Our hospital opened applications for its perioperative residency and my manager basically told me to apply. It's 6 months of training and I'd keep my current base, around $41/hr, but I'd lose my night diff. I'd also be starting over as the newbie at 36 after ten years on med-surg.
Part of me is so ready. No more 5-6 patients, no more call lights, one patient at a time. But I keep hearing OR culture can be brutal for nurses coming in from the floor and that some surgeons treat circulators like furniture. And I'm worried my med-surg skills would just rot.
For OR nurses who came from the floor later in their career, did you regret it? Or is it the best decision you ever made? And how bad is call in a mid-size hospital, honestly?
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Post replyMeanwhile every time periop opens a residency, our floor loses its two most experienced nurses and we get another round of new grads. No hate to you, I'd probably jump too. Just tired of being the training ground for every other department.
Ask to shadow a full day and talk to the circulators, not the educator. Also ask how call actually works: how many shifts a month, whether you take it from home, and what the response time is. And run the numbers on losing night diff, because that adds up fast over a year.
Did your manager say why she wants you to apply? Sometimes 'you should apply' is a compliment and sometimes it means something is changing on your unit.
I'll be the one who went back. Did two years in the OR and missed actually talking to my patients. Most of them are asleep, and the call schedule wrecked my sleep worse than nights ever did. Not saying don't do it, just that 'one patient at a time' isn't automatically easier.
Went from tele to OR at 38. The first six months were humbling, and I definitely had a couple of surgeons who acted like I was part of the room setup. But my floor experience meant I caught things the new grads in my cohort missed. Four years in and I've never once wanted to go back.