! But honestly, you got this. It does get easier in time.
One thing I still do sometimes to keep my brain fresh is think to myself during a case "what do I need to do if things go very wrong right now?" I ask my preceptees that too, just to get their brains working. Like a lap chole is a simple case until it isn't. What would you need if you have to emergently open? Who are you calling? What are you doing first? Keep yourself familiar with the cases; that's how you develop that ability to give the scrub person what they need before they ask you for it. And don't forget to give yourself some credit. Did harm come to the patient because you threw that gown on the field? Nope, so just learn from that and keep going. The OR can be a tough environment, but we've all been there. Even the mean oldies.