OR Nurse In A Level One Trauma Hospital
Career review from a person working in the job
How I Got The Job
My Education: Diploma from Framingham School of Nursing
My Prior Experience: I worked in a small four operating room hospital before I transferred to a level one trauma unit where I have been for 21 years.
My Job Profile
My Company: I work for a level one trauma hospital with 15 operating rooms.
Job/Career Overview: I am an RN that has worked in the operating room for 25 years. I can circulate a case that job includes checking to see if we have the right patient, make sure they understand what procedure is being done & basically taking the rights of the patient to make sure they are maintained. I also can scrub a case which assists the surgeon with instrumentation. Both parts are extremely rewarding.
Love It? Hate It?
I rate this career 10 out of 10.
What I Love or Hate
One of the best part of being a registered nurse is that I have had the opportunity to try different parts of the nursing field. In my earlier years I worked on a step down cardiac unit & at times worked closely with the recovery room nurses.
The other part I have also been able to adjust my schedule to fit my life. When I first started I worked days with call, then when I started a family I went to evenings & lastly when the kids started school with sports I work nights so I feel like I have been home for them.
The worst part probably would have to be is that I have seen some extremely sad cases where you know they patients are not going to survive & know that all we can do for them is to make them comfortable.
My Career Tips
If you have any thought about going into nursing, apply right in the beginning. Once you are in the career you have many opportunities to try different fields, you can try a hospital setting, doctor's office, clinics plus community nursing - such as hospice or visiting nurse. It helps that you want to help others - it is not always rewarding - many nights I have had doctors screaming, patients being uncooperative & other nursing staff at odds - but then just one patient comes through & reaches you in a way that it makes it all worth while with just a look or a simple thank you.
